SparkNotes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Key Facts A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare full title · A Midsummer Night’s Dream author · William Shakespeare genres · Comedy; fantasy; romance; farce language · English time and place written · London, 1594 or 1595 date of first publication · 1600 publisher · Thomas Fisher narrator · None climax · In the strictest sense, there is no real climax, as the conflicts of the play are all resolved swiftly by magical means in Act IV; the moment of greatest tension is probably the quarrel between the lovers in Act III, scene ii. protagonist · Because there are three main groups of characters, there is no single protagonist in the play; however, Puck is generally considered the most important character. antagonist · None; the play’s tensions are mostly the result of circumstances, accidents, and mistakes.

settings (time) · Combines elements of Ancient Greece with elements of Renaissance England settings (place) · Athens and the forest outside its walls point of view · Varies from scene to scene falling action · Act V, scene i, which centers on the craftsmen’s play tense · Present Charles and Mary Lamb – William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream | Genius 2. A Midsummer-Night’s Dream THERE was a law in the city of Athens which gave to its citizens the power of compelling their daughters to marry whomsoever they pleased; for upon a daughter’s refusing to marry the man her father had chosen to be her husband, the father was empowered by this law to cause her to be put to death; but as fathers do not often desire the death of their own daughters, even though they do happen to prove a little refractory, this law was seldom or never put in execution, though perhaps the young ladies of that city were not unfrequently threatened by their parents with the terrors of it.

1 There was one instance, however, of an old man, whose name was Egeus, who actually did come before Theseus (at that time the reigning duke of Athens), to complain that his daughter Hermia, whom he had commanded to marry Demetrius, a young man of a noble Athenian family, refused to obey him, because she loved another young Athenian, named Lysander. Egeus demanded justice of Theseus, and desired that this cruel law might be put in force against his daughter. 2 Hermia pleaded in excuse for her disobedience, that Demetrius had formerly professed love for her dear friend Helena, and that Helena loved Demetrius to distraction; but this honourable reason, which Hermia gave for not obeying her father’s command, moved not the stern Egeus. 3 Theseus, though a great and merciful prince, had no power to alter the laws of his country; therefore he could only give Hermia four days to consider of it: and at the end of that time, if she still refused to marry Demetrius, she was to be put to death.

4 When Hermia was dismissed from the presence of the duke, she went to her lover Lysander, and told him the peril she was in, and that she must either give him up and marry Demetrius, or lose her life in four days. 5 Lysander was in great affliction at hearing these evil tidings; but recollecting that he had an aunt who lived at some distance from Athens, and that at the place where she lived the cruel law could not be put in force against Hermia (this law not extending beyond the boundaries of the city), he proposed to Hermia that she should steal out of her father’s house that night, and go with him to his aunt’s house, where he would marry her. “I will meet you,” said Lysander, “in the wood a few miles without the city; in that delightful wood where we have so often walked with Helena in the pleasant month of May.” 6 To this proposal Hermia joyfully agreed; and she told no one of her intended flight but her friend Helena.

Helena (as maidens will do foolish things for love) very ungenerously resolved to go and tell this to Demetrius, though she could hope no benefit from betraying her friend’s secret, but the poor pleasure of following her faithless lover to the wood; for she well knew that Demetrius would go thither in pursuit of Hermia. 7 The wood in which Lysander and Hermia proposed to meet was the favourite haunt of those little beings known by the name of Fairies. 8 Oberon the king, and Titania the queen of the fairies, with all their tiny train of followers, in this wood held their midnight revels. 9 Between this little king and queen of sprites there happened, at this time, a sad disagreement; they never met by moonlight in the shady walks of this pleasant wood, but they were quarrelling, till all their fairy elves would creep into acorn-cups and hide themselves for fear. 10 The cause of this unhappy disagreement was Titania’s refusing to give Oberon a little changeling boy, whose mother had been Titania’s friend; and upon her death the fairy queen stole the child from its nurse, and brought him up in the woods.

11 The night on which the lovers were to meet in this wood, as Titania was walking with some of her maids of honour, she met Oberon attended by his train of fairy courtiers. 12 “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania,” said the fairy king. The queen replied, “What, jealous Oberon, is it you? Fairies, skip hence; I have foresworn his company.”—“Tarry, rash fairy,” said Oberon; “am not I thy lord? Why does Titania cross her Oberon? Give me your little changeling boy to be my page.” 13 Set your heart at rest,” answered the queen; “your whole fairy kingdom buys not the boy of me.” She then left her lord in great anger. “Well, go your way,” said Oberon “before the morning dawns I will torment you for this injury.” 14 Oberon then sent for Puck, his chief favourite and privy counsellor.

15 Puck (or as he was sometimes called, Robin Goodfellow) was a shrewd and knavish sprite, that used to play comical pranks in the neighbouring villages; sometimes getting into the dairies and skimming the milk, sometimes plunging his light and airy form into the butter-churn, and while he was dancing his fantastic shape in the churn, in vain the dairymaid would labour to change her cream into butter: nor had the village swains any better success; whenever Puck chose to play his freaks in the brewing copper, the ale was sure to be spoiled.

When a few good neighbours were met to drink some comfortable ale together, Puck would jump into the bowl of ale in the likeness of a roasted crab, and when some old goody was going to drink he would bob against her lips, and spill the ale over her withered chin; and presently after, when the same old dame was gravely seating herself to tell her neighbours a sad and melancholy story, Puck would slip her three-legged stool from under her, and down toppled the poor old woman, and then the old gossips would hold their sides and laugh at her, and swear they never wasted a merrier hour. 16 “Come hither, Puck,” said Oberon to this little merry wanderer of the night; “fetch me the flower which maids call Love in Idleness; the juice of that little purple flower laid on the eyelids of those who sleep, will make them, when they awake, dote on the first thing they see.

Some of the juice of that flower I will drop on the eyelids of my Titania when she is asleep; and the first thing she looks upon when she opens her eyes she will fall in love with, even though it be a lion or a bear, a meddling monkey, or a busy ape; and before I will take this charm from off her sight, which I can do with another charm I know of, I will make her give me that boy to be my page.” 17 Puck, who loved mischief to his heart, was highly diverted with this intended frolic of his master, and ran to seek the flower; and while Oberon was waiting the return of Puck, he observed Demetrius and Helena enter the wood; he overheard Demetrius reproaching Helena for following him, and after many unkind words on his part, and gentle expostulations from Helena, reminding him of his former love and professions of true faith to her, he left her, as he said, to the mercy of the wild beasts, and she ran after him as swiftly as she could.

