Note from the Director
It’s hard to believe that in the 15 years that Belvidere North has been open, we have never produced a Shakespeare play. But here we are! I find that A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the Bard’s most accessible work and is always a great time for many! When I thought about the joy I find in Midsummer, I thought about the colliding stories that we see at a night at a concert, complete with bandmates, crazed fans, a resurgence of disco music, and arenas that feel like vintage fashion shows. All of these things came together for your pleasure this evening. Whether you know what they are saying or not, we hope you have a great time!
Mr. David ZimmermanSynopsis
A story of order and disorder, reality and appearance and love and marriage. Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons are to be married and great celebrations are planned.
INTO THE FOREST
Egeus brings his rebellious daughter Hermia in front of the Duke. Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius but Hermia refuses, because she’s in love with Lysander. The Duke orders Hermia to obey her father or, according to Athenian law, she must face a death penalty or enter a convent.
Hermia and Lysander decide to elope that night. They confide in their friend Helena. However, she’s secretly in love with Demetrius so, hoping to win his affection, she tells him of Hermia’s plan. That night, all four lovers set out into the forest.
Meanwhile, a group of Athenian tradesmen (known as the Mechanicals), led by Peter Quince, are planning to perform a play in celebration of the Duke’s wedding. They rehearse The Tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe in the same forest.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Elsewhere in the forest, the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, argue over Titania’s refusal to give up her page-boy to Oberon. He sends his servant Puck to find a magic plant to cast a spell on Titania.
The juice of the plant, when squeezed onto the eyes of someone asleep, causes them to fall in love with the first creature they see when they wake up. Oberon uses the juice on Titania as she sleeps in her bower.
Puck overhears the tradesmen rehearsing and magically transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass. The other men are terrified and flee the forest. When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom and she falls rapturously in love with him.
Helena chases Demetrius in the forest and their fighting disturbs Oberon. He tells Puck to use the magic plant on Demetrius too, so that he will fall in love with Helena. However Puck muddles up the two Athenian men and uses it on Lysander instead, who promptly falls in love with Helena. Both women are confused and Hermia furiously attacks her friend.
Stop reading now if you don’t want to know how it ends...
and puts the humans to sleep. Titania is horrified that she’s
Eventually, Oberon lifts all the
reconciled with Oberon. On waking, the lovers decide the
of
must have
been a dream. Lysander and Hermia are back to normal, and Demetrius admits he does love Helena after all. Bottom wakes up and recounts his ‘strange dream’.
as the other human couples
The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta becomes a
too.
performance of the
As
and Bottom’s troupe
BIOS
Mara Anton - Senior (Francis Flute) This is Mara’s first show with North. She would like to thank Mr. Zimmerman for the opportunity to be in this show, and she would also like to thank her family. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Megan Anton - Freshman (Assistant Stage Manager) This will be Megan’s first show at BNHS and backstage, but her 20th overall. She’s excited for the chance to work as the assistant stage manager and watch the show in a different way. She would like to thank her family and friends, and can’t wait to see her sister perform from the wings. Enjoy the show!
Shane Berndt - Junior (Robin Starveling) Shane has been in two plays at Belvidere North High School! He is so thankful for the amazing cast that is giving this show their all. He also wants to thank his family for helping me get home from rehearsals.
Brittney Carmichael - Sophomore (Mustardseed) This is her first time ever being on stage in a theater production! She would like to thank all the cast for making this such a fun and amazing experience. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Krystal Christmas - Sophomore (Lint) Thanks for watching this silly show! Adiós, loves!
Reagan Cottrell - Sophomore (Floss) Reagan hasn’t done theatre since middle school but they’re excited to be in Midsummer. NUMBER ONE MUSTARDSEED FAN. Reagan would like to thank their friend Wedsen for being there for them throughout this process. Stream Talia from Ride The Cyclone.
Gianna Dean - Sophomore (Crew) This is her second show that she is doing at Belvidere North. She loves making new friends, and has made good memories the first year she did this. And she hopes to make even more friends and memories. She hopes you like the show!
Brendon Dotson - Sophomore (Crew) This is Brendan’s first show at Belvidere North High School and hopefully not the last! Thanks to Mr. Zimmerman for writing this bio.
Theo Eberhardt - Sophomore (Crew) This is Theo’s first show at Belvidere North High School and they would like to thank Mr. Zimmerman (who they for both English and theatre class) for writing this bio.
Emily Fillmore - Senior (Hermia) Emily is excited to be in her seventh production with North! She has previously been seen in shows such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Emma: a Pop Musical,” “Puffs,” and “Freaky Friday.” She has loved the opportunity to work and collaborate with this fun, talented cast! She would like to thank her family, friends, and directors for all of their support. Emily hopes you enjoy your night with us!
Noah Frank - Senior (Oberon) Noah has participated in theater since the end of his junior year and intends to continue for the rest of his high school career. He has been in two shows so far but is making it three with this show. He’s played Parker in Freaky Friday and 1/3rd of Chorus in a student directed one act of Antigone. PRAISE MUSTARDSEED!!!
Reese French - Senior (Hippolyta/Helena u/s) Reese is really excited to be apart of her second play with BNHS. She has had a great time working with everyone to make such a fun show! Reese would like to thank her friends and family for all of their support. She hopes that you enjoy the show!
Sophia Giron - Freshman (Moth) This is her third show overall, and they’re first at North. She really enjoys theatre related things. She’d like to thank her cat, Kitty, for giving her one of the best pep talks of her life, and to her parents for actually understanding what the heck she is saying.
Michael Glass - Junior (Stage Manager) This will be Michael’s second show he’s worked on, but will be his first time being stage manager. He really appreciates the chance he’s gotten because of this. The other play he was in was Puffs, when he was the only dragon to go on stage and fight one of the characters.
Kaylan Gomez - Sophomore (Dustbunny) This is Kaylan’s first play at Belvidere North High School! She is so glad that her friend Krystal dragged her to auditions and wants to thank Mr. Zimmerman for writing this bio.
Dakota Heatley - Senior (Philostrate) Dakota has been doing theatre for 8 years. However, this is her first official high school production and she’s glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a fun Shakespearean play. Hope you enjoy the show!
Ashton Hott - Senior (Lysander) This is his fourth show at North and he’s very excited to play this role. He’s also on the Improv team and loves working in the theater department. He’d like to thank his family for supporting him through all of his theater stuff, and hopes you all enjoy the show.
Daire Kramer - Senior (Peter Quince) Daire is so excited to be a part of this production. This is their second Shakespeare production and their eighth production in total. They would like to thank their brother for giving them rides since they only have one car. They would also like to thank their friends and parents for always being there for them throughout this production.
La’ren Kimble - Senior (Crew) This is La’ren’s second show with Belvidere North after working on last fall’s production of Puffs. She would like to thank Mr. Zimmerman for writing this bio for her.
Haley Kresal - Senior (Helena) Haley has been excited for this show since the beginning, she’s so happy to be a part of it and is so glad she had the chance to do it. She hopes you enjoy the show as much as she does!
Adam Lendman - Freshman (Egeus/Puck u/s) This is Adam’s first play at BNHS and he couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this production. He hopes that you will enjoy the show. Adam’s proud of what they’re doing here and he hopes that you’ll see him in many more productions further down the line.
Christina Lugo - Freshman (Tom Snout) This is Christina’s first show with Belvidere North and they hopped in later in the process than others. Christina would like to thank the cast for their support and Mr. Zimmerman for writing this bio
Samuel Malmkar - Senior (Theseus) Samuel is a fresh face in the theatre crew, not being in any prior shows; Samuel is excited to perform for everyone as Theseus, Duke of the forest. Theseus is kinda dumb, bubbly, and rules with a not-so-iron fist. He hopes you enjoy the show!
Jadyn Masbruch - Sophomore (Peaseblossom) This is her 3rd show at North. They are super thankful to be a part of this amazing show with an amazing cast and crew. She is glad for the friends she has made and they hope that you enjoy the show and have a great time.
Quinn McCoy - Senior (Running Crew Chief) Quinn is excited to be a part of the Midsummer Night’s Dream backstage crew. Quinn has been a part of the crew ever since his Junior year. Over the summer he was hired by the PAC Manager, Ms. Miracle, and helped the other PAC workers clean and reorganize the scene shop and sound booth. You can find him in the scene shop building and painting sets for each of the shows. When you can’t find him backstage, you‘ll find him fishing and camping with his father all over Wisconsin and Minnesota yearround. He hopes you enjoy the show!!! Roll Thunder!!!!
Derrick Miller - Senior (Nick Bottom) Derrick Miller is a senior at North this year and is starting this year off strong with the role of Nick Bottom; he is very proud to be a part of this Midsummer production. This is his eighth show at North and tenth show overall. He hopes you have a wonderful time viewing his Bottom during the performance!!
Carlos Perez - Junior (Demetrius) NO RELATION TO EMILY PEREZ. Carlos is a Junior and is very excited to open this theatre season as Demetrius. He can’t wait for you to see a show everyone has worked so hard on. Carlos would like to thank his friends and family for being here during such a busy and hectic time. This is Carlos’ third show at North but he plans to see you in future shows this year too! Enjoy!
Emily Perez - Senior (Titania) NO RELATION TO CARLOS PEREZ. Emily is a senior and is very excited to be playing Titania in BNHS’ gRoOvY production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is her fourth production at North and she can’t wait for you to see everyone’s character come to life at the disco. Emily would like to thank her closest friends and family for always supporting her and her accomplishments. She loves you all <3
Angelica Robles - Freshman (Crew) This is Angelica’s first show at Belvidere North. Angelica wants to thank you all for coming to the show.
Xander Rodriguez-Rosas - Sophomore (Puck) This is Xander’s second show at Belvidere North High School after last fall’s production of Puffs. He wants to thank you all for coming to the show!
Evelyn Trippiedi - Senior (Tom Snout) This is Evelyn’s last year of high school. She has been a part of almost every play at BNHS, either onstage or backstage. She is excited to be a part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and is looking forward to the other plays this year. She is proud of the work that her fellow cast members have put into this play and is looking forward to seeing what they accomplish in the future.
Anais Valdovinos - Junior (Crew) Anais was last seen onstage with Belvidere North in Freaky Friday and is excited to work backstage for this production and assist with the cast’s makeup.
Alex Valenzuela - Sophomore (Crew) This is his first time helping out with a show and really hopes that he doesn’t mess up. He likes listening to music and making the people around him laugh. He hopes that you at least find the show amusing.
Layla Watters - Freshman (Cobweb/Hermia u/s) This is her first show at North and she couldn’t be more excited! She would like to thank the cast for being so welcoming, and thank her mom for being there at the end of every rehearsal. She hopes you have an amazing time at the show!
Cast and crew without bios were not available at press time but we appreciate their efforts.
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