A Midsummer Night's Dream Virtual Program

A Note from the director Young lovers decide to escape the big city, where adults tell them who to marry and how to live.

In desperation they run to the wild and seemingly uncomplicated woods…

But it turns out that no one is safe from the magic of nature --where fairies play tricks of the heart, true love gets tangled, and buffoonish actors transform into monsters…

The magic of the forest seems to change everyone, even the ones who make the magic themselves…

So, come dream with us, get lost in the brambles, let your hair down, and succumb to the spells of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”…

This show promises to be an exciting, dynamic, and immersive way to welcome our community back into our theater this Fall.

We've created a playful, darkly magical, imaginative and interactive production that will be accessible and stimulating for all audience members.

With 20 Upper Learning actors, 10 Upper Learning backstage crew, and a collaborative faculty/directing & design team, this is a fantastic joining of the artistic minds of many!

Megan Cramer

Character Map Egeus

Theseus asks for help

Wants Theseus to make Hermia marry Demetrius

Hippolyta

wo ot r e htaf

rks

Former queen of the Amazons defeated by Theseus & now engaged to him

engaged

The Duke of Athens for

Philostrate

Theseus' Master of Revels

Hermia's beloved

s d n ei r f

lo v

es

lo

ut

Working class folks also acting in Quince's play: Francis FLUTE Tom SNOUT Mr. SNUG Robin STARVELING

il

i s nr

The Players AKA Rude Mechanicals

tue

Egeus' choice of husband for Hermia

w

of

Oberon's Fairies

Sonnet, Waltz, Medley, Quicksilver

Titania

Queen of Fairyland

Nick Bottom A weaver & egotistical actor who plays Pyramus

loves because of love juice

Peter Quince Writer & Director of "Pyramus & Thisbee"

c re

yekn

loves

Puck

Mischievous fairy

Demetrius

od a ot n

Cruelly rejected by yet still helplessly devoted to Demetrius

g iv e s

e to v e ju ic

King of Fairyland

ane

Helena

es

ju

ic e

ot t n

lo v

b/

f co

e lo v

Oberon

o t d ei r r a m

Facing death for disobedience to her father

Lysander

truly loves

e ci uj e v ol s e vi g

Hermia

Athenian Upper Class Elite Fairy World Athenian Working Class Laborers

c re

w

Titania's Fairies

of

Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed

Act I

Plot synopsis

As Duke Theseus prepares for his marriage to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, he is interrupted by a courtier, Egeus. Egeus asks for the Duke to intervene in a dispute. His daughter, Hermia, will not agree to marry Demetrius (whom Egeus has chosen for her) because she loves a gentleman named Lysander. The Duke asks Hermia to be obedient to her father. He offers her one of two options: she must either die or accept a celibate life as a nun.

Naturally upset with the offer, Lysander and Hermia plan to elope and share their secret with Helena, Hermia's friend. Helena is desperately in love with Demetrius, who seems to have abandoned her in favour of Hermia. At night, Lysander and Hermia escape from Athens; but they soon lose their way in the woods. After Helena tells him of their intention to defy the law, Demetrius decides to follow the lovers into the woods. In turn, Helena follows Demetrius in the hope that he will give up on Hermia and choose her instead.

Meanwhile, a group of working folks are preparing a play of the tragic love-story of Pyramus and Thisbe to present before the Duke Theseus on his wedding day. Nick Bottom, the weaver, is to play the lover Pyramus, while Flute, the bellows-mender, begrudgingly agrees to play Thisbe.

Act II

Nearby, Oberon - King of the Fairies—has recently quarrelled with his queen, Titania. Oberon begins to plot a way to get revenge on Titania for her disobedience. He sends his fairy servant, Puck, to fetch a purple flower with juice that makes people fall in love with the next creature they see.

Afterwards, Oberon overhears Helena and Demetrius arguing in the forest. Oberon hears Demetrius mistreat Helena and tells Puck to anoint 'the Athenian', so Demetrius will fall in love with the first person that he sees. Puck mistakes the Athenian and puts the flower juice on the eyes of the sleeping Lysander. When he is woken by Helena, he immediately falls in love with her and rejects Hermia. When Demetrius rests, Oberon puts magic juice on his eyes, which makes him fall in love with Helena as well.

