Perhaps it’s the impending seasonal transition, perhaps it’s the misty weather, but I can’t help feeling a little wistful about this week’s listings. Some great shows closed last week, but for every show that closed, there’s one opening this week to take its place.

It reminds me of a favorite quote of mine from Willa Cather: “What was any art but a mold in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself—life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.”

One of the great things about theater is that it is an “in the moment” art form: experiential, transient, its very impermanent nature is a reminder to seize the moment at hand before it slips away. Every performance is one-of-a-kind, and theater people know how different a show can be from one night to the next.

Here’s wishing a hearty “break a leg” to all the folks heading before audiences for the first time this week, and to those whose runs are continuing. Enjoy each irreplaceable moment.

Show: “Home Grown: Plays from the Ground Up” by various authors, through Aug. 19
Company: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre Studio Series
Type of Company: Community
Venue/location: A2CT Studio Theater, 322 West Ann St., Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 12+
Description: A comedic compendium of original short plays penned by playwrights from around the country. From Ann Arbor to Oregon, the four plays represent some of the best new works by exciting new voices. In “Pre-existing Conditions” by Madeline Diehl, a man and woman meet on the sly and nothing is what it seems. “How to Kill Yourself with a Gun and a Bottle of Pills” by Ron Riekki finds a pair of hapless friends plotting to end it all with hilarious results. In “Corker” by Sophia Blumenthal, a disparate couple meets in a New York subway station and discusses life, love, and the future. “Assigned Blessing” by Connie Bennett, pokes fun at playwrights themselves as two writing-class students invent the interior life of a stranger in a coffee shop.
More information
Fun fact: A new band--Sexy Monster--has been formed especially for this production, and will be playing live music to tie the plays together.
For tickets and information: 734-971-2228, a2ct.org

Show: “The Other Place" by Sharr White, through Aug. 18
Company: Redbud Productions
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: A fully rehearsed staged reading of the acclaimed play. Scientist Juliana Smithton’s research has propelled her bright career - until a disturbing turn of events at a conference threatens to unravel her success. During a lecture to colleagues at an exclusive beach resort, she glimpses an enigmatic young woman in a bright bikini amidst the crowd of business suits. Her husband, her estranged daughter, and a former colleague become embroiled in a confusing mystery, where things are not always as they seem.
More information
Fun fact: Laurie Metcalf from TV's "Roseanne" won both Lucille Lortel & Obie awards for her lead performance in the 2011 Off-Broadway run—and she will be bringing the play to Broadway this December.
For tickets and information: kerrytownconcerthouse.com, 734-769-2999.

Show: “Mary Rose” by J.M. Barrie, through Aug. 25
Company: Carriage House Theatre
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Carriage House Theatre, 541 Third St, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 10+
Description: When her parents took her on a vacation to the Scottish isles as a young girl, Mary Rose inexplicably disappeared on a small island. Given up for dead, she returned a month later with no memory of having been gone or of any time having passed. As she grows up, she maintains an unusual childlike nature. She marries her childhood sweetheart and has a son, both of whom she loves greatly, but perhaps the call of the island is greater still. J.M. Barrie weaves a touching story of love, humor, innocence, and loss, playing some of the same chords as in Peter Pan, but in a slightly more minor key.
Fun fact: Alfred Hitchcock was obsessed with Mary Rose for many years, and lamented that Universal Pictures, which he was under contract with, wouldn't let him make a movie of it.
For tickets and information: carriagehousetheatre.weebly.com

Show: "Burn This” by Lanford Wilson, through September 2
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Recommended ages: 16+, contains adult language and content
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Description: This explosive play, set in 1986 Manhattan, captures the recklessness of that decade. Pale, a coke-snorting, Jersey restaurant manager, and Anna, an up and coming choreographer, meet when her roommate Robbie, Pale's brother, dies. As the passions ignite, Pale's intense and troubled personality emerges. Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating. When Anna retreats into her work, he pursues her relentlessly, setting off an inferno of rage and desire that threatens to consume them both.
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: One of the pioneers of the Off-Off Broadway movement in New York city in the 1960s, Lanford Wilson’s earliest plays were produced at the famous Caffe Cino. A storefront theater at 31 Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, it was widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the Off-Off Broadway movement, and launched the careers of many playwrights, including Robert Patrick ("Kennedy's Children"), John Guare ("Six Degrees of Separation"), Tom Eyen ("Dreamgirls”), Sam Shepard ("True West”), Paul Foster ("Tom Paine"), and Jean-Claude van Itallie ("America Hurrah”).
For tickets and information: www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681

Show: “On Golden Pond”, by Ernest Thompson, through September 1
Company: Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: 13+ (some mature language)
Description: This charming love story follows Ethel and Norman Thayer as they return to their summer home in Maine. Their respite is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of their estranged daughter, her fiancé, and his teenage son. Over the course of the summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Norman and the boy, which sparks a renewed zest for life in the Thayer family. In the twilight years of marriage, Ethel and Norman rediscover the joy and romance of every day living.
Review from the Jackson Citizen Patriot
Fun fact: Richard Henzel of Chicago, who is now playing the role of Norman, has been performing his one-man show, "Mark Twain in Person" since 1967.
For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org