Staging in MidsummerNight’s dream
MidsummerNight’s dream was remarkable in a number of fields, but it excelled in one place above all else – set design.
There are simply a ton of things to discuss with the set of Midsummernight’s dream -the use of poles to create a forest atmosphere, the outrageously creative and varying uses of large sheets, projections, and even the use of a wide assortment of hidden passages in the stage floor were all expertly planned and executed. I feel, however, that there is one particular set that stood above the rest of it, and that was the set outside of the traditional stage. There were a great deal of scenes throughout the production in which child fairies would sit amongst the audience, or when Oberon would watch from above in the background as dramatic events unfolded between the main cast. The members of the fairy world incorporated themselves into the play not simply as characters, but people observing the shenanigans that other characters were involved in, a role brilliantly represented by allowing these characters to break the fourth wall and use the seating around the stage as a stage.