18 The fairy king, who was always friendly to true lovers, felt great compassion for Helena; and perhaps, as Lysander said they used to walk by moonlight in this pleasant wood, Oberon might have seen Helena in those happy times when she was beloved by Demetrius. However that might be, when Puck returned with the little purple flower, Oberon said to his favourite, “Take a part of this flower; there has been a sweet Athenian lady here, who is in love with a disdainful youth; if you find him sleeping, drop some of the love-juice in his eyes, but contrive to do it when she is near him, that the first thing he sees when he awakes may be this despised lady. You will know the man by the Athenian garments which he wears.” Puck promised to manage this matter very dexterously: and then Oberon went, unperceived by Titania, to her bower, where she was preparing to go to rest. Her fairy bower was a bank, where grew wild thyme, cowslips, and sweet violets, under a canopy of woodbine, musk-roses, and eglantine.

There Titania always slept some part of the night; her coverlet the enamelled skin of a snake, which, though a small mantle, was wide enough to wrap a fairy in. 19 He found Titania giving orders to her fairies, how they were to employ themselves while she slept. “Some of you,” said her majesty, “must kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, and some wage war with the bats for their leathern wings, to make my small elves coats; and some of you keep watch that the clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, come not near me: but first sing me to sleep.” Then they began to sing this song: “You spotted snakes with double tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen Newts and blind-worms do no wrong Come not near our Fairy Queen.

Philomel, with melody Sing in our sweet lullaby Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby; Never harm, nor spell, nor charm, Come our lovely lady nigh; So good night with lullaby.” 20 When the fairies had sung their queen asleep with this pretty lullaby, they left her to perform the important services she had enjoined them. Oberon then softly drew near his Titania, and dropped some of the love-juice on her eyelids, saying: “What thou seest when thou wake Do it for thy true-love take.” 21 But to return to Hermia, who made her escape out of her father’s house that night, to avoid the death she was doomed to for refusing to marry Demetrius.

When she entered the wood, she found her dear Lysander waiting for her, to conduct her to his aunt’s house; but before they had passed half through the wood, Hermia was so much fatigued, that Lysander, who was very careful of this dear lady, who had proved her affection for him even by hazarding her life for his sake, persuaded her to rest till morning on a bank of soft moss, and lying down himself on the ground at some little distance, they soon fell fast asleep. Here they were found by Puck, who, seeing a handsome young man asleep, and perceiving that his clothes were made in the Athenian fashion, and that a pretty lady was sleeping near him, concluded that this must be the Athenian maid and her disdainful lover whom Oberon had sent him to seek; and he naturally enough conjectured that, as they were alone together, she must be the first thing he would see when he awoke; so, without more ado, he proceeded to pour some of the juice of the little purple flower into his eyes.

But it so fell out, that Helena came that way, and, instead of Hermia, was the first object Lysander beheld when he opened his eyes; and strange to relate, so powerful was the love-charm, all his love for Hermia vanished away, and Lysander fell in love with Helena. 22 Had he first seen Hermia when he awoke, the blunder Puck committed would have been of no consequence, for he could not love that faithful lady too well; but for poor Lysander to be forced by a fairy love-charm to forget his own true Hermia, and to run after another lady, and leave Hermia asleep quite alone in a wood at midnight, was a sad chance indeed. 23 Thus this misfortune happened. Helena, as has been before related, endeavoured to keep pace with Demetrius when he ran away so rudely from her; but she could not continue this unequal race long, men being always better runners in a long race than ladies. Helena soon lost sight of Demetrius; and as she was wandering about, dejected and forlorn, she arrived at the place where Lysander was sleeping.

“Ah!” said she, “this is Lysander lying on the ground: is he dead or asleep?” Then, gently touching him, she said: “Good sir, if you are alive, awake.” Upon this Lysander opened his eyes, and (the love-charm beginning to work) immediately addressed her in terms of extravagant love and admiration; telling her she as much excelled Hermia in beauty as a dove does a raven, and that he would run through fire for her sweet sake; and many more such lover-like speeches. Helena, knowing Lysander was her friend Hermia’s lover, and that he was solemnly engaged to marry her, was in the utmost rage when she heard herself addressed in this manner, for she thought (as well she might) that Lysander was making a jest of her. “Oh!” said she, “why was I born to be mocked and scorned by every one? Is it not enough, is it not enough, young man, that I can never get a sweet look or a kind word from Demetrius; but you, sir, must pretend in this disdainful manner to court me?

I thought, Lysander, you were a lord of more true gentleness.” Saying these words in great anger, she ran away; and Lysander followed her, quite forgetful of his own Hermia, who was still asleep. 24 When Hermia awoke, she was in a sad fright at finding herself alone. She wandered about the wood, not knowing what was become of Lysander, or which way to go to seek for him. In the meantime Demetrius, not being able to find Hermia and his rival Lysander, and fatigued with his fruitless search, was observed by Oberon fast asleep.

Oberon had learnt by some questions he had asked of Puck, that he had applied the love-charm to the wrong person’s eyes; and now having found the person first intended, he touched the eyelids of the sleeping Demetrius with the love-juice, and he instantly awoke; and the first thing he saw being Helena, he, as Lysander had done before, began to address love-speeches to her; and just at that moment Lysander, followed by Hermia (for through Puck’s unlucky mistake it was now become Hermia’s turn to run after her lover) made his appearance; and then Lysander and Demetrius, both speaking together, made love to Helena, they being each one under the influence of the same potent charm. 25 The astonished Helena thought that Demetrius, Lysander, and her once dear friend Hermia, were all in a plot together to make a jest of her. 26 Hermia was as much surprised as Helena; she knew not why Lysander and Demetrius, who both before loved her, were now become the lovers of Helena; and to Hermia the matter seemed to be no jest.

27 The ladies, who before had always been the dearest of friends, now fell to high words together. 28 “Unkind Hermia,” said Helena, “it is you have set Lysander on to vex me with mock praises; and your other lover Demetrius, who used almost to spurn me with his foot, have you not bid him call me Goddess, Nymph, rare, precious, and celestial? He would not speak thus to me, whom he hates, if you did not set him on to make a jest of me. Unkind Hermia, to join with men in scorning your poor friend. Have you forgot our school-day friendship? How often, Hermia, have we two, sitting on one cushion, both singing one song, with our needles working the same flower, both on the same sampler wrought; growing up together in fashion of a double cherry, scarcely seeming parted!

Hermia, it is not friendly in you, it is not maidenly to join with men in scorning your poor friend.” 29 “I am amazed at your passionate words,” said Hermia; “I scorn you not; it seems you scorn me.”—“Ay, do,” returned Hermia, “persevere, counterfeit serious looks, and make mouths at me when I turn my back; then wink at each other, and hold the sweet jest up. If you had any pity, grace, or manners, you would not use me thus.” 30 While Helena and Hermia were speaking these angry words to each other, Demetrius and Lysander left them, to fight together in the wood for the love of Helena. 31 When they found the gentlemen had left them, they departed, and once more wandered weary in the wood in search of their lovers.

