Shakespeare Festival kicks off with 'Midsummer Night's Dream'
“Lord, what Fools these Mortals be!” The Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 29th season on Oct. 2 with the Bard’s iconic tangled story of lovesick nobles, meddling fairies and incompetent actors.
"A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is directed by Demetria Thomas, associate professor of theater, who chose Midsummer because she has “a frankly unreasonable amount of affection for this play."
"Between the sharp comedy, the whimsical absurdity and Shakespeare’s willingness to fully commit to ‘the bit,' it’s hard not to be charmed," Thomas said.
In line with the festival’s tradition, this play features a guest equity actor working with the student actors. Christopher Eastland will play Nick Bottom, the bumbling leader of the troupe hired to perform for the Athenian lovers.
Thomas said, “It's wonderful to have a great one like Christopher in rehearsal to model professional behavior, how to take a note and how to be brave and take risks.”
In GVSF's 30-year history, this is the fourth time the festival will present crowd-favorite "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." This year’s production highlights the divide between city and country by placing Athens in the 1950s and the forest in the 1980s.
Thomas said: “The 1950s are idiomatic of a patriarchal structure that breeds a false harmony; whereas, the 1980s were a neon-laced rebellion against societal structures around behavior, sexuality, cultural norms and the oversized inflation of teenage defiance and power.”
Midsummer runs Oct. 2-11 in the Haas Center for Performing Arts on the Valley Campus. Learn details and purchase tickets.
— Bridgett Vanderhoof is the publicity and recruitment coordinator for the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Students Ahmir Wiggins as Oberon and Juliet Veliz-Figueroa as Puck rehearse a scene in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The production kicks off the Shakespeare Festival and runs Oct. 2-11.