Batavia High School to present 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
Comedy and magic go hand in hand when Batavia High School presents William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," one of the most beloved plays in the history of theater.
Adapted and directed by Joshua Casburn, performances will at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1399 W. Wilson St.
Tickets are available now online at www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org and at the box office. Tickets prices are $11-14.
The Batavia High School drama department has approached this timeless farce with unexpected energy and amazing stage tricks.
With dancing, music, fighting, and one amazing onstage pool, characters who fall in love with the wrong person get more than they bargained for.
This is the first time in years that Batavia High School has chosen a Shakespearean play.
"So often Shakespeare's plays are perceived to be overly-talkative, slow moving, and boring, especially when performed by high schools," says Casburn, who is directing this show for the first time, "We wanted the community to experience Shakespeare's characters as full of action, rather than just speech, and to see characters that are willing to do anything to get what they want. The play demonstrates that we try and hide our desires, but they will always find a way of coming to the surface … especially in our dreams. It's a pretty funny play because there's more than just an element of truth to it."
The plot
This unique adaptation, set inside the mind of a frustrated English teacher, whisks the audience away into the forest of Athens, where two lovers, Lysander (senior John Hohman) and Hermia (sophomore Emily Smith) flee to escape an unjust ruling by the duke, Theseus (sophomore Brandon Belair) which will keep them apart.
Theseus has his own problems, as his bride-to-be Hippolyta (senior Meghan Rocha) wants nothing to do with him for siding with Hermia's father Egeus (sophomore Max Micheli) and splitting up the young couple.
Indeed, Hermia's father wants her to marry Demetrius (junior Justin Knautz) who, told of the couple's flight by love-stricken Helena (sophomore Meghan Tucker), chases them into the woods.
Meanwhile, the king and queen of the fairies are also having a lovers' quarrel. Oberon (junior Ryan Taylor) and Titania (senior Jamie VandenOever) are fighting, and all of the fairy kingdom is in disarray (including fairies played by students Cassady Chadwell, Anastazja Konieczko, Tori McKeehan, Bridget O'Brien, Mary Clare Perrault, Natalie Sweeney, and Abby Weiss).
Oberon enlists the aid of the craziest joker in his kingdom, Puck (played by senior Mikkel Knutson), a "rude and knavish sprite" who, on Oberon's orders, uses a magical love potion flower to solve the lovers' problems and trick the fairy queen into falling in love with something ridiculous. Puck accidentally places the potion on the wrong person and all four lovers chase each other and fight in the confusion.
Puck succeeds in tricking the queen, however, when a group of lower-class craftsmen, led by Bottom the weaver (junior Cam Tucker), enter the forest to rehearse a play. This group includes Quince (senior Maren Flessen), Flute (senior Joe Guritz), Snout (junior Casey Kirk), Snug (junior Matt Skirmont), Starveling (senior Hannah Gustin), and Squeak (freshman Nathan Knautz). Puck frightens the would-be actors away when he transforms Bottom by giving him the head of a donkey. The queen wakes to find the hideous creature, but, thanks to the love potion, falls in love with him instantly.
It takes some work, some punishment, lots of fog and even some water for the lovers to be set right. Nevertheless, fear not, as "all shall be well." In one of the most famous scenes in all of Shakespeare's plays, it ends with the hilariously bad "actors" attempting to put on their play for the Duke and his new bride.