[SDS] GBM #3 TOMORROW, Midsummer Night's Dream

[Ian Diguilio]

Hello everyone!

Thank you to those who came out to support *Arcadia*!

This email is a reminder that we will be having our third GBM TOMORROW
night at 9pm in Babbio 319!!! Several things we will be discussing at
tomorrow's meeting:

   - Junior Member-at-Large nominations
   - Show Trip details and sign-up form will be released
   - Show Wrap-up
   - Society Day and Musical Suggestions

This will be an important meeting, so please try to make it!  If you have
any questions, please reach out to me!

Also, for those interested, auditions for *A Midsummer Night's Dream* will
take place tonight and tomorrow evening from 7pm to 9:30pm in Debaun
Auditorium.  If you plan on auditioning, I ask that you do not allow
auditions to interfere with your being able to attend the GBM.  Thank you,
and break a leg! (If you need a refresher, the details are attached below
with the audition sides.)

Regards,

*Ian DiGuilio*
Chemical Engineering '18
Stevens Scholar
Vice President, Stevens Dramatic Society, 2015-2016
Brother, Alpha Phi Omega, Theta Alpha
________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Stevens Theatre Folk!


Auditions for the 2016 Shakespeare Project are fast approaching. We've had
a great time in the past two years with "Hamlet" and "Much Ado About
Nothing," and this year, we're heading into the woods for some magical
hijinks!


Read on for info on auditions, roles and casting, etc. If you're interested
in tech, please contact me or Carl.


*A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM*

The 2016 Shakespeare Project

Directed by Bethany Reeves

Produced by Carl Russell & DeBaun Auditorium PAC

Stage Manager: Shawna Cathey


*AUDITION DATES: *Tuesday and  Wednesday Nov. 17 & 18, 7:00-9:30, DeBaun
Auditorium.


*Sides* are attached here and will be provided in print at the auditions.
You may bring in other Shakespeare pieces (or even other
playwrights/screenwriters) if you wish. Audition material does not need to
be memorized. / If you are absolutely unable to audition during these
times, please write to Bethany Reeves atbreeves at stevens.edu.


Be ready to list specifics of your rehearsal availability from Monday
1/18 (MLK Day) through Thursday 1/4, including weekends and late weekday
evenings. Class schedules, family events, other extracurricular
commitments, etc. should all be included.


No experience necessary.


Performance dates: Friday Feb. 5 & Saturday Feb 6, 2016, at 8:00 pm

________________


*PROJECT PARAMETERS:*
*Midsummer *will be a workshop project in terms of technical values, and a
full-out project in terms of acting values (though full memorization will
generally not be required - see "Re Memorization" at the bottom of this
email).

The more persons interested in working on the technical side the better, so
if that is you, please contact me or Carl!


Costume note: actors will probably be wearing some pieces of their own
clothing for this project. Details TBA.

________________

*REHEARSALS*


For most of the rehearsal period (Monday 1/18-Thursday 2/4), rehearsals
will take place on evenings and weekends.


Casting must, of necessity, take into account actors' ability to commit to
rehearsals.


REHEARSAL TIMES:

Monday 1/18 (MLK Day): I will schedule rehearsals with as many
available persons as possible.


Tuesday 1/19 - Friday 1/22: during this first week of spring semester,
choir and voice lessons are postponed so I (director Bethany Reeves) can
focus exclusively on the Shakespeare project. I'll be calling as many
rehearsals as cast members' schedules permit during this week.


Saturday 1/23 to Sunday 1/31: actors will be called at varying times from
among the following:


Monday after Choir (9-10)
Tuesday evening (7-9 or 10)
Wednesday afternoon and evening (2-6ish; 7-10ish)
*Friday evening (6-10)*

*Saturdays (11-8)*
*Sundays (11-8)*

Some weekday afternoon times may be utilized as well, where possible.

*Only those actors specifically needed for a given rehearsal will be called
for that rehearsal* (that is, no one will be called to "just watch," though
observation is encouraged).

Monday 2/1 - Thursday 2/4 is TECH WEEK, and will involve late nights at
DeBaun Auditorium for everyone.


Re: PRE-BREAK INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS
Actors will be required to attend one of several preparatory text workshops
prior to the winter break, and most actors will coach individually with the
director at least once before break (and preferably during the rehearsal
period as well). Larger roles need more coaching time.

Why? Because...

...while production values will be necessarily minimal, acting values will
be paramount. In Shakespeare, this means rigorous
textwork as the primary means of discovering character, action, etc. "Suit
the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special
observance: that you o're-step not the modesty of nature." (from Hamlet's
speech to the Players). There are specific, specialized tools for working
in Shakespeare's language that actors need in order to be at their best in
his plays.

__________________


*CASTING: ROLES*

*Midsummer* is an ensemble play. That is, while some roles are larger than
others and some of the most famous roles in Shakespeare are in this play
(Puck, Bottom, Titania...), there are actually no roles that stand out as
the main character. The play features several disparate groups who interact
in various ways thanks to the forces of love, magic, or both.


*THE ATHENIAN COURT *(these are relatively small roles unless combined with
others)

*Theseus:* the ruler of Athens; very high status. Theseus starts by
adhering to an unjust Athenian law because it is in fact the law, but by
the end of the play he changes his mind. This may be partly due to the
influence of:

*Hippolyta: *his fiancee; also very high status - an Amazon, in fact - and
not necessarily on board with Theseus' decisions.

*Egeus: *an aggrieved upper class citizen, angry because his daughter
Hermia refuses to marry according to his wishes (she is, in fact, refusing
the rules of upper class traditional marriage as it was understood in
Shakespeare's time).

