Theater and music in the hinterlands

Arts festivals in the summer are as plentiful as crickets - and make as sweet a sound. Musicians who have lugged their instruments around the grimy city all winter flock to rustic villages to play under the trees and stars. Actors and dancers use this time to develop their craft away from the cauldron of New York. While not all performances are outdoors, those that are usually have a more relaxed feel. The festivals provide a prodigious amount of talent in theater, music, and dance. Some of those taking place in Massachusetts are listed below.

Theater:

SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY AT THE MOUNT, Lenox, Mass. (413) 637-3353 (Outdoor stage - evenings)

''Romeo and Juliet,'' July 6-Sept. 1

''Midsummer Night's Dream,'' July 28-Sept. 1

(Indoor stage - afternoons)

''Edith Wharton: Songs From the Heart,'' June 23-Aug. 12

''The Custom of the Country,'' Aug.16-Sept. 2

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL, Williamstown, Mass. (413) 597-3400 (after June 18). As of press time, the season (their 30th Anniversary) hadn't been announced. Season runs from June 28-Aug. 25. Programs will probably be a combination of classics and new plays performed by an ensemble that often includes Blythe Danner, Edward Herrmann, Ken Howard, Austin Pendleton.

Music and dance:

BERKSHIRE BALLET, Pittsfield, Mass. (413) 445-5382

''Firebird,'' ''Petrouchka,'' and repertory, during July and August.

JACOBS PILLOW, Lee, Mass. (413) 637-1322

Martha Graham Dance Company, June 19-23

Pillow Ballet Parade, July 17-22

Ohio Ballet, July 24-28

Hubbard Street Dance Company, July 31-Aug. 4.

Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Aug. 7-11

Ballet Hispanico of New York, Aug. 14-18

Pillow Jazz Parade, Aug. 21-25

Flying Karamazov Brothers, Aug. 28-Sept. 1

Also Jazz at the Pillow:

Pat Metheny Trio, July 8

New Black Eagle Jazz Band, guest star Odetta, July 22

Sonny Rollins, July 29

Paul Winter, Aug. 12

Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Aug. 26

Tom Rush: Club 47, Folk Finale, Sept. 2

BERKSHIRE FESTIVAL AT TANGLEWOOD, Lenox, Mass. (413) 637-1940

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, music director.

Opening gala: Rudolf Serkin, July 1

Isaac Stern, July 6

Boston Pops at Tanglewood, July 10

Eugene Ormandy/Andre Watts, July 20

Beethoven Ninth, July 27

''Beatrice et Benedict,'' Aug. 4

Itzhak Perlman, Aug. 10

Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Aug. 12

Tanglewood-on-Parade, Aug. 14

Yo-Yo Ma, Aug. 19

Final Concert, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Cleveland Orchestra, Aug. 26

CAPE AND ISLANDS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

Concerts and open rehearsals in Yarmouth Port, Wellfleet, Woods Hole, Provincetown, and Nantucket. Aug. 11-29 (after July 1 contact Evelyn Velleman, administrative director, PO Box 72, Yarmouth Port, Mass. 02675. (617) 362-3935