A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Midsummer Nights Dream - Essay Example The work was not the most imaginative recreation of the play, but it provided a clear representation with engaging actors who allowed their characters to come through. The costumes provided a feel for the time period in which the play was set and the setting was creatively constructed, allowing for all of the elements of the play to have space in which to play out their roles within the story. The way in which the play was lit added a dimension to the overall production. As always, the text of William Shakespeare created a work in which the actors could suspend the disbelief of the audience and create a production that was magical, while full of beautiful commentary on the human condition. The play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, is a tale of comic twists, the story of young love in which the fae come to play their part by interfering in the lives of humans, twisting their desires to suit their own needs. The director, Kent Thomas, took a cold February day in Denver and transformed it to a warm summer evening. The play was developed around a classic setting with costuming that suggested Napoleonic France. The director situated the actors through their body language well within that time period, the production unified through ideals that created an atmosphere. The actores expressed this unified setting as they engaged more formally with one another, different than if it had been set in a lesser socio-economic surroundings. The characters seemed to be young aristocrats, their socio-economic status clear through their positioning on the stage. The work of the actors was well accomplished, the role of Hermia, played by Caitlin Wise standing out through her execution and presence. Something about her was engaging with the audience that placed focus on her when appropriate. At a moment when she was expressing a comedic frustration, her expressions were very readable, her projection of her voice filling the hall and focusing the audience on he r plight. Likewise, Helena Pistorius as Helena created a very believable character, her voice having a resonance that created a reality within her performance. As she developed her position within the play, she created empathy from the audience in a way that was unique to the role. Lawrence Hecht as bottom created a performance that made the audience laugh as it should, his portrayal with the donkey’s head unique in the way in which he expressed his role as the great queen Tatiana fell in love with him. However, it is the performance by Michael Wartella as Puck that still has me remembering the wonder of the play. He was clever, yet innocent, mischievous, but not evil as he comes across as a delightful fae whose only desire is to create trouble within both the human and fairy worlds. The way in which he expressed the character was not through evil, but through a feeling of joy in the accomplishment of his twisted sense of humor. His little devilries were executed with a belie vability that surpassed the breach of his true self, allowing his characterization to fully blossom and the audience to believe that he was not human, but a transcended being with the ability to muddle in the affairs of the heart. The costuming of the work was some of the most imaginative I have had the privilege to witness. The pieces broke through the time-period from which the play originated, adopting a Napoleonic point of view. The pieces were editorially reflective of the costumes of France during that time period, the dresses reflecting the empire waistlines that Josephine had favored. Therefore, the time period was set in the late 18th, early 19th century, the human characters reflecting this aesthetic. The costuming created a formal mood, the aristocratic air helping to set the socio-economic st