Last week the cast of Theater Simple's "Gerda's Journey" gathered together at the Ballard Locks to rehearse scenes for the play. But, they were missing one important cast member: the audience.

In "Gerda's Journey," based on Hans Christen Andersen's children's play "The Snow Queen," Theater Simple will make use of the entirety of the Ballard Locks and allow the audience to become a character in the play, said producer Llysa Holland. The audience will be forced to follow the characters and the action wherever they go.

"We start in one place in the park with Gerda and her friend Kai," said director and Ballard resident Rachel Katz Carey. "While we're there, we see a number of things happen, including the disappearance of Kai. Then Gerda decides she has to go out and find him, so she leaves and (the audience) has to leave with her."

Holland said convincing the audience to move around with the actors may be the most difficult task for the production because people are used to sitting in chairs and not moving about during a play.

The team behind "Gerda's Journey" also needed to find a way to direct the audience to the next location without simply having crew members in Theater Simple t-shirts telling them where to go, Katz Carey said.

For example, in one of the scenes rehearsed on Aug. 5, Gerda is trapped in a robber camp and the audience is captured right there with her. When she is freed by the robber girl, the robber girl turns to the audience, frees them as well, and tells them to go with Gerda on the rest of her journey.

Holland said she believes children will get the most out of the production style because they do not have the strong sense of need to stay seated during a play and because moving about the Locks will allow them to experience the narrative on more levels than they would in a typical theater setting.

The second largest challenge for the cast and crew was the setting itself.

"The biggest thing is that we have another entire extra character, which is nature," said actor Sam Wilson. "So there's the weather situation, there's the fact that we're at working locks, so there will be sounds from the train tracks, and boats and all that."

Holland said the play will go on even in the case of inclement weather.

But, Wilson said there can be benefits for an actor working in such an imposing space.

"It lets you stretch yourself in terms of being very presentational and having big bold gestures and actions because you're competing against a big open space," he said.

Theater Simple will also be performing the play in Lake Meridian Park in Kent and McCormick Park in Duvall, as well as indoor versions at Bumbershoot and at the Bathhouse Theater at Green Lake in November.

But Holland said the production in Ballard is especially fitting.

"I think it's going to be incredibly beautiful," she said. "'The Snow Queen' is written by a Danish author and having it set in the heart of what is traditionally considered the Scandinavian neighborhood seems really appropriate."

"Gerda's Journey" will show at 5 p.m. on Aug. 23 and 24 at the Ballard Locks.

Michael Harthorne may be reached via bnteditor@robinsonnews.com