"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Richmond Shakespeare Theatre, 2009

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

by William Shakespeare

Richmond Shakespeare Theatre

April 2009

Richmond Theatre Critics Circle award winner:

“Best Acting Ensemble”

Having been involved with several productions of Midsummer over the years (as actor, costume designer, and twice as composer), I was very eager to bring a unique stamp to this production based on my great familiarity with the show. Like As You Like It the year before, this would be a show so acclaimed that it was revived for a summer run. Unlike As You Like It, both runs were the same five-actor cast. The process was the most ensemble-focused of my career, beginning with the casting of actors who had demonstrated ability to contribute to an artistic vision. In many ways, once I established the world of the play I felt more like a ringmaster than a director in our early days, cursed with the awful responsibility of choosing between brilliant options.

I decided early on that the key to this production would be establishing the godlike power of the fairies, playing on the Zeus-Hera mythology attributed to Oberon and Titania. With minimal tech and costumes, I relied heavily on the actors’ ability to create non-human personas for these characters. Titania (Stacie Rearden Hall) was a tall, majestic tree-like creature, Puck (Kerry McGee) a rolling, crawling bundle of attention deficit disorder. Oberon (Brandon Crowder), mightiest of all Shakespeare’s characters, never moved like anything human, sliding and scuttling and striding alternately, commanding the space in a panoply of animal images. His magical influence was a flick of the finger, a wave of a hand, a breath from his lips, his voice languorous and seductive. The five fairies were reduced to hand puppets to give their superiors scale.

The magic of the love-juice, more than just affecting the lovers’ affections, changed their personalities. Lysander (Crowder), formerly romantic and brave, became a whiny emotional wreck; Demetrius (Adam Mincks) went from awkward social ineptitude to awkward exaggerated heroism. The argument scene was a whirlwind of action, violence, and weight-sharing, with Lysander and Demetrius alternately competing for Helena and cooperating to shun Hermia (McGee). Credit is due to the fearless four actors playing these roles, none of whom shied away from the extreme physicality I required of them. At several points, Hermia was literally crawling over and around the standing Lysander. The entire cast had a remarkable ability to simply try anything asked of them without fear or hesitation.

The single set piece was a rolling platform the size of a small bed. Like As You Like It’s bench, the platform was city on one side, forest on the other. It supported action of a romantic and violent nature, sometimes both at once.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream ran for four weeks and was Richmond Shakespeare’s final production in the chapel at Second Presbyterian Church.

Photos coming soon!

Richmond Times-Dispatch: " 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' Richmond Shakespeare Theatre's final production of its indoor season under the direction of Andrew Hamm, roars delightfully into its raucous conclusion, which includes a play within a play and a wedding celebration.... This 'Dream' features a tight-knit and lovable ensemble. Some of the casting contrasts are startling and ingenious.... Shakespeare's words, juxtaposed against modern-day clothing and props, and in the hands -- and mouths -- of this enthusiastic and zany cast made 2½ hours in uncomfortable chairs in an overheated chapel fly."

Style Weekly: "There was a moment during Richmond Shakespeare’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' when I literally could not stop laughing. Near the play’s end, the sheer lunatic brilliance of director Andrew Hamm’s off-kilter rendering of the Shakespeare classic reached such a fever pitch that I found myself lost in the sea of silliness. I would have been more embarrassed about my guffaws if there weren’t several others in the audience doing the same thing.... Hamm’s inspired cast pushes every envelope available.... This 'Dream' sings."