32 As soon as they were gone, the fairy king, who with little Puck had been listening to their quarrels, said to him, “This is your negligence, Puck; or did you do this wilfully?”—“Believe me, king of shadows,” answered Puck, “it was a mistake; did not you tell me I should know the man by his Athenian garments? However, I am not sorry this has happened, for I think their jangling makes excellent sport.”—“You heard,” said Oberon, “that Demetrius and Lysander are gone to seek a convenient place to fight in. I command you to overhang the night with a thick fog, and lead these quarrelsome lovers so astray in the dark, that they shall not be able to kind each other. Counterfeit each of their voices to the other, and with bitter taunts provoke them to follow you, while they think it is their rival’s tongue they hear.

See you do this, till they are so weary they can go no farther; and when you find they are asleep, drop the juice of this other flower into Lysander’s eyes, and when he awakes he will forget his new love for Helena, and return to his old passion for Hermia; and then the two fair ladies may each one be happy with the man she loves, and they will think all that has passed a vexatious dream. About this quickly, Puck, and I will go and see what sweet love my Titania has found.” 33 Titania was still sleeping, and Oberon seeing a clown near her, who had lost his way in the wood, and was likewise asleep: “This fellow,” said he, “shall be my Titania’s true love;” and clapping an ass’s head over the clown’s, it seemed to fit him as well as if it had grown upon his own shoulders. Though Oberon fixed the ass’s head on very gently, it awakened him, and rising up, unconscious of what Oberon had done to him, he went towards the bower where the fairy queen slept. 34 “Ah!

what angel is that I see?” said Titania, opening her eyes, and the juice of the little purple flower beginning to take effect; “are you as wise as you are beautiful?” 35 “Why, mistress,” said the foolish clown, “if I have wit enough to find the way out of this wood, I have enough to serve my turn.” 36 “Out of the wood do not desire to go,” said the enamoured queen. “I am a spirit of no common rate. I love you. Go with me, and I will give you fairies to attend upon you.” 37 She then called four of her fairies: their names were, Pease-blossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustard-seed. 38 “Attend,” said the queen, “upon this sweet gentleman; hop in his walks, and gambol in his sight; feed him with grapes and apricots, and steal for him the honey-bags from the bees. Come, sit with me,” said she to the clown, “and let me play with your amiable hairy cheeks, my beautiful ass!

and kiss your fair large ears, my gentle joy!” 39 “Where is Pease-blossom?” said the ass-headed clown, not much regarding the fairy queen’s courtship, but very proud of his new attendants. 40 “Here, sir,” said little Pease-blossom. 41 “Scratch my head,” said the clown. “Where is Cobweb?” 42 “Here, sir,” said Cobweb. 43 “Good Mr. Cobweb,” said the foolish clown, “kill me the red humble bee on the top of that thistle yonder; and, good Mr. Cobweb, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, Mr. Cobweb, and take care the honey-bag break not; I should be sorry to have you overflown with a honey-bag. Where is Mustard-seed?” 44 “Here, sir,” said Mustard-seed: “what is your will?” 45 “Nothing,” said the clown, “good Mr. Mustard-seed, but to help Mr. Pease-blossom to scratch; I must go to a barber’s, Mr.

Mustard-seed, for methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face.” 46 “My sweet love,” said the queen, “what will you have to eat? I have a venturous fairy shall seek the squirrel’s hoard, and fetch you some new nuts.” 47 “I had rather have a handful of dried pease,” said the clown, who with his ass’s head had got an ass’s appetite. “But, I pray, let none of your people disturb me, for I have a mind to sleep.” 48 “Sleep, then,” said the queen, “and I will wind you in my arms. O how I love you! how I dote upon you!” 49 When the fairy king saw the clown sleeping in the arms of his queen, he advanced within her sight, and reproached her with having lavished her favours upon an ass. 50 This she could not deny, as the clown was then sleeping within her arms, with his ass’s head crowned by her with flowers.

51 When Oberon had teased her for some time, he again demanded the changeling boy; which she, ashamed of being discovered by her lord with her new favourite, did not dare to refuse him. 52 Oberon, having thus obtained the little boy he had so long wished for to be his page, took pity on the disgraceful situation into which, by his merry contrivance, he had brought his Titania and threw some of the juice of the other flower into her eyes; and the fairy queen immediately recovered her senses, and wondered at her late dotage, saying how she now loathed the sight of the strange monster. 53 Oberon likewise took the ass’s head from off the clown, and left him to finish his nap with his own fool’s head upon his shoulders. 54 Oberon and his Titania being now perfectly reconciled, he related to her the history of the lovers, and their midnight quarrels; and she agreed to go with him and see the end of their adventures.

55 The fairy king and queen found the lovers and their fair ladies, at no great distance from each other, sleeping on a grass-plot; for Puck, to make amends for his former mistake, had contrived with the utmost diligence to bring them all to the same spot, unknown to each other: and he had carefully removed the charm from off the eyes of Lysander with the antidote the fairy king gave to him. 56 Hermia first awoke, and finding her lost Lysander asleep so near her, was looking at him and wondering at his strange inconstancy. Lysander presently opening his eyes, and seeing his dear Hermia, recovered his reason which the fairy charm had before clouded, and with his reason, his love for Hermia; and they began to talk over the adventures of the night, doubting if these things had really happened, or if they had both been dreaming the same bewildering dream.

57 Helena and Demetrius were by this time awake; and a sweet sleep having quieted Helena’s disturbed and angry spirits, she listened with delight to the professions of love which Demetrius still made to her, and which, to her surprise as well as pleasure, she began to perceive were sincere. 58 These fair night-wandering ladies, now no longer rivals, became once more true friends; all the unkind words which had passed were forgiven, and they calmly consulted together what was best to be done in their present situation. It was soon agreed that, as Demetrius had given up his pretensions to Hermia, he should endeavour to prevail upon her father to revoke the cruel sentence of death which had been passed against her. Demetrius was preparing to return to Athens for this friendly purpose, when they were surprised with the sight of Egeus, Hermia’s father, who came to the wood in pursuit of his runaway daughter.

59 When Egeus understood that Demetrius would not now marry his daughter, he no longer opposed her marriage with Lysander, but gave his consent that they should be wedded on the fourth day from that time, being the same day on which Hermia had been condemned to lose her life; and on that same day Helena joyfully agreed to marry her beloved and now faithful Demetrius. 60 The fairy king and queen, who were invisible spectators of this reconciliation, and now saw the happy ending of the lovers’ history, brought about through the good offices of Oberon, received so much pleasure, that these kind spirits resolved to celebrate the approaching nuptials with sports and revels throughout their fairy kingdom. 61 And now, if any are offended with this story of fairies and their pranks, as judging it incredible and strange, they have only to think that they have been asleep and dreaming, and that all these adventures were visions which they saw in their sleep: and I hope none of my readers will be so unreasonable as to be offended with a pretty harmless Midsummer Night’s Dream.