*Philostrate *(lines late in play only): the court's "Master of Mirth" -
presents possible entertainment ideas to Theseus, and tries to steer him
away from "Pyramus & Thisbe."


*THE LOVERS* (sizable parts)

*Hermia:* Egeus' disobedient daughter; in love with Lysander.

*Lysander: *a young gentleman, so in love with Hermia that he is willing to
leave his home for her sake.

*Demetrius: *Lysander's rival; believes himself in love with Hermia. Egeus
insists Hermia marry Demetrius; Lysander points out that Demetrius has
already wooed and abandoned another young noblewoman, Helena.

*Helena: *an old school friend of Hermia's, she is hopelessly in love with
her now ex-boyfriend, Demetrius.


The lovers all end up in the forest at night, where heightened emotions and
magical hijinks from Puck & Oberon cause quite a lot of uproar - including
a *fight scene* that will require some time spent specifically on fight
choreography.


*THE FAIRY KINGDOM *(Puck, Titania and Oberon are sizable roles):

*Puck:* the play's chief mischief-maker and Oberon's top servant, Puck's
deliberately prankish or just mistaken uses of magic spur much of the
play's action. Puck can be cast in many ways, but should be physically
vigorous.

*Oberon:* King of the Fairies, he is extremely high status and represents
elemental power. Oberon has a strong will and is used to obedience or at
least acquiescence, which is clearly not what he always gets from..

*..Titania, *the equally strong-willed Queen of the Fairies. She is, like
her consort Oberon, extremely high status and an embodiment of elemental
power. She has the marvelous opportunity, however (thanks to spells from
Oberon & Puck), to fall madly in love with a very, very unlikely personage
(Nick Bottom - see "The Clowns," below)

*Peaseblossom:* Titania's chief fairy servant; has a scene with Puck. This
small role can be split to good effect.

*Moth, Mustardseed, & Cobweb: *Other fairy servants of Titania. The fairies
have a wonderful scene with Bottom, and are usually onstage when Titania
is. Like Puck, the fairies can be cast in various ways.


*THE CLOWNS* (Bottom is a large role; Quince and Flute are sizable; the
others are smaller in terms of text but have plenty of stage time)

A group of working-class folk from Athens. They are all infected with the
"theatre bug" and ambitiously plan to offer a play to their ruler, Theseus,
for his upcoming wedding celebrations (they go to the woods in order to
rehearse in private, where Puck just can't resist messing with them). The
resulting dramatic messterpiece, "Pyramus & Thisbe" (often referred to as
*Midsummer's* "play within the play") is one of theatre's best and most
famous comic set pieces, by Shakespeare or anyone else.


*Nick Bottom:* the "star player" of the group, Bottom is one
of Shakespeare's great clowns. He is high status within his own circle and
is very impressed with his own dramatic abilities. Thanks to a spell from
Oberon, he also has the strange and magical experience of being adored by
the spellbound Queen of the Fairies - despite the fact that Puck has
magicked his head into that of a donkey.

*Peter Quince:* Quince is the quintessential harassed theatre
manager/director, and has his hands full trying to keep Bottom and the
others focused on their task. He has a brilliantly punctuated speech
(perhaps a function of stage fright?) that is often used to demonstrate the
importance of putting punctuation in the right places. ;-)

*Four more roles: Starveling, Snout, Snug, and Francis Flute: *these roles
all have marvelous moments both before and within "Pyramus & Thisbe." Flute
plays the "leading lady," Thisbe (drag is part of the fun in this case, so
this part HAS to be cast with a male actor, folks). Snug, who
professes himself "slow of study," plays the Lion and gets to roar; the
genial Snout is "the [talking] Wall," and Starveling stubbornly persists in
the part of the Moon despite disruptive audience behavior from the court.
________________

*CASTING: THINGS TO KNOW*

- All roles are open. Some, such as Puck, Titania's fairy servants, and
several of the Clowns, may be played by either men or women. A couple have
lines that suggest certain physical characteristics (Hermia tends to be
cast shorter and darker of hair and/or complexion than Helena, for
instance), but don't avoid auditioning for a role that interests you based
on your idea of what type you are. Directors may see you differently than
you see yourself.


- Some roles may be split up and assigned to several actors, though as
*Midsummer* is very much an ensemble play, this is less likely than it was
for *The Hamlet Project* two years ago (we had nine Hamlets).


- Depending on auditions, it is also possible that actors may be cast in
more than one role. Common double castings in *Midsummer* include
Titania/Hippolyta and Oberon/Theseus. Roles may also be conflated (i.e.,
Egeus/Philostrate).


- What auditioners will be looking for: a strong voice, clear enunciation
(this does get help in coaching), and a willingness to commit to language
and character and go for broke! Rehearsal availability is also an important
consideration.


- ALUMNI PARTICIPATION: As in prior Shakespeare Projects, alumni are
welcome and encouraged to audition. The only caveat is that preference must
generally be given to current students.


*Re Memorization:*

In recognition of the very limited production period - 18 days from 1/18
to 2/4 - we will be using cue scripts, as we did for last year's *Much Ado
About Nothing.*


These Elizabethan-style scripts,  scrolled on wooden dowels, include only
each actor's own cues and lines.


*CAVEAT: the very physical scenes (i.e., the lovers' fight scene) will need
to be memorized for reasons of safety and pace.* In general, the more
memorized an actor is, the more s/he can really inhabit the character.
Though everyone will carry a scroll (we use pouches that attach to
clothing), smaller parts should really be off book.





Dr. Bethany Reeves
Director, Stevens Choir & DeBaun PAC Voice Studio
Music Program Coordinator, DeBaun Performing Arts Center
Stevens Institute of Technology
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