Dreaming of the perfect night
Thespians prepare for spring performance
photo by Bailey Fisher
The cast members practice the fairy scene for the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The costume crew made all of the costumes for the play.
April 7, 2017
Shakespeare might be hard to understand to begin with, and the drama department of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has a lot going on. The play shows three different stories: one follows two sets of people falling in love, another follows a group of actors trying to make a play, and the third story takes place in a world ruled by warring fairies. The play also includes several drastically different themes, including romance, action, magic and comedy.
Director Trevor Southworth spent a lot of time transforming the Shakespeare play into a script appropriate for a high school production, reading the play five times before the cast started rehearsals. Some scenes and dialogue had to be cut from the original play to keep it family-friendly, but the plot and many of the lines remained the same.
“Ironically the biggest struggle is also my favorite part,” Southworth said. “This understanding is so extremely important because we need to make sure the audience can follow the story we are trying to tell.”
The script of the play matched the Shakespeare play word for word, and students were able to use Shakespeare books rather than scripts during rehearsal. This meant that the actors had to memorize and perform lines in Shakespearean English, and most actors agreed that this was hardest part of the play. Unlike in many Shakespeare plays, the lines in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” do not rhyme, making the script even difficult to learn.
“At first, there was a challenge with understanding and portraying the language, but as rehearsals have gone on, we have all improved,” sophomore Emily Canamella said.
On top of acting in front of large crowds, the actors face the added pressure of performing Shakespeare, the most well-known playwright in the world, especially since “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays.
Shakespeare is known for his tragic works, but “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is exactly the opposite. There is a light and humorous tone throughout the performance, from silly pranks to wannabe actors messing up the play-inside a play.
The Purebread production and adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be in the auditorium Thursday through Saturday, April 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. and on April 15 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Southworth double-casted the play, meaning there are two different casts performing the play, the second cast will be performing at the 1:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $9 ahead of time, which can be purchased in the cafeteria or $11 at the door.
“Expect a whirlwind of hilarious comedy and a crazy, fun night out at the theatre,” senior Stephen Pitters said. “Although the language is tough, everyone will have a fantastic time.”