More on Genius This page is accessible to Verified artists on the song Locked This song has been locked and is considered "done." You need 600 IQ to add annotations to locked songs. "William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream" Track Info a midsummer night’s dream | Shakespeare in LA by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Independent Shakespeare Co. Tatiana Louder and Erwin Tuazon. Photo credit: Ko Zushi Photography How do you follow up a summer season of Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park for audiences that number in the hundreds each night? By going intimate, which is exactly what Independent Shakespeare Co. is doing this fall. On Saturday, October 15, the company will open A Midsummer Night’s Dream in its Independent Studio in Atwater Village, directed by ISC’s Managing Director, David Melville. In Midsummer, the lines between dreaming and waking are deliciously blurred. As the King and Queen of fairies do battle in a fantastical forest, they find their world interrupted by mortals: four young lovers on the run and a group of amateur actors preparing for the biggest performance of their lives.

As the humans submit to the magic of the woods, they find themselves in the longest, wildest, most transformative night of their lives. Director David Melville says, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream is actually one of Shakespeare’s most sophisticated plays. In it, Shakespeare creates a world that is as confounding as it is magical. Its intricately plotted, intersecting storylines evoke a complex world full of unseen forces. Our production, in which nine actors switch almost acrobatically from role to role, is as fun and lively as the audience expects, but also explores the darker and more elemental underpinnings and energy of the play. The action of the play is over the course of one wild, mysterious night, and our production reflects that—it’s like being at a really great, weird party full of eccentrics.” The cast will feature Jose Acain, Sam Breen, April Fritz, Martha Gehman, Faqir Hassan, Tatiana Louder, Evan Lewis Smith, Erwin Tuazon and Kalean Ung. Lighting Design is by Bosco Flanagan. Costume Design is by Lauren Opplet. Composer and Sound Design by David Melville. A Gala Opening Benefit Performance and Party will take place Saturday, October 22.

A benefit performance to support ISC’s ‘Theater For All’ initiative, providing access to performances all year long. This season, 20% of the ISC Studio tickets are offered free to underserved youth, families on a limited income, and other members of our community that typically do not have access to the performing arts; through partnerships with a select group of Los Angeles school and community organizations, like P.S. ARTS. There are also a limited number of free tickets available to anyone who needs them. Tickets for the benefit are $100. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM October 15 – November 20, 2016 (opening night 10/21) Independent Studio, 3191 Casitas Avenue #168 (between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Blvd.) Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex Los Angeles, CA 90039 by Shakespeare in LA in Long Beach Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Children's Theatre of Long Beach Children’s Theatre of Long Beach will present a 90-minute performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Bixby Park at the Bandshell Stage, July 22-24.

The family-friendly show is produced in partnership with Friends of Bixby Park and offers free admission and an audience participation pre-show. Bring your low-back chars, blankets and a picnic dinner to enjoy in the park and get ready for a fun, physical production full of laughs. It’s a great way to introduce the whole family to Shakespeare! A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM July 22, 23 & 24, 2016 6:00pm by Shakespeare in LA in Thousand Oaks Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival L-R: Pallavi Srinivasan (Peaseblossom), Marc Silver (Bottom) and Nawal Bengholam i(Titania). Photo by Brian Stethem/Cal Lutheran. It was a moment of art becoming life for Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s associate artistic director, Brett Elliott, when he played Lysander in the festival’s revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2006. That was the year he proposed to his wife, Jane, onstage while she played opposite him in the role of Hermia.

To make it even more romantic (get ready to swoon ladies) Elliott used only Shakespeare’s text, and neither he nor Jane stopped the scene or broke character. He did add a single prop – a real diamond ring. For this production, opening July 15, the roles of Lysander and Hermia will be played by Cal Lutheran alumnus Seta Wainiqolo, a graduate student at Yale School of Drama, and Angela Gulner, a graduate of the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard University. Gulner played Viola two years ago in the company’s production of Twelfth Night and was last seen as the French princess, Katherine, in Henry V. Elliott sets the play in a world reminiscent of the British Raj in India at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution because he has long been struck by several references to the Indian subcontinent in the play. He says the setting is “a place where the logic and technology of the West rubs against the art and spirit of the East, where the ancient mingles with the modern, where love crosses all boundaries, and where all who enter the forest emerge changed.” Resident composer Christopher Hoag has created an orchestral score with a Hindustani Classical influence for the play.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors, the mechanicals, who are all controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. It was also the first play performed by Kingsmen Shakespeare Company for its festival in 1997. In addition to Wainiqolo and Gulner, the cast will also feature returning Kingsmen veterans Andy Babinski as Philostrate, Michael Faulkner as Theseus, Ross Hellwig as Demetrius, Robert Nairn as Starveling, Jason D. Rennie as Puck, Marc Silver as Bottom and John Slade as Quince. Company newcomer Nawal Bengholam will play Titania. Ty Mayberry follows his title role in Henry V by playing Oberon. In another real life coincidence, Mayberry’s two young sons, Lucas and Leo, will make their stage debut as Changelings. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM July 15 – 31, 2016 (8pm) Kingsmen Park on the Thousand Oaks campus of California Lutheran University Festival grounds open at 5:30 pm for picnicking and entertainment.

General admission is $20 for adults and free for children under 18. Individual tickets are available at the door only. For lawn box reservations, visit kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3452. The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theater company of Cal Lutheran. Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Interviews , Music , Thousand Oaks Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Henry V , Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival For the past seven years, composer Christopher Hoag has conjured up battle scenes, storms, romance, and adventure with his music for Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s annual summer festival. If you’ve seen one of their productions, you know how beautifully his rich orchestral scores enhance Shakespeare’s text on their outdoor festival stage. He’s back again this year writing music for two shows: the currently running Henry V, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, opening July 15. Here he talks about the process of bringing the world of Shakespeare’s plays to life with music. Christopher Hoag Chris, you’re working with director Michael Arndt on Henry V. Where do you find your musical inspiration?

The reasons why the director and I make the stylistic choices we do for the Kingsmen scores are always varied. Sometimes it’s the period, sometimes it comes from a conceptual approach to the play. In the case of our Henry V, it was a combination of both. The score really stems from Michael’s idea to put the Chorus in modern times as a documentary narrator/TV reporter, and the actual events of the play proper in a more period setting. I had to bridge those two worlds. So I thought it would be fun to do a very electronic sounding score; one that’s still dramatic and orchestral in nature, but using predominately electronic orchestrations towards that end. The score is really an homage to the electronic scores that I grew up with in the 80s by composers like Vangelis, Michael Stearns, Tangerine Dream, and Wendy Carlos. It’s been great fun exploring these sounds both in a modern and period context. The electronics also have a tendency to be a bit cooler and removed emotionally, which I believe reflects Michael’s interest in how modern media portrays serious events through a sometimes very aloof and self-serving lens. Ultimately, much of the play is about war; the triumphs and the tremendous tragedies.

