A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare
Director, Musical Director, and Fight Director: Matthew Greenberg
Shakespeare at The Castle
Glamorgan Castle, Alliance, Ohio, August 2021
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Ryan Patterson
Costume Designer: Sarah Russell
Artistic Director: Kevin P. Kern
Stage Manager: Siv Street
Intimacy Choreographer: Natalie Sander Kern
What value does imagination bring into our lives and how can our dreams bring us together?
Getting to collaborate with the incredible team at Shakespeare at the Castle was an immense privilege. The artistic team asked me to present a modern adaptation of the play as a way to invite the audience back into the space for their first post-covid summer season. Athens, Greece, became Athens, Ohio. Ohio University became the backdrop wherein Hermia and Helena were sorority sisters. Rural Athens, Ohio also allowed for the juxtaposition between liberal ideology from the University mixed with the more conservative ideals from the working class community surrounding the town. It became more natural that Egeus would want Hermia should marry fellow rich conservative frat-boy Demetrius, over the artsy guitar-playing Lysander.
Setting the story in 2016, in the swing state of Ohio, elucidated much derision with who holds power both in the play and in the country at this time.
I was excited to bring all of my passion and skills together to not only direct heightened text, but also create comedic stories through stage combat and adding music as a magic element to bring all the characters together, connecting the world of the stage into the world of the audience.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was set on the backdrop of the Glamorgan Castle, and the set functioned like a playground that the cast could move in and out of in magic-like ways. The production sold out every night and integrated technology like “Fairygram” where the fairies could post selfies of Bottom and other locales and they would subsequently appear, live, on the projection screens within the set, generating many laughs.
One of the best compliments I received was a patron exclaiming, “I loved this translation. I understood it so clearly!” Truth be told, we worked with the first folio version and nothing was translated. With the power of ensemble, truth, and yes, even a little magic, Shakespeare doesn’t have to sound ‘old.’ The words and the worlds allowed us to see our contemporary society all the more clearly.
Director’s Note:
Dear Friends, Family (and Fairies, too),
Our world looks a little differently right now, and this production is no exception. We've taken Shakespeare's most brilliant comedy and transcended the location from ancient Athens, Greece, to modern Athens, Ohio in the summer of 2016.
Why 2016?
This contemporary telling is set pre-pandemic, during the height of a presidential election summer that was marred with misinformation. As Bottom exclaims, “to speak truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays."
My hope is that by following the characters as they become LOST in the forest, we can head back to Athens, and to our realities, with a new sense of community and life, FOUND. So much has been taken away in our current year. I believe through uproarious laughter, fantasy, and love, we can gain a greater sense of empathy for ourselves and those around us, even if we disagree with someone's point of view.
I see Midsummer as a reflection of the absurdity of human nature. We can do what we're told and/or rule our own kingdom. Rarely, however, can we anticipate where our journey takes us. Even as Shakespeare says here, "The course of true love never did run smooth.”
On behalf of this fantastic company, thank you for coming to the show and thank you for sharing your laughter and magic with us!
"Adieu, Adieu, Adieu”
Here is some publicity:
