A Midsummer Night's Dream - State Theatre

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8 What’s It All About? “Innocent fantasy or sinister nightmare—A Midsummer Night’s Dream seems in the 20th century, at any rate, to yield anything we might wish to find in it.” —R.A. Foakes “For me, it is ‘bully Bottom’s’ play, though its four realms of being— fairies, ancient Athenians, contemporary rustics, and erotically confused young women and men— all afford extraordinary vistas upon colliding dreams and realities.” —Harold Bloom Ask ten Shakespeare scholars, ten actors, or ten theatergoers to identify the main theme of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and you might get ten different answers. No one answer will be the ‘right’ one or the ‘wrong’ one. That’s one of the things we love about this play, and most plays in general: it invites us to create our own meaning; to see the story and characters through our own eyes. That’s why every production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is different from the others. Each interpretation uses the same words—the ones Shakespeare wrote. But every new creative team (director, designers, actors, etc,) has their own ideas about the play. They make artistic choices that will affect how the audience sees the play. What do you think is the main theme of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Write an essay explaining your choice. Include at least five lines or speeches from the play that support your opinion. Create a collage of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that represents your personal understanding and interpretation of the play. Incorporate a variety of materials to give your collage visual interest. Watch at least two of the film versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (See the list on page 10 of this guide.) Compare and contrast: How is the meaning of the play the same in each version? How is it different? What are the specific elements (performances, lighting, costumes, settings, etc.) that change the audience’s understanding of the play? “The whole question which is balanced, and balanced nobly and fairly in A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, is whether the life of waking, or the life of the vision, is the real life of man.” ̶G.K. Chesterton “Our version of A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream is about the magic of love. Love touches everyone: young and old, rich and poor, those who return it and those who run from it. Any way you find it, love changes you. It builds you up and makes you believe that anything is possible. It turns a gaggle of amateur actors into a class act, fit for a king. It inspires lovers to brave the forest in the hopes of finding a brighter tomorrow. It can even alter nature and change the seasons when the King and Queen of the Fairies are in love. Love inspires us to be a part of something greater than ourselves and that is what makes it truly magical.” ̶Alison Frederick, BAMA Theatre Company
9 One Play, Many Stories A Midsummer Night’s Dream has many different stories in one play, among them: • The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta • The two mixed-up Athenian couples • The conflict between Oberon and Titania • The mechanicals preparing their play • The play-within-the-play, Pyramus and Thisbe. From these many different threads, Shakespeare wove a colorful tapestry combining elements of comedy, tragedy, history, mythology, and the supernatural. He borrowed characters and plots from a wide range of sources, including Greek and Roman mythology, medieval and Renaissance literature, and English folklore. The play contains references to London actors, Indian kings, Tartars, French and English coins, centaurs, mermaids, the Man in the Moon, Jack and Jill, magic herbs, swords, guns, and the Antipodes. Are there any similarities among the various storylines in this play? Differences? Most of the plot threads have something to do with love. How does love affect the different characters? Does class or social stature seem to make a difference in the way they be have under the influence of love? Try writing your own story ‘mashup.’ Pick three sources from the menu below. Combine them into one story, making sure the plots and characters intersect. • your family • a nursery rhyme or children’s song • a work of fiction you read for school • a reality-tv show • ancient mythology (any civilization) • a famous (real-life) scientist or inventor • a song lyric • a real-life animal (or animals) that lives in the ocean Pyramus and Thisbe “This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard.” —Hippolyta: Act 5, Scene 1 The story of Pyramus and Thisbe (PEER-a-miss and THIZ-bee) is an ancient Greek myth. Shakespeare would have known it from reading The Metamorphoses, a long poem in 15 books by the Roman author Ovid (43 BC - AD 17). The poem is a collection of mythological and legendary stories in which metamorphosis (transformation) plays some part. Like Hermia and Lysander—and Romeo and Juliet, too—Pyramus and Thisbe are young lovers who are kept apart by their parents. Through a crack in the wall that separates their two houses, they arrange to meet by moonlight at the tomb of Ninus (a character from Greek mythology). Thisbe is the first to arrive at the meeting-place. She sees a lion, its mouth still bloody from a recent kill. She flees in terror, accidentally dropping her cloak. The lion grabs the cloak and rips it apart. Pyramus arrives and finds the blood-stained cloak. He assumes that Thisbe has been killed. Grief stricken, he draws his sword and kills himself. A short time later, Thisbe returns to the tomb and finds Pyramus’ body. She kills herself with Pyramus’ sword. Her parents answer her dying prayer and bury her in the same tomb with her beloved Pyramus. The transformation in Ovid’s story has to do with a mulberry tree that grows near Ninus’ tomb. The white fruit of the tree becomes stained by Pyramus’s blood when he stabs himself. Before she kills herself, Thisbe prays to the gods to forever change the color of the mulberry fruit. Her wish is granted, and to this day, mulberry trees bear purple-red fruit.
Page 1 and 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Page 3 and 4: 3 Shakespeare & A Midsummer Night
Page 5 and 6: 5 Follow the Map! EGEUS Wants These
Page 7: 7 Staying on Track The ‘Mechanica
Page 11 and 12: 11 Resources BOOKS The Friendly Sha

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