Plot synopsis cont...

Act III

The workers' rehearsals in the wood are overheard by Puck, who plays a trick on them by giving Bottom a donkey’s head. After frightening the others away, Bottom is lured towards the sleeping Titania whom Oberon has anointed with Puck's magic flower juice. On waking, the fairy queen falls in love with the donkey and entertains him with her fairies. Meanwhile, Demetrius and Lysander, still under the spell of the flower juice, pursue Helena. Hermia is jealous and confused about the lack of attention paid to her. Oberon and Puck watch the chaos, and Oberon commands Puck to put it right again. The lovers' arguments have tired them all out as they have chased one another through the woods. Puck eventually distracts the two men from their pursuit of Helena by impersonating their voices, and they get lost in the woods. The four lovers fall asleep, exhausted. Puck places restorative juice on Lysander's eyes.

Act IV After an afternoon of being pampered by Titania's fairies, Bottom falls asleep beside her. Oberon restores Titania's sight and wakes her (thank goodness). After expressing her dismay at the sight of Bottom, she reconciles with Oberon. Bottom's donkey head is removed, and he returns to the city to rejoin his friends as they prepare to perform their play. The lovers are woken by Theseus and Hippolyta's hunting party. Lysander sees Hermia and falls in love with her once again.

Act V

Happily reunited (Lysander with Hermia and Demetrius with Helena), they agree to share the Duke's wedding day. The play of 'Pyramus and Thisbe' is presented before the wedding guests. As the three couples retire to bed, Puck and the fairies return to bless the palace and its people.

The Cast Liza Tewari Cobweb/Titania's Fairy

Morghan Belt Puck

Kathryn Steele

Hipployta/Oberon's Fairy

Elijah Roth Claire Markwalter Moth/Titania's Fairy Mustardseed/Titania's Fairy

Owen Stone Oberon

Fritz Sumter IV

Egeus/Oberon's Fairy

Ariana Jones Titania

Aidan Munroe

Nate Hogan

Lucy Pittman Hermia

Luke Cravey Lysander

Philostrate/Oberon's Fairy Theseus/Oberon's Fairy

Alex Lewis Demetrius

Ella Good Helena

Audrey Smith Quince

Margaret Edmonds Bottom (Pyramus)

Jonah Wassersug Flute (Thisbe)

Jonah Kaplan Snug (Lion)

Sophia Hernandez Snout (Wall)

Jacob McGlothen Starveling (Moonshine)

The Crew Amelia Pierce Stage Manager

Del Abney Simon Guterman Dolph Orthwein Light Board Operator Sound Board Operator Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Luke Kastner

Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Audrey O'Rourke Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Griffen Perry

Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Hayden Craig

Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Allison Meyer

Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Alex Sawyer

Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Matthew Corrigan Prop, Costume, & Set Construction

Nia Latridis

Makeup Design

The artistic team Megan Cramer Director

Liz Whalen Tech Director

Natalie Pitchford

Poster & Graphic Design

Misao Cates Costume Designer

Cara Lavallee

Choreographer & Sound Editing

Truly Cates '17 Lighting Designer

Special thanks Elissa Marele Natalie Pitchford Julie Schatz Daniel Solammon StageCraft Class Fine Arts Boosters Mattox Reed James Calleroz White Galloway Communications Office Leah Berryhill Maria Paola Jimenez Mike Morrin

virtual program designed by Ricky Emmons '09

SONG/MUSIC CREDITS: Original Lullaby Music by: Ariana Jones and Ella Good

Aloha! Main Title Theme -- Cristobal Tapia De Veer The Seasonal Seas -- Steven Price The Second Line -- Stop, Inc. Jungle Fever -- Cristobal Tapia De Veer It’s All Over Now -- The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Funky Donkey -- Big Sam’s Funky Nation Rejunevated -- Cristobal Tapia De Veer Brazilian Drums -- Samba Drums Voodoo -- The Dirty Dozen Brass Band She’s a Superhero -- Two Steps from Hell Georgia Swing -- The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Special Chosen Baby -- Cristobal Tapia De Veer Courtship -- Cristobal Tapia De Veer Levitating -- Dua Lipa