A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most well-known comedies. We follow a young woman, Hermia, who wants to marry the man of her choice, rather than the man her father has chosen for her. But when she and her boyfriend, Lysander, decide to travel through the nearby woods to elope, they never could have dreamed that those woods are inhabited by fairies. Nor do they suspect that her intended, Demetrius, and her best friend, Helena, will follow them. Mix in a group of craftsmen tasked with performing a play for the king at his wedding reception in three days, and we have the basics of the show, equal parts ridiculous and enjoyable.

Director's Note:

I have wanted to direct one of Shakespeare's plays for as long as I have been involved in theatre. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favorites of his comedies; those things do best please me that befall preposterously, and my Theatre II students always seem to enjoy it when we read it together during our Shakespeare unit. Imagine, then, my joy when last year's Theatre II students begged me to produce this play this year!

Of course, the prospect of producing any Shakespeare play at the high school level is daunting, to say the least. Our production window has been longer than usual so that we could devote extra time to making sure we understand what the 400 year old language means, that we might better portray the action for your enjoyment. Time alone, however, would not suffice, and I am beyond blessed to work with some of the most passionate, dedicated, hard-working students I've ever encountered. We have also been most fortunate to have some talented adults work with us to edit the script, making it more suitable for modern high school students to perform, and compose original music to include in the production. Together we have laughed and struggled and persevered to get this show on its feet and bring it to life, and I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished together.

Although A Midsummer Night's Dream may seem a frivolous piece, or else an antiquated fever dream born out of drug- or disease-induced hallucinations in the author--and on the surface, that may be so. However, the characters are real people with real struggles, and their experiences may mirror our present lives as they try to navigate circumstances they've never encountered before and a world in which it is difficult, if not impossible, to tell what is real and what is feigned. And those of us in the theatre can relate to Hermia's journey: faced with the often undesirable circumstances of reality, we plunge headfirst into a fantastic place as a means of escape, and when we emerge, we are forever changed.

We thank you for supporting our program through these unprecedented times, and we thank you for joining us to experience our rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Theatre cannot exist without its audience, and we are forever grateful to you for choosing to spend an evening with us rather than doing anything else.

Groveport Madison High School offers a wide range of extracurricular opportunities to its students, among which is the Cruiser Theatre Company, Thespian troupe 3323. Our troupe normally produces four theatrical productions each school year, and despite these unprecedented pandemic circumstances, we believe that the show must go on(line). We are committed to continuing to practice our art and produce shows throughout the school year.

We are affiliated with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Education and Marquee Awards program this year.