Grant Turner, right, looks on during a rehearsal of Anton Chekhov’s “The Bear: A Joke in One Act, or The Boor,” on Sunday, May 9, 2021. Turner, who serves as the associate artistic director of the Elgin Opera House, says the theater plans to construct an outdoor stage this summer to host Shakespeare plays.

ELGIN — Shakespeare said all the world’s a stage, and residents here will have the opportunity this summer in Elgin to see the curtains rise on the poet and playwright’s works.

An outdoor, 30-foot stage north of the Elgin Opera House and south of the Elgin Train Depot is set to be assembled. It will serve as the site of summer evening Shakespeare performances, said Grant Turner, the associate artistic director of the Elgin Opera House.

The evening performances, Turner said, may become known as “Shakespeare at Sunset.”

“We want to create something which will be a destination,” Turner said.

Island City Elementary School is donating the stage. Setup work, which will involve the connecting of four platforms, starts soon.

The outdoor site will lack seating. Instead, audience members will watch from the greenery of the adjoining lawn.

The first production on the stage will be Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” with performances July 23-24, July 30-31 and Aug. 6-7. But the final performances of Aug. 13-14 will shift to La Grande, where Max Square will serve as the stage. The Elgin Opera House will announce performance times later.

“The Comedy of Errors” is about the misadventures of two sets of identical twins. It was one of Shakespeare’s shortest works and one of his earliest, for it was first performed 1594.

Turner said he is delighted to have the opportunity to direct works in the open-air site.

“I love outdoor theater,” he said.

Turner explained he enjoys tackling the difficulties it imposes, such as bad weather and intrusive sounds, including dogs barking.

“The additional challenges make it fun,” he said.

The outside setting could make addressing one challenge somewhat easier — meeting the social distancing demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Audiences will have to adhere to social distancing rules during the outdoor productions.

Turner previously was with the La Grande Shakespeare Company, which the Elgin Opera House absorbed in 2019. The La Grande Shakespeare Company, whose actors performed throughout the Grande Ronde Valley, officially no longer exists, yet its presence remains strong. Many of its actors now are a part of the Elgin Opera House and will be participating in its Shakespeare productions.

Turner said the La Grande Shakespeare Company never had a home and was forced to perform anywhere it could, which included Riverside Park and in the back of a bookstore. Today, though, the former company will have many opportunities to give productions at the Elgin Opera House inside and out.

“It is nice to know that our audience knows where it can find us,” Turner said.

He acknowledged it is ironic that although the La Grande Shakespeare Company officially no longer exists, it is in a sense stronger than ever because it has a home.

Performers in the Shakespearean productions include Cody Wyld Flower, who was a member of the La Grande Shakespeare Company. He said one of the reasons he enjoys performing the Bard’s works is remembering lines is easier. Turner agreed, noting Shakespeare’s words are easier to recall because he sometimes wrote them in verse.

“They are poems,” Turner said.