And those things are also major points of reference for the music. Are there particular cues or sequences we should listen for? I feel very fortunate in that I am often asked to write an “overture” for the Kingsmen shows. It’s a bit of an old-fashioned thing to do, but as a composer it’s a great opportunity to stretch out and to musically “set the emotional stage” for what you are about to experience. It’s also very helpful for me to draw from it as I go through the process of scoring the rest of the play. The overture for Henry V states the main motifs that recur numerous times throughout the show. Beyond that, I’d suggest listening for the “Once more unto the breach” speech which goes into the siege at Harfleur. I love scoring dialog. It’s a delicate thing, but when it’s working there’s nothing better for me personally. And this is such a rousing and powerful speech. Here, the music is constantly building and modulating, but never quite resolving….until the final charge into battle. Of course, aside from the director, it’s always a hugely important thing for the actors to be okay with the music I write for them.

And in this case our Henry, played brilliantly by Ty Mayberry, asked for a copy of the music so he could work with it. The cue is in two parts and it’s built in such a way that Ty has plenty of room to play. It’s a good example of the wonderfully collaborative nature of this company. More Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Inland Empire , Pomona Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Ophelia's Jump , Othello Ophelia’s Jump’s Annual Midsummer Shakespeare Festival presents two Shakespeare classics beginning July 14. Performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (opening 7/14) and Othello (opening 7/15) will alternate each night in Pomona College’s Sontag Greek Theatre, a beautiful outdoor amphitheater originally built in 1910 and renovated in 1997. Prior to the performance, a 30-minute Green Show acts as an entertaining prelude to the main performance. Bring a picnic and don’t forget a small blanket or cushion for added comfort. The productions will run through July 24 at The Sontag Greek Theatre at Pomona College in Claremont.

The festival, co-sponsored by Pomona College, includes exhibits, arts and crafts by community businesses and organizations. Tickets are available at , or by calling 909-541-5850. Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Independent Shakespeare Co. , Made in L.A. The Made in L.A. cultural series is offering a special free performance of Independent Shakespeare Co.’s Bottom’s Dream, a Whimsical Re-telling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Sunday, May 15 downtown at the Central Library. The performance begins at 2pm in the library’s Mark Taper Auditorium. Space is limited. For complete details, to make a reservation, and to read the standby policy go to Lapl.me or call (213) 228-7388. ISC presents the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival each summer and this family-friendly performance is a great prelude to their upcoming season, which includes Shakespeare’s Richard III and The Tempest performed on an outdoor stage in Griffith Park.

In its quest to build community and bring quality entertainment to all of Los Angeles, ISC continues to create theatre that appeals to a contemporary audience and form partnerships with other city and community organizations that share its mission. ISC’s co-founder David Melville will also lead a class at Palms Rancho Park Library on Tuesday, May 24 from 6m – 8pm. In this session he will introduce audience members to the history and fundamentals of lyrical verse speaking, beginning with Chaucer and moving through Shakespeare’s English. For more about Made in L.A.’s cultural series of free performances visit Lapl.org/madeinla . Photo of Danny Campbell as Bottom and Melissa Chalsma as Titania by Grettel Cortes Photography Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Thousand Oaks Tags: a midsummer night's dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photo credit: Brian Stethem/Cal Lutheran Looking for a fun way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death? Take a drive up to the campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare-a-thon on Saturday and Sunday, April 23 & 24.

They’ll be celebrating with 24 hours of activities including a sonnet marathon, a candlelight reading of Macbeth and Shakespeare yoga. It’s a free Bard-day bash beginning with a welcome reception at 4pm on the 23rd, which is the date of Shakespeare’s death and also, according to tradition, his birth in 1564. Events will continue with a game at 6:30 pm, a panel discussion on setting plays in traditional and alternative settings at 7 pm, and an interactive Shakespeare slam at 8 pm. Macbeth will be read by candlelight at 9:30 pm. and musical works inspired by the Bard will be played starting at midnight. Additional events include a presentation on the concept of time in Romeo and Juliet at 5:30 pm by Bill Walthall, a former high school English and drama teacher in Oxnard who writes The Bill Shakespeare Project blog. Then at 6 pm, the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare Educational Tour will give a workshop demonstration.

April 24 will begin with yoga incorporating Shakespeare quotations at 8am (just think about that for a moment) and continue with a sonnet brunch at 10:30, a cabaret 11:30, and conclude with a reception at 3:30 pm. A panel of actors will share their experiences portraying Hamlet at 9:30 am and a full reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will be featured at this year’s summer festival, will begin at 12:30 pm. Also part of the summer festival is Henry V, an educational tour to local schools, an apprentice company, and a theater camp. Throughout the marathon, visitors will be able to step into a video-recording booth to talk about their connections to Shakespeare and the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. Snippets will be shared prior to the closing reception. All events will be held in or around Overton Hall, which is located on the south side of Memorial Parkway near Regent Avenue. Free parking is available in the lots at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Blvd. If you can’t make it in person, the Shakespeare-a-thon will also be streamed live at CalLutheran.edu/live .

For more information, go to KingsmenShakespeare.org/400-years . Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Films , Los Angeles Tags: a midsummer night's dream , Arena Cinema , as you like it , Chimes at Midnight , king lear , taming of the shrew Mark your calendars now: Arena Cinema Hollywood is commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death by presenting a Free Shakespeare film series. While the films are free, you must still make a reservation online at ArenaScreen.com or by calling (323) 306-0676. The Shakespeare series runs April 22 – 28 at Arena Cinema Hollywood, 1625 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028. Here’s what’s on the docket: As You Like It Sat. April 23 at 4:00 and Tues. April 26 at 5:30 This U.S. premiere is directed by Michael Elliott and Ronald Eyre and stars Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Allen, Ian Richardson, Patsy Byrne, Max Adrian and Patrick Wymark. BBC Worldwide North America.

B&W, 1963 U.K., 135 minutes. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Sunday, April 24 at 7:40; Thurs. April 28 at 5:30 Also a U.S. premiere, it is directed by James Cellan Jones and produced by Cedric Messina, starring Lynn Redgrave, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Edward Fox, Eleanor Bron, Robert Stephens and Ronnie Barker. Set in Edwardian England and filmed in and around Scotney Castle in Kent. BBC Worldwide North America. Color, 1971, U.K., 120 minutes. King Lear Sun. April 24 at 5:00; Mon. April 25 at 7:10 Directed and adapted by Richard Eyre, this National Theater production is done in a sparse modernistic style and stars Ian Holm, Victoria Hamilton, Amanda Redman, Barbara Flynn, Timothy West and Paul Rhys. BBC Worldwide North America. Color, 1998, U.K./U.S.A., 150 minutes. The Taming of the Shrew Sat. Apr. 23 at 9:55 p.m.; Tues.

