This April, the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance presents Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Professor of Acting and Voice Connie deVeer. In this production of Midsummer—set in 1950s Athens, Greece—audiences will embark on a journey through a forest full of love, magic, and even fairies.
The story follows four sets of characters: the lovers, the Athenians, the fairies, and the mechanicals. The journey begins with the engagement of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Audiences also meet the four young lovers. Hermia desires to be with Lysander, but Hermia’s father Egeus is forcing her to marry Demetrius, whom Helena loves. Hermia and Lysander decide to escape through the forest, but they are followed by Helena and Demetrius.
In the forest, Oberon, King of the Fairies, and his servant Puck decide to use magic to sort things out, introducing confusion and chaos into the relationships. Meanwhile, the mechanicals, an amateur theatre troupe in Athens, also meet in the woods to rehearse the play they are to perform at Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding.
DeVeer is certainly no stranger to Shakespeare. She frequently serves as a voice and movement coach for Illinois State University productions and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. But for many of the cast members, this is their first time performing Shakespeare. To help students prepare for the production, deVeer led a Shakespeare boot camp prior to the start of rehearsals in early February. She worked with the actors on exercises that allowed them to speak Shakespeare’s language out loud and discover the meaning. In this way, deVeer prepared cast members to start rehearsals strongly and know the ins-and-outs of performing Shakespeare’s language.
Audiences are sure to witness the true magic of love and will want to join in the merriment and celebration of love by the end.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed at the Center for the Performing Arts Theatre April 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. as well as April 20-21 at 2 p.m. The performance run time is approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
There will be a preview performance for the show on April 17 with tickets offered at a reduced price.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, or on the box office website.
If you need accommodations to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
