On Stage: Add an accent,
make Shakespeare fun
By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
3/1/2004
Perhaps you know "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as that enchanted folly that suggests that romance is a matter of chance and love at first sight is entirely possible with the help of magical potions.
You may smile at the thought of a long night in the forest with the impish Puck, the king and queen of the fairies, a group of lovers who are pawns in a series of mystical tricks and a band of village workmen who plan to rehearse a play in the woods.
Now forget much of what you thought you knew of Shakespeare's play, add some updates and an all-youth cast, and you have Clark Theater's production of the Bard's beloved comedy.
"I believe Shakespeare should be fun," said Julie Tattershall, who is directing this production. "It should not be the boring, ivory tower literature, because it won't reach people, and it won't reach the kids. So what I 've done it try to make it fun."
Four groups are in the play: the court, the lovers, the mechanicals and the fairies. In order to make it more accessible to the kids and to the audience, however, Tattershall has made a few alterations.
The court is now corporate types, dressed in business suits. The lovers are preppies (high schoolers wearing Izod shirts, naturally). The "rustics," or the workman who stage the play-within-the-play, are hicks. The fairies? They're now hippies living out in the woods.
"The whole concept of the rustics is that these are people who don't know anything about theater putting on a play, and they think they're brilliant. So we took the idea of hicks with huge, annoying accents saying Shakespeare, and it really works," Tattershall said, laughing.
Admittedly, when the director delivers a few of the woodsman Bottom's lines -- employing a decidedly backwoods voice rather than traditional iambic pentameter -- the effect is humorous.
As artistic director at Heller Theater, Tattershall has taught a Shakespeare class at summer camp for several years. The cast here ranges in age from 8-18.
"We're having fun with it, and the kids are loving it," she said. "If teens and young adults can be introduced to Shakespeare and know how much fun it is, then they won't be afraid of the language. So this should be a real romp."
Performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Clark Theater is located at 11440 E. Admiral Place. Tickets may be reserved by calling 669-6455.
Michael Smith 581-8334
michael.smith@tulsaworld.com
Related Photos & Graphics
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Tim Slavin (left), who plays Bottom, and Preston Lindley (right), who plays Flute,
lean in to kiss the Wall, played by Roxanne Dominick, during a rehearsal for an
upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Clark Theater. |
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