Are YOU having "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?

Pictured (L to R): Apolonia Davalos, Nat McIntyre, & Andrew Gumm. Photo by Jeff Frazier.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is an everyday dream come true!

Monday, July 15th, day 1 of rehearsals, was ignited with reveling synergy among thespians collaborating for the first time together in celebration of the Nashville Shakespeare Festivals 25th Anniversary!  

All converse around the tables with crisp scripts in hand. Then, as an ensemble, we collectively inhale a deep focused breath as actor Andrew Gumm sparks the season projecting Puck’s first words of the play: “How now, spirits! Whither wander you?” All smile with eager anticipation for the magic that shall manifest.

Pictured (L to R): Andrew Gumm, Raffeal Sears, Houston Mahoney, & Apolonia Davalos

Denice Hicks, our inspiring Director, is indubitably our rock, our foundation, and our comfort as we plunge forward into the mysterious forests of “Midsummer”. Her vision to set the play in Nashville 2013 reaffirms Shakespeare’s timeless relevance and further invigorates Nashville’s reputation as the Athens of the South. Her first order of business is to set us FREE: to make bold character choices; experiment with accents (especially familiar tones local to the Nashville twang); and to play! Embracing our own personal thoughts and reflections in regards to the in-depth nature behind the sincere motivations for each character and each uttered expression, she further adds, “I truly want to hear ALL your ideas, I welcome them!” Each Thespian, whether Fairy, Mechanical, or Athenian, is a single significant mesmeric note to an epic composition written by Shakespeare and conducted by Denice Hicks. 

Here’s a close peak into the week!  Monday through Thursday we concentrated on textual analysis and character development. Blessed to portray the acclaimed Queen of the Fairies TITANIA, I (while absorbing profound input from the entire “Midsummer” troupe) encountered the jillion layers of her dynamism and encompassed the complexities of her and Oberon’s emulous relationship.  

TOP (L to R): Tyler Manivong, Jaye Phelps, Douglas Corzine, Austin Hunt. MID ROW (L to R) Margaret Horne, Kalina Horner, Ali Valentine, Casey Flythe, McKenna Harrington, & Camille Thompson. BOTTOM: Will Miranne

As we were encouraged to participate with the educational sector of Nashville Shakes, the cast was invited by Denice Hicks and the heartening Nettie Kraft, the Education Director, to be an audience for the 2013 Apprentice Company of The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s monologue workshops.  The fruit of their efforts ripened at their showcase performance held on Friday, July 19th at Nashville Public Television (NPT). Fortified by their passionate commitment to reach their full potential, I learned a lot from watching their growth and transformation each day.  I CONGRATULATE them ALL again!

Pictured (L to R): Ali Valentine, Apolonia Davalos, & Camille Thompson

Immediately following the showcase, everyone celebrated their accomplishments over delicious dinner and desert organized by Rickey Chick Marquardt, the Development Director.  Re-energized on full tummies, we then engaged in a public staged reading of the play. After a focused full week of table work, the privilege to incorporate all the new insight we had attained for the community of Nashville Shakes was exceptionally riveting.

Pictured: The Magical & Hilarious Cast of "Midsummer"

Our exuberant Saturday will forever be a triumphal rehearsal providence that I will never forget! We engaged in Viewpoints exercises as well as other compelling improvisation exercises. One game investigated the polarity of our physical and emotional responses when living within an atmosphere of ‘magic versus the real world’ and ‘love versus apathy’. The biggest and most mindful challenge was our improvised rendition of Act 1. To TOP the superlative tasks at hand, our Music Director Ed Haggard spiritedly guided the entire cast in a musically revivifying jam session with drums and other multitudinous percussion instruments from diverse cultures around the globe.  The resonating exposure to such an organic impromptu creation of beats was incomparably breathtaking and everyone ROCKED-IT-OUT!

How did we accomplish so much in one week?

Dear friend reading this post, I personally invite you to attend this ceremonious production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. If you’ve never seen a Shakespearean play, this is the perfect introduction in which YOU, our audience, will also have opportunities within the show to participate in our jovial jam sessions. Denice Hicks gave us a gift of sharing the perfect analogy when approaching his plays, “The complete works of Shakespeare are like a cook book. The play is the meal plan, the scenes are the dish, and the words and characters are the ingredients!”

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See you at the show and stay-tuned for this week’s update!

AUGUST 15 – SEPTEMBER 15

Thursdays – Sundays & Labor Day Monday
At Centennial Park Bandshell

6:30 pm Pre-Show Entertainment
7:30 pm Showtime

FREE ($10.00 Suggested Donation)
www.NashvilleShakes.org

Nashville Shakes was featured in the NY Times. CLICK HERE to view the article.