April 26 at 7:50 Directed by David Richards, adapted by Sally Wainwright and produced by Diederick Santer starring Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell, Santiago Cabrera, Twiggy Lawson, Jaime Murray and David Mitchell. In this sexy update, Kate is a Member of Parliament who marries up in order to advance her goal of becoming a party leader. BBC Worldwide North America. Color, 2005, U.K., 90 minutes. Chimes at Midnight Fri. Apr. 22 at 6:30; Sat. Apr. 23 at 6:20; Wed. April 27 at 7:10; Thurs. April 28 at 7:35 Directed by Orson Welles. Adapted by Welles from Henry IV, Part One; Henry IV, Part Two; and Henry V and The Holinshed Chronicles. Produced by Harry Saltzman, Emiliano Piedra and Angel Escolano. Starring Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud, Margaret Rutherford and Marina Vlady. Orson Welles as Falstaff in one of Welles’ finest achievements. Janus Films.

B&W, 1967, France/Spain/Switzerland, 113 minutes. Hamlet Sun. Apr. 24 at 3:30; Mon. Apr. 25 at 5:30. Wed. Apr. 27 at 5:30 Directed and adapted by Bruce Ramsay. Produced by Ramsay, Joseph Gould and John Cassini. Starring Bruce Ramsay, Lara Gilchrist, Peter Wingfield, Gillian Barber, John Cassini and Duncan Fraser. This modern-dress version of the story of the melancholy Danish prince and the intrigues surrounding his family is set in postwar London. Breaking Glass Pictures. Color, 2014, Canada, 88 minutes. Discounted parking is available with validation at lots adjacent to the venue and across the street.

Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: a midsummer night's dream , romeo & juliet , Theatricum Botanicum , Titus Andronicus In 2016 we celebrate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death and, in Topanga Canyon, Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum will feature three of Shakespeare’s classics as part of its upcoming summer season. Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, and the company’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will join Tom, a world premiere adaptation with music and The Imaginary Invalid for another spectacular season outdoor under the oaks. Here is the complete season which has been chosen to shine a light on current social issues both timely and significant in this important election year. The company will examine: The Middle East through the lens of Shakespeare: The repertory season kicks off on June 4 with Romeo and Juliet, set in East Jerusalem. Director Ellen Geer elucidates the continued relevance of this 421-year-old play, setting Shakespeare’s tale of forbidden love and warring families in a city beset by age-old prejudices, street violence and religious differences.

More Share this: by Shakespeare in LA in Interviews , Los Angeles Tags: a midsummer night's dream , UCLA TFT The cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photos by Michael Lamont A very special production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on stage right now at UCLA, presented by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. It features second- and third- year M.F.A. students from UCLA TFT’s Department of Theater and is unique because it is being directed by Ellen Lauren, co-artistic director of New York’s SITI Company and UCLA Visiting Associate Professor. For the past 30 years, Lauren has been an associate artist with the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) based in Japan under the direction of Tadashi Suzuki. A faculty member at The Juilliard School of Drama at Lincoln Center since 1995, she is also a recipient of the TCG Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement, and founding member of the International Symposium on the Suzuki Method of Actor Training. Now, her students are putting into practice the techniques they have been studying with her in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, set in California in the early 1930s.

It was a time when thousands migrated from the Dust Bowl states to find a new life and it was also a time of innovation and experimentation in Hollywood. For so many, hardship was alleviated by escaping into the dreamlike world of the darkened movie theaters. More Share this: A Midsummer's Night Dream - June 2009 by William Shakespeare directed by Anna Antaramian The wedding of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to the amazon Hippolyta is fast approaching. In the nearby woods, Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, are quarreling and stand in stubborn opposition to each other. A group of tormented young lovers traipse through the forest while a band of bumbling but earnest working class actors practice a play. Worlds collide as Oberon’s trusty sprite, Puck, uses his fairy mischief to intertwine their lives with hilarious effect. Join us for an evening full of royalty and rustics, of determined romantics and whimsical spirits, and of the magic of love in this poetic and unforgettable tale told through the beauty of Shakespeare’s language.

Synopsis The play features three interlocking plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazonian queen, Hippolyta, and set simultaneously in the woodland, and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. In the opening scene, Hermia refuses to follow her father Egeus's instructions for her to marry his chosen man, Demetrius. In response, Egeus quotes before Theseus an ancient Athenian law whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus does not want this young girl to die, and offers her another choice, lifelong chastity worshipping the goddess Diana as a nun. (The word 'nun' in this sense is an anachronism.) Hermia and her lover Lysander decide to elope by escaping through the forest at night. Hermia informs her friend Helena, but Helena has recently been rejected by Demetrius and decides to win back his favour by revealing the plan to him. Demetrius, followed doggedly by Helena, chases Hermia. Hermia and Lysander, believing themselves safely out of reach, sleep in the woods.

Meanwhile, Oberon, king of the fairies, and his queen, Titania, were in the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until after she has attended Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon for use as his "knight" or "henchman," since the child's mother was one of Titania's worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania's disobedience. So he calls for the mischievous Puck (also called Hobgoblin and Robin Goodfellow) to help him apply a magical juice from a flower called "love-in-idleness", which when applied to a person's sleeping eyelids while sleeping makes the victim fall in love with the first living thing seen upon awakening. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower so that he can make Titania fall in love with some vile creature of the forest. Oberon streaks Titania's eyes with the juice while she is sleeping to distract her and force her to give up the page-boy.

Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the elixir on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Instead, Puck accidentally puts the juice on the eyes of Lysander, who then falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia and is enraged. When Demetrius decides to go to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius' eyes. Due to Puck's drastic mistake of putting the juice on Lysander's eyes, both lovers now fight over Helena instead of Hermia. Helena, however, is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. The four pursue and quarrel with each other most of the night, until they become so enraged that they seek a place to duel each other to the death to settle the quarrel. Oberon orders Puck to keep the lovers from catching up with one another in the forest and to re-charm Lysander for Hermia.

Meanwhile, a band of six lower-class labourers ("rude mechanicals", as they are described by Puck) have arranged to perform a crude play about Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus' wedding, and venture into the forest, near Titania's bower, for their rehearsal. Nick Bottom, a stage-struck weaver, is spotted by Puck, who transforms his head into that of a donkey. When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen take one look at him and run screaming in terror. Determined to wait for his friends, he begins to sing to himself. Titania is awakened by Bottom's singing and immediately falls in love with him. She treats him like a nobleman and lavishes him with attention. While in this state of devotion, she encounters Oberon and casually gives him the Indian boy. Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania and orders Puck to remove the ass's head from Bottom. The magical enchantment is removed from Lysander but is allowed to remain on Demetrius, so that he may reciprocate Helena's love. The fairies then disappear, and Theseus and Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt.

