Shakespeare in downtown Naperville

When last the Midsummer Theatre Troupe performed Shakespeare in Naperville, the thespians were met with an audience that filled much of downtown - many dressed in costumes as elaborate as the actors on stage.

Much of the crowd, however, was fanatical about the work of another British writer - J.K. Rowling - and her lead character - boy wizard Harry Potter.

The troupe's performance coincided with the city's party welcoming the release of the Potter series' final book. The wizard party drew thousands downtown, and actors hope maybe a few who stumbled on their show will return Friday as they stage The Bard's "Twelfth Night." The free performance begins at 7 p.m. in Naperville's Central Park.

Performing Shakespeare outdoors always brings familiar challenges - Mother Nature and Shakespeare's English, director Toni Hix said.

"We're fighting humidity, rain, bugs," she said. "I give the actors credit because they survive it all."

Actor Dan McQuaid, a Naperville resident who coaches track and football and teaches English at Wheaton North High School, plays Count Orsino, a nobleman in love with a woman named Olivia.

McQuaid said he's spent part of each summer since the troupe formed 10 years ago trying to bring more fans into the Shakespeare fold.

"It is a challenge to make it comprehensible to modern Americans who don't speak that way," he said. "But, there's a lot of depth to it."

For an actor, he said, making Shakespeare accessible and fun is "like skiing a really challenging slope."

McQuaid said he divided his time between athletics and acting in school. After college, he headed to New York to study acting and begin an acting career.

He soon realized the actor's nomadic existence isn't conducive to putting down roots.

"It's a really unstable life and I wanted a family," he said. So he became a teacher.

Years later, looking for a creative outlet, McQuaid said he stumbled upon a casting call for Midsummer Theatre Troupe's first performance. The show: "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"I went with the idea of doing it for the auditioning (experience). I got the part," he said. "I didn't think my wife would let me do it because we had a newborn baby."

But she did agree and he played the part. One rehearsal night when his wife was away and the baby sitter had canceled, McQuaid said, he participated in the show's run-through while holding his infant daughter.

That daughter, 9-year-old K.C., found herself back on stage last year, playing a fairy in the troupe's revival of the show.

The Shakespeare-in-the-park troupe presents several performances of one Shakespearean comedy each summer. After Central Park, this year's show moves on to Aurora and Wheaton for five more performances this month.

"We do comedies because it's most family friendly," said Hix. "I make my comedies very physical, as much as they can be. The funny guys are very funny. They're like Marx Brothers."

If you go

What: Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," presented by Midsummer Theatre Troupe; sponsored by Naperville Park District

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Central Park, east of Washington Street at Van Buren Avenue, Naperville

Cost: Free

Info: (630) 848-5000, napervilleparks.org and midsummertheatretroupe.com