As TJ’s drama crew prepares for their big debut of the fall play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the director gives us a little inside look on the production.
Photo by Kiera Classen
From November 16th to the 19th, Spartans are in for a treat as they get to experience the 20th century version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Michael Palmieri, play director, took it upon himself to revise this play during the summer in hopes of making it a fun and up to date show for his audience. “This is a great story and is told by the master of story telling, William Shakespeare,” said Palmieri.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play that deals with many young lovers. Throughout the play one can expect to see a love triangle develop, and if that wasn’t enough, a fourth lover is added to the mix later in the play, creating a love quadrangle. As the four fight for love, Puck, a clever and mischievous elf, further complicates it with his magic dust. Meanwhile, the Fairy King and Queen are at war and drama ensues.
Shakespeare created and wrote his plays about 400 years ago in what is known as the Elizabethan era. In his plays one can notice that there are many era related jokes and references, which can make the audience confused. “Even as a theatre buff, when I go and see Shakespeare plays I find times when the play goes on forever with references that people would have gotten 400 years ago, but no one gets today,” said Palmieri. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Palmieri’s favorite plays and he says that this comedy contains some Elizabethan jokes, fueling a motive for him to rewrite it.
Photo by Kiera Classen
“At TJ the theatre obviously doesn’t shy away from deep topics, for example RENT,” said Palmieri. “But we also want to entertain, not bore.” This summer Palmieri took it as his daily job to sit down with the text, which he knew very well after teaching it for 11 years. A rhyming dictionary, a thesaurus, and a desire to stay true to the meaning, tone, and rhythm of the play also accompanied the task. Palmieri says that some might think that he “dumbed down the text” but he says that he rather brought it into the 20th century, and further thinks that Shakespeare would be okay with it.
“The new time setting of the play is late 20th century to early 21st century,” said Palmieri. One can notice the differences in the play by seeing that in Palmieri’s version Theseus is more like a Godfather; where in the old version he was a Duke. The Fairies also help portray the difference in story lines as in the original they would appear with Titania in the Magical Woods, and in the new version they’re still in the woods but have secret identities. “In the original, Puck is played by a male,” said Palmieri. “In ours, Puck is played by a woman, which I think is a perfect fit. It is very common now for women to play male roles and it shows how women are stepping up and taking the forefront,”
As always, Palmieri says that he hopes this play provides a professional quality experience for the cast, crew, and audience. He says that this year they have a fabulous cast and technical crew. “I hope everyone comes this week and thoroughly enjoys their time for the two hours.”