They wake the lovers and, since Demetrius doesn't love Hermia anymore, Theseus over-rules Egeus's demands and arranges a group wedding. The lovers decide that the night's events must have been a dream. After they all exit, Bottom awakes, and he too decides that he must have experienced a dream "past the wit of man." In Athens, Theseus, Hippolyta and the lovers watch the six workmen perform Pyramus and Thisbe. It is ridiculous and badly performed but gives everyone pleasure regardless, and afterward everyone retires to bed. Afterwards, Oberon, Titania, Puck, and other fairies enter, and bless the house and its occupants with good fortune. The action begins at the beautiful court of Theseus, Duke of Athens, and later moves to the mystical forest inhabited by Oberon and Titania, King and queen of the fairies. It is the magical story of star-crossed lovers, overly ambitious homespun rustics and misadventures with the fairies. Brad Cantwell (Oberon) recently appeared at the Stage Center Theatre as Amenuensis/Geronte in The Illusion and as Teddy in How He Lied To Her Husband.

Other favorite roles include Nick in A Thousand Clowns and Whitney in Life With Father. Brad is thrilled to work with this wonderful group, and he thanks the loves of his life, Lisa and McCoy, for their inspiration. Lisa Cantwell (Titania) is thrilled beyond belief to be a part of this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It has been her lifelong dream to play a fairy. She is currently a graduate student in Communication, Media, and Theatre here at NEIU. Favorite roles include Dog in Wiley and the Hairy Man, Miss Lynch in Grease, and Miss Framer in Lettice and Lovage. Thanks to the fabulous cast and crew for this unforgettable experience, to Anna for putting sunshine in each day, and to my boys, Brad and McCoy, for filling every day with love. Chris Leonard (Quince) has a BA in Theatre from the University of Central Florida and a MA in Linguistics from NEIU. He has acted in numerous productions at the Stage Centre Theatre including The Real Inspector Hound, Dracula, and Much Ado About Nothing. His directing credits include The Actor’s Nightmare, Joe and Stew’s Theatre of Brotherly Love and Financial Success, Oedi and The Illusion.

Later this year, Chris will be appearing in And on the Eighth Day and next year he will be directing A Tale of Two Cities. George Christopher (Lysander) is once again performing for the Stage Center Theatre, though he’s been a creator and performer at heart all his life. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in 2006. Since then he has worked in China where he acted, directed, and produced plays. While in Hong Kong he worked as an extra. Since returning to Chicago months ago he has been working more regularly as an actor. Alicia Reese (Puck) is thrilled to be performing in one of the Bard’s plays! She has her B.A. in Theatre from Southeastern University, as well as having completed the Summer Training Congress in Classical Theatre at the American Conservatory Theatre. Chicago credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Importance of Being Earnest, and the Dream Theatre’s Theatre of Women III and Theatre of Women IV. She wants to thank her Lord and Savior; her husband, Court; Mom and Daddy; and all the cast and crew!

Robert Babcock (Flute) is returning for his third appearance at Stage Center Theatre, and is grateful for the opportunity to work with such an incredible cast and crew for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Favorite past credits included The Laramie Project, Othello, and Taking Steps. He is excited to work with the wonderful Anna Antaramian again, and would like to thank all his friends and family for their continued love and support. Nathan Pease (Demetrius) holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Michigan-Flint, and spent the last two seasons as Resident Artist with Flint Youth Theatre performing in A Christmas Carol, The Hobbit, and Frankenstein. He has also been in The Diary of Anne Frank, Middle Passage, Holiday Memories, and Arthur, King Of Britain. In addition, Nathan has also worked with The Michigan Shakespeare Festival, BoarsHead Theatre, First Folio Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, Flint City Theatre, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Union Theatre Company, and September Productions. Jesus Matta (Egeus) is thrilled to make his Stage Center Theatre debut.

His pride and joy was spending eight glorious years as an ensemble member with the nationally acclaimed Albany Park Theater Project helping in many different forms to create original theatrical productions. After taking some much needed time off to focus on academics, he is very excited and relieved to get back on stage. Special thanks to Anna and company for accepting me into their world and getting me reacquainted with the medium I love so much. Colleen McCready (Helena) is elated to be performing with the Stage Center Theatre again. She was seen last summer as Kendall Adams in Stage Door. Other credits include: Mrs. Cyrus Pickard in He Said, She Said, Lyse in The Illusion, and Chrysothemis in Electra. Colleen would like to thank the cast and crew for such a wonderful experience. She would also like to thank Anna for this amazing opportunity, and especially thank Mark and Sebastian for their love and support as she follows her dream. Andrew Berlien (Snout) is a native to Chicago. He is delighted to be acting at the Stage Centre Theatre once again. He was last seen as the title character in the Studio Series production of Queer Strindberg and the main stage production of Electra and Charley’s Aunt.

Andrew would like to thank Anna, Shakespeare, and the entire cast and crew for allowing him this wonderful opportunity. Oh, and Mom? Dad? My shoes hurt for you. Pearl Paramadilok (Blue Bell) is glad to be back at the Stage Centre Theatre. She was recently seen in Lettice and Lovage, Queer Strindberg, and Stage Door. She mostly has been concentrating on her studies but is compelled to travel the “road not taken”. She sends all her love to the ones who have rescued her many times. Pearl would also like to thank Anna and Professor Mace for all the opportunities. Mark Heard (Snug) is appearing in his third Stage Center Theatre production. He was last seen in Pieces of Eight, and Charley’s Aunt. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is his first Shakespearian production. Mark has a background in musical theatre, appearing in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Once Upon a Mattress, to name a few. Mark is majoring in CMT at NEIU, and would someday like to return to his musical theatre roots. Mark would like to thank Anna for her outstanding direction and is excited to be working with her and the wonderful cast and crew.

Laura Gryfinski (Sweetpea) is thrilled to be acting yet again at Stage Center Theatre. She is in pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and second major in CMT here at NEIU. She appeared in Stage Door, and Electra. She would like to thank Anna for the opportunity to be a part of this production by playing Sweetpea and working with Allen on the technical aspects of the show. And special thanks to all those who have long supported her along the way! This one's for you Grandma. Joel Thompson (Theseus) is making his first appearance at Northeastern Illinois University’s Stage Center Theatre. But he is no stranger to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, having played Puck twice, he is happy for the chance to portray a human. He was last seen as Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Favorite roles include Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, James Keller from Miracle Worker and the Colonel from Brave Navigator. He would like to thank his friends and family for their constant support of his art! Kathleen Griffin (Cobweb) is happy to once again be on stage here at NEIU.

