The Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre sits at about 2,000 feet elevation on Mount Tamalpais, its stone seats built into the natural slope of the mountain. The setting provides what no theater designer could create: a stage backed by coastal ridges that change color with the weather and the time of day. The audience looks past the performers to views of Stinson Beach and the Pacific. Hawks circle overhead during matinees. Fog sometimes rolls through mid-performance, adding effects that no stage crew could replicate.

The Mountain Play Association was founded in 1913, making it one of the oldest outdoor theater organizations in the country. The plays have been performed continuously except during wartime and years of extreme drought or fire danger. The tradition draws audiences from across the Bay Area who make the hike to the amphitheater part of the experience -- a pilgrimage up the mountain that transforms a theater outing into an adventure.

Getting to the Mountain Play is part of the performance. Most audience members hike in from various trailheads, arriving at the amphitheater after walks of varying length and difficulty through the redwood and oak forests of Mount Tamalpais. Some arrive early to picnic on the grassy slopes above the seating area. The combination of physical effort, natural beauty, and live performance creates an experience unlike any conventional theater -- one where the audience has earned their seats by walking through the landscape that serves as the backdrop.