INTERVIEW: NY Shakespeare Exchange prepares ‘Midsummer’ in midwinter
Photo: New York Shakespeare Exchange will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Secret Theatre. Photo courtesy of NYSE / Provided by Michelle Tabnick PR with permission.
The New York Shakespeare Exchange is ready to mount a new production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Performances run Jan. 31 to Feb. 10 at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City, New York.
This 2019 version of Midsummer has some new elements for the presentation of the Bard’s words. For starters, there’s a bit of meta-theater at work when the production opens up with a bunch of actors preparing to rehearse a few Midsummer scenes, and then they fall upon an actual fairy in the woods. The magic that ensues is both enchanting and haunting.
The production is directed by Brendan Averett and features music by Cecil Averett. The cast consists of Jessica Ranville, Dana Watkins, Kimberlee Walker, Cody LeRoy Wilson, Stephanie LaVardera, Imran Sheikh and Katie Fanning.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Ross Williams, artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Exchange. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What sets this Midsummer apart from other productions of the Shakespeare play?
People don’t really believe in magic these days, at least not in the same way as when Shakespeare wrote Midsummer. Our director, Brendan Averett, is exploring how we might react if we actually met a fairy in today’s world. What would happen if Puck showed up and enchanted the people you walk next to on the sidewalk or sit next to on the subway? Our ensemble of seven actors will be enchanted to create every character in the play, and the magic they face, sometimes hilarious and sometimes a bit scary, will be released through their storytelling.
Why does the company find it important to put a new spin on this old text?
These characters all go into the forest expecting things to go as planned, but that’s not how the story plays out. Expectations end up meaning very little as they navigate this ‘dream.’ That feels incredibly familiar to me right now — our current world feels a lot like being lost in the woods. Experiencing Midsummer might help us know there’s an end to the chaos in sight, or at least allow us to laugh along the way!
What do you like about Midsummer as a play? Perhaps a favorite character?
With this production we’ve talked a lot about the broken promises in the play. These characters trust and love each other deeply, and when those bonds are broken, the world goes haywire. I’ve been especially excited recently about the relationship between Titania and Oberon because their conflict feels territorial and political, and their distrust of each other affects the entire world of the play.
How does the New York Shakespeare Exchange make connections with members of the community in New York City?
Our mission is to use Shakespeare’s language to start conversations in the world. Every event we host points back to that goal, and we have a lot of different approaches. Our ShakesBEER Pub Crawls create instant community (‘just add Shakespeare!’) in venues that make people feel comfortable; our Freestyle Labs, in partnership with the 53rd Street NY Public Library, journey into political discussions through the safety of starting the conversation with Shakespeare; and our Sonnet Project films connect people in the digital space.
When did you first fall in love with Shakespeare’s plays?
I was lucky to have a great teacher in a high school English class in Huntsville, Alabama. She tasked us with memorizing and performing a scene from Romeo and Juliet. Once I witnessed how speaking the poetry out loud could affect people, I was hooked. Our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will hopefully affect our audiences in that same way!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
New York Shakespeare Exchange’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs Jan. 31 to Feb. 10 at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City, New York. Click here for more information and tickets.