Though her role as stage manager (Queer Strindberg) was on stage, her role as assistant stage manager (Pieces of Eight) was off stage. Other acting credits include Duck, Duck, Goose, and Aladdin at the College of DuPage. Kathleen would like to thank all those who support her with her love of acting. Tom Camacho (Starveling) is grateful for being part of this talented cast in this fantastic opportunistic role. This is his seventh production at Northeastern Illinois University as he continues his second year as a graduate student in the Communication, Media and Theater Department. Tom founded, developed and directs The Serendipity Youth Theatre which brings theater to underprivileged Chicago Public Schools. Yvette Mohill (Moth) is excited to be in her first main stage production here at the Stage Centre Theatre. She was last seen in the productions The Secret Lives of Toads and The Jungle Book, with the Children’s Theatre Workshop. She is an undergraduate student here at Northeastern Illinois University, majoring in English. Norma Saldana (Peaseblossom) is thrilled to be working with the Stage Center Theatre. Theatre has always been one of her greatest passions since elementary school.

Because of her English teacher, Norma learned to love acting and theatre. She is also thankful for having a Mother who has always been there for her, guiding through her life, and is one of her greatest fans. Norma would like to thank her love, Miguel and her closest friends, for being her biggest support. This play is dedicated to her Godmother: Eleanor, may you rest in peace. Production Staff In A Midsummer Night's Dream, what is the play's setting and how does it influence the characters? | eNotes In A Midsummer Night's Dream, what is the play's setting and how does it influence the characters? mwestwood | College Teacher | (Level 3) Distinguished Educator Posted on “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” --A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare's comedy which takes place on June 23, the Summer Solstice, is set in ancient Athens, a citadel of civilization and law, and the forest outside the city. The Summer Solstice is a time of magic and the enchanted forest is a place where the rules of man are suspended.

The young lovers, Hermia and Lysander flee to the forest because it is a safe haven for them on the way to Hermia's aunt. But, in this enchanted forest, there are sprites who cast spells upon the mortals during this time known for its celebration of fertility. So, "love is in the air," so to speak. People's libidos are energized by the magic of the Summer Solstice and by the fairy dust that is sprinkled in their eyes, or the spells cast upon them as with the character Bottom, who feels as though he has had a fantastic dream: I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was (4.1.9). And, even though she is under Oberon's spell so that he can capture the changeling boy, Titiana seems more than enthralled with the donkey-headed Bottom as she instructs him, Gently entwist; the female ivy so Enrings the barky finger of the elm. O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee!

(4.1.42-44) These passages also illustrate the theme of transformation that prevails throughout the play in both the fairy and the human world as the young people fall asleep in one temperament, then awake in a different one. With the performance of Pyramus and Thisbe, Shakespeare transforms his own play and questions his craft. With all this confusion, Puck reappears in the Epilogue and tells the audience that if this play has caused the audience consternation, they can just consider it a dream, too: If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; (5.1.425-129) And, Puck will make things right as he has done with all but Demetrius, who yet remains under a spell so that he will love Helena. And, so, to use the words from another play [Macbeth], "nothing is but what is not" both when one is in love and when one acts, for in both circumstances "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" (3.2.115).

Sources: Major Themes Major Themes Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's comedic play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Themes are central to understanding A Midsummer Night's Dream as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary. Love The dominant theme in A Midsummer Night's Dream is love, a subject to which Shakespeare returns constantly in his comedies. Shakespeare explores how people tend to fall in love with those who appear beautiful to them. People we think we love at one time in our lives can later seem not only unattractive but even repellent. For a time, this attraction to beauty might appear to be love at its most intense, but one of the ideas of the play is that real love is much more than mere physical attraction. At one level, the story of the four young Athenians asserts that although "The course of true love never did run smooth," true love triumphs in the end, bringing happiness and harmony. At another level, however, the audience is forced to consider what an apparently irrational and whimsical thing love is, at least when experienced between youngsters. Marriage A Midsummer Night's Dream asserts marriage as the true fulfillment of romantic love.

All the damaged relationships have been sorted out at the end of Act IV, and Act V serves to celebrate the whole idea of marriage in a spirit of festive happiness. The triple wedding at the end of Act IV marks the formal resolution of the romantic problems that have beset the two young couples from the beginning, when Egeus attempted to force his daughter to marry the man he had chosen to be her husband. The mature and stable love of Theseus and Hippolyta is contrasted with the relationship of Oberon and Titania, whose squabbling has such a negative impact on the world around them. Only when the marriage of the fairy King and Queen is put right can there be peace in their kingdom and the world beyond it. Appearance and Reality Another of the play's main themes is one to which Shakespeare returns to again and again in his work: the difference between appearance and reality. The idea that things are not necessarily what they seem to be is at the heart of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and in the very title itself. A dream is not real, even though it seems so at the time we experience it. Shakespeare consciously creates the plays' dreamlike quality in a number of ways.

Characters frequently fall asleep and wake having dreamed ("Methought a serpent ate my heart away"); having had magic worked upon them so that they are in a dreamlike state; or thinking that they have dreamed ("I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was"). Much of the play takes place at night, and there are references to moonlight, which changes the appearance of what it illuminates. The difference between appearances and reality is also explored through the play-within-a-play, to particularly comic effect. The "rude mechanicals" completely fail to understand the magic of the theatre, which depends upon the audience being allowed to believe (for a time, at least) that what is being acted out in front of them is real. When Snug the Joiner tells the stage audience that he is not really a lion and that they must not be afraid of him, we (and they) laugh at this stupidity, but we also laugh at ourselves — for we know that he is not just a joiner pretending to be a lion, but an actor pretending to be a joiner pretending to be a lion.

Shakespeare seems to be saying, "We all know that this play isn't real, but you're still sitting there and believing it." That is a kind of magic too. Order and Disorder A Midsummer Night's Dream also deals with the theme of order and disorder. The order of Egeus' family is threatened because his daughter wishes to marry against his will; the social order to the state demands that a father's will should be enforced. When the city dwellers find themselves in the wood, away from their ordered and hierarchical society, order breaks down and relationships are fragmented. But this is comedy, and relationships are more happily rebuilt in the free atmosphere of the wood before the characters return to society. Natural order — the order of Nature — is also broken and restored in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The row between the Fairy King and Queen results in the order of the seasons being disrupted: The spring, the summer, The chiding autumn, angry winter change Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world By their increase knows not which is which. Only after Oberon and Titania's reconciliation can all this be put right. Without the restoration of natural order, the happiness of the play's ending could not be complete.

Question: Near which city did Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" take place?
Answer: Athens