“It’s been around for 500 years for a reason,” says director Nick Hoffa about Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. “The plot is incredibly intricate and how it all resolves is a magic trick. There’s romance, silliness, fights, and potions, but also space for beautiful moments. I’ve liked this play before, I love it now.” And so will you. South Pasadena High School Drama Club is in the middle of their run of an ambitious, magical, and wildly inventive production of “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the first full-length live Shakespeare play they’ve ever done. In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, they mounted a filmed version of MacBeth where students came to the theatre and filmed their parts one by one, a pretty extraordinary feat and an experience they all valued. But, still, getting Shakespeare on its feet and making it meaningful to both the actors and the audience can be daunting. But fear not, for Nick Hoffa and his intrepid cast and crew have once again delivered.
And, gentle reader, fear not if you have no experience with Shakespeare yourself, because they do a terrific job and it’s really fun and funny! Because Shakespeare is in the public domain, Hoffa tells us that they were free to create their own Midsummer for SPHS. “It’s been interpreted in so many wild ways over the years that you have permission to be inventive. So yes, it’s been done thousands of times but to me, it feels original”, he says. Of the challenge of the language he says, “Shakespeare is so different from current speech patterns that it’s actually easier to just take a leap. It can feel like a song, and lyrics are something they (the students) understand.”
Keira Adams, who plays Theseus, The Duke of Athens, tells us she found the best way to break through to the meaning of the language was to say the lines like you would talk in real life. “I feel like a lot of times when you are performing Shakespeare; there is this feeling that what you are saying needs to always sound flowy and pretty, but in reality, it’s more important to make it feel real and relatable. After all, the characters in Shakespeare’s plays were human, too, with raw emotions and everyday struggles. When I can connect to those emotions and deliver my lines naturally, it helps the audience understand and connect to the story—even if the language is a little unfamiliar.”
“The words are also so full of emotion and so once we break down what is being said, they can just let it rip,” explains Hoffa. “There is no subtext in Shakespeare, so students can just lean into the language and let it do a lot of the work. We’ve also been searching for hooks in the words – expressions, phrases that sound modern and can be said colloquially. That helps the audience and actor stay anchored in the reality of what is going on.”
Mia Tavera, who plays Hermia, is tackling Shakespeare for the first time, as are many in the cast. “At first it was scary,” she says, “but I’ve gotten used to the language, and as I’ve gotten to know my character, I have found a love for Shakespeare. I think Shakespeare can be intimidating at first because of the confusing language, but once you really put yourself out there and trust your acting skills, it can really come together. I think everyone was nervous for Shakespeare because it hasn’t been a play at our school yet, but with time and practice, everyone has started to love this production, and we can’t wait for people to see it!”
“I hope audiences experience the enchanting blend of love, magic, and humor that Shakespeare intended, with our own modern takes,” echoes Adams. “The play explores the complexities of relationships and the often chaotic nature of love, and I want viewers to connect with the characters’ journeys, finding moments of laughter and reflection. Ultimately, I hope they leave with a sense of wonder about the nature of love and the magic that can come from unexpected situations”
For those who don’t know the story, Midsummer is probably one of Shakespeare’s most whimsical and magical plays that involves mischievous faeries involving themselves in the lives of Athenean lovers in an enchanted forest. Athens is preparing for the lavish wedding of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta of the Amazon, as two young lovers, Hermia and Lysander, must flee to the forest because her father insists she marry the suitor he has chosen for her, Demetrius, a man she does not love. Meanwhile, Hermia’s childhood friend, Helena, is in love with Demetrius and tells him where the couple has gone. In the forest we meet the Faerie King Oberon and his queen, Titania, who are in a quarrel. There are magical faeries all around, with Puck being the most mischievous of all, and a passionate amateur theatre troupe, The Mechanicals, who are putting together a play to present at the King’s wedding. Magic love potions are administered and because “the course of true love never did run smooth”, misunderstandings, mishaps and mayhem ensue.
The key word for this production is fun. Everything is playful from start to finish in this wacky and wonderful Midsummer. There is so much to love from the sound (Sam Yang) and music design, which is an eclectic mashup of Mendelssohn’s orchestral score written for a 19th production of Midsummer, along with music arrangements by actors Mina Mannal and June Barthelemy and some completely contemporary songs that make for a decidedly uproarious romp, to the other-worldly James Jontz set design, constructed by his set construction crew, with twinkling lights and lush green leaves covering slats of raw wood, along with the Joseph Grijalva lighting, that transports the audience to a land where faeries, sprites and hobgoblins roam freely with humans and “Pucks”.
The entire cast is having a blast and giving impassioned performances. A charismatic Dashiell Roll makes a dramatic entrance as Oberon, in a flowing, black feather adorned cape and branchlike crown. Roll brings the drama as he stirs the pot of trickery with the help of his chief prankster, Puck, in this case played as twin Pucks by the absolutely effervescent June Barthelemy and the ebullient Mina Mannal. The two of them play off each other with great precision and create the most engaging pair of Pucks. Just so fun to watch.
Alexandra Gossett is a striking and forceful Tatiana who gives Roll a run for his money – they make a dynamic duo and Gossett is hilarious in her scenes with the clever and endearing Mathias Atencio as Bottom, one of the Mechanicals who falls under a faerie spell. The entire group of Mechanicals is hysterical and their antics reach delirious heights once they perform the play at the wedding. Michelle Maling, Travis Obando, Mikala Toshima, and Audrey Berkobien make for a delightful troupe with Moxxie Ross coming in clutch playing Thisbe in their play, “Pyramus and Thisbe”.
The lovers are played by a fiery Shelby Collins as Helena, the fervent gallantry of Tiger Carpenter as Demetrius, a captivating and forceful Riis Dickey as Lysander, and “though she be but little” a fierce Mia Tavera as Hermia.
Keira Adams is a regal and empathetic Duke Theseus while Belen Belavek beguiles as his fiancé, Hippolyta. Radine Simpson brings a sternness and strength to Hermia’s father, Egeus, and Valeria Larios gleefully takes us on the journey as Philostrate. The faeries enchant, played by Gwyneth Daley, Julia Hoffman, Sasha Levie, Maggie Vyas, Baylen Orchard and Leila Wahbe.
Every unexpected video, prop, costume and beautiful detail is created by the student producers, Logan Burmood, Gaby Cunanan, Helena Easterby, Tess Kawakami, Romy Terhume, Adeline Woo, Catalina Zhang, and Sam Yang. The poster art is by Sage Chang with program cover art by Sasha Levie, Nora Monroe, Elen Shahnazarya, and Hope Schamber. Choreography by Maggie Vyas and stage combat by Adi Fawk and Joseph Grijalva.
Expect a most entertaining evening spent in a dreamlike state, sprinkled with whimsy, belly laughs and fairy dust – it’s a place you may wish to stay.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Nick Hoffa, with technical direction by James Jontz) will be performed five times: Nov. 8, 9,15,16 at 7:00PM with a 2PM matinee on Nov 17. Little Theater, South Pasadena High School, 1401 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, Calif.
It is appropriate for all ages. General admission is $15. Tickets go on sale the week of October 28, 2024 (check for updates), and may be purchased online southpasdrama.com and at the door.
