Helena (Analese Mitson), Evan Hopkins (Puck), Hermia (Maddie Green), Lysander (Sammy Sallerson), and Demetrius (Aidan Berry), in Lord Denney’s Players’ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Credit: Sarah Neville
Even though winter is coming, the story of midsummer is still ongoing.
Lord Denney’s Players, an on-campus theater group supported by Ohio State’s English and Theatre, Film, and Media Arts departments, will present William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as its fall 2023 production, according to the group’s website.
The first weekend of shows will run from Thursday to Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. The second weekend will run from Nov. 2 to 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Theater Lab of Ohio State’s Theatre, Film, and Media Arts Building.
Sarah Neville, Lord Denney’s Players’ creative director, said the most well-known version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was published in 1600. However, Neville chose to produce and direct the First Folio version — published in 1623 — to honor the First Folio’s 400th anniversary.
“Because it is the First Folio anniversary year, we thought it would be fun to give audiences an opportunity to see this slightly different version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ than the one that they know,” Neville, an associate professor in the English and Theatre, Film, and Media Arts departments, said.
Neville said Shakespeare’s company often revised his plays when invited to perform at court, tailoring them to different audiences over time. Therefore, the first version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was mainly intended to be seen by England’s rich and powerful, Neville said.
“That audience is elevated people,” Neville said. “The version that we’re performing is the version that was more legible, more understandable to a regular person who would go to the theater.”
One of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who flee into a magical forest to be together. However, mischievous fairies have other plans, resulting in confusion and chaos for all who stumble into the forest that night.
Neville said she wanted everyone on the cast and crew to learn about theater and the art of acting, so almost everybody who auditioned got into the show, even if they had never been in a play before.
“Students are often learning by doing,” Neville said. “We’re using theater as a lab space to experiment. Experience isn’t necessary, but enthusiasm is.”
Camden Wegner, the play’s promotions manager and a fourth-year in English, said approximately 10 majors are represented in the cast and crew this year, with most participants being undergraduate students with little experience in theater.
“It’s been challenging just with the experience element of it, but that’s how we learn, it’s how we grow,” Wegner said.
Taylor Thompson, who is portraying Peaseblossom, said the show has the potential to bring immense joy to audience members, regardless of whether they have seen a production in the past or are complete theater newcomers.
“It’s just a stress relief for a bunch of college students,” Thompson, a third-year in English and psychology, said. “You are getting to midterm time, you can just go watch a little fun play instead of like a tragedy.”
Tickets cost $10 for general admission and $5 for students. Ohio State’s English majors are granted free admission at the door. Tickets can be purchased online here, over the phone or in person at the Ohio State Theatre Ticket Office.
Advance ticket sales will end online the day before each show starts, but day-of tickets will still be available at the door, Neville said.
“The Ohio State students and faculty really bring a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of silliness to this production,” Neville said. “There’s nothing funnier, I hope that people can come and see it.”
This story was updated Oct. 26 at 12:06 a.m. to accurately reflect the production’s date range.
