Photo and story by: Hunter Fullhart
Photography and Social Media Editor
What do you get whenever you cross mischievous fairies and crazy love triangles, or pentagons rather? You get “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which is a wacky Shakespeare play, written between 1590 and 1597, involving faith, trust and lots of fairy dust.
This play portrays the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with woodland fairies and a duke and duchess. Taking place in a mythical Athens and an enchanted forest, there is a handsome fairy king, a misguided parent, star-crossed lovers, a weaver who’s transformed into a half-donkey, wood sprites and elves.
Butler Community College, under the direction of Professor of Theatre and Speech Samuel Sparks, will present this zany production to the public. Auditions and callbacks took place in August and rehearsals have been running since then. This show promises to leave audiences busting with laughter and clapping for joy.
“I think the audience will be surprised with the play,” Sophomore theatre tech student Maddie Cannon said. “They will be expecting a boring Shakespeare play, but {they} will figure out that there is a lot of humor and entertainment [involved].”
This play is one of the easiest plays in Shakespeare’s repertoire to understand and enjoy, unlike “Twelfth Night,” which is very confusing and hard to understand.
“In this show, I will be playing Titania, queen of fairies,” said sophomore Madisyn Coats. “The thing I love most about this character is that she is so much different from the other characters I usually play. I’ve never had the opportunity before to play a character with such power before, and I find that so exciting!”
Shakespearian plays can be very hard to learn and produce, but the actors in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” seem to have the play on lockdown.
“I’ve never worked with Shakespeare material, and it’s the most challenged I’ve ever been,” said sophomore Miranda Kimble who plays Hippolyta. “I think the audience will respond well to Shakespeare, especially this show, because although the language can be confusing, the story is easy to catch onto and there’s humor people can relate to at every turn.”
Other cast members include: Clay Voisin, Jordan Debrrecht, Davyd Ledgerwood, Jose Cruz, Allison Pieschl, Abby Staats, David Kelley, Chandler Moore, Matt Heideman, Brooklyn Kane, Sarah Slack, Bethany Khanu, Nicole Walker, Elizabeth Gillis, Nathan Wells, Seth Knowles, Bethanie Phillips, Elayne Rye, Jacob Martinez and Charley Ahistedt.
The play will be performed on Thursday, Sept. 29, Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the 700 building theatre. Tickets for Butler performances can be purchased by calling 316.322.3262 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
