The Seem-To-Be Players is gearing up for its 30th anniversary season. In addition to the usual children’s theater fare, the company will be bringing back some of its alums for a show in the spring.

The Seem-To-Be Players are a professional children’s theater based at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.

Lauren Stanford, left, and Andrew Stowers run through lines for Oleanna, a play staged in May by E.M.U. Theatre.

Ric Averill, artistic director, said the season lineup includes:

Sept. 26-29: “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor,” a show that will tour the upper Midwest and the West Coast.

Oct. 26-31: “Cats and Bats III, A Ferret in the Family,” a Halloween show starring Seem-To-Be alum Susanne Pitzer, an arts educator living in New York City.

Feb. 14-16: “The Run-A-Way Orchestra,” which the company will take to Mesa, Ariz., and then tour nationally in 2003-2004.

March 7-9: “The Ugly Duckling,” a fund-raising performance that will feature Seem-To-Be alumni.

April 10-13: “Tales from the Mesquite and Sage,” a play by Averill that was inspired by his trips to Santa Fe and performing a show before a group of Hispanic children in McAllen, Tex. Averill wanted to do a play that would be more relevant to those children. Some of the play is spoken in Spanish, and the company will tour in Arizona and Texas.

Stage and TV

While the Seem-To-Be Players is celebrating its third decade, a couple of indie theaters are hoping to make it past the five-year mark.

Card Table Theater, in its fifth season, is still fleshing out its season, according to co-founder Will Averill. In the works so far are:

Oct. 18-20: Two one-act plays by KU students, in conjunction with English Alternative Theatre.

November: an original play by Averill or another playwright.

December: “The Victor Continental Show,” a spoof of late-night talk shows, current events and Lawrence happenings.

The theater has a permanent rehearsal space at 920 Del. that it shares with other arts groups. Its productions will be at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Card Table also is working on a public access television show, “Ace Stoker in Outer Space,” a spoof on 1930s black-and-white sci-fi films.

“We hope to start it on Oct. 1,” he said. ” We’re going for the 10 p.m. (slot).”

KU students have been a mainstay of Card Table through the years, and Averill said volunteers and aspiring actors are always welcome.

“Don’t be afraid to call if you’re interested,” he said. “We have never turned anyone down who wanted to help.”

On their own terms

Like Card Table, E.M.U. Theatre is still setting up its season. But one event is just around the corner.

Thursday through Aug. 18, the theater will stage a festival of 10-minute plays. The effort will involve about 25 people.

“It will be a nice opportunity for people to come and see one of the aspects of what we do,” said Erin Jones, who has directed several E.M.U. productions.

The festival is a benefit for Amy McCarville, a KU alumna who is entering the Comedia Dell’ Arte this fall.

In October. the company is thinking about doing “The Case of M. Veldeman,” an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story.