Mines Little Theatre Presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

After much hard work and preparation, Mines Little Theater is ready to perform once again.  The actors have been rehearsing for weeks to bring A Midsummer Night’s Dream to life on stage in Bunker Auditorium.  The Shakespeare comedy may be well-known to most audiences, but regardless of the average student’s experience with the works of the Bard, this interpretation of the classic is marvelously entertaining.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream features a lively cast of characters, including four unluckily love-struck teenagers, a ragtag group of inexperienced players preparing to perform at a royal wedding, a troublemaking fairy named Puck, and the quarreling King and Queen of the Fairies.  All of them spend one raucous night in a nearby wood, after which nothing will ever be the same.  The beloved become forgotten, the fair become bewitched, and poor Bottom the Weaver ends up with the head of a donkey.  Everything about this play promises a comical adventure that is anyone’s perfect break from their studies.

The play is directed by Mines student Jordan Brothers, who shared some of her thoughts on her time bringing Shakespeare’s wild language to life.

“From the directorial side, because Shakespeare is so well known, there’s a pressure to focus on the language while also trying to bring in fresh ideas.”

Brothers also mentioned, “In contrast to modern plays, which are less flexible in the manner in which they can be performed, Shakespeare is adaptable and may be put on in a variety of ways while still maintaining the core of the storytelling through the original words.”

On her time spent as director, she reflects,

“My favorite part about directing was simply directing it! Previously, I have been the actress on stage listening to the instructions and suggestions of my directors. This time, I’ve been able to work personally with my 20 actors to help them discover and shape their characters and performance while drawing upon my own knowledge and experiences of stage acting.”

The acting itself for this performance is certainly energy-packed.  Meridith Peel conjures a lovely Hermia, while Chase Harms as Lysander and Daniel Rose as Demetrius are perfectly cast.  Abby Hentges’ Helena is sure to dazzle, and Dylan Thierry’s performance as Puck is properly mischievous.  Bottom’s hapless yet obnoxious amusement is spot on as played by Dalton Metz.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is actually one of two plays Mines Little Theater has prepared for this semester.  The other, Boeing Boeing, is directed by Josh Hoffman, and will perform in the same weekend time frame as Midsummer.  Both plays showcased talented Mines students.

Richard Sebastian-Coleman, the President of Mines Little Theater who also plays Egeus in Midsummer, offered his impressions on what it was like to have the club feature two simultaneous performances:

“Hosting two plays relied mostly upon the teamwork between the tech directors and the director.  It is usually tradition to offer two plays in the fall because of the good timing; we typically have enough interest to do it.”

Given the amount of dedication and time that has gone into these performances, Brothers is understandably excited about Mines Little Theater’s accomplishments:

“I look forward to having one of Shakespeare’s comedies be performed at Mines and sharing it with the community here.  I am very proud of my actors and how they have brought the characters to life and applied their own interpretation and style to their performances.”

Above: After a period of confusion due to a love potion, the couples finally fall back in love with the right person. From left to right: (Meridith Peel, Chase Harms, Daniel Rose and Abby Hentges). Mines Little Theater put on their rendition of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.