Choreography on Midsummer Night’s Dream
Duirng this play, as oppose to any other play that we’ve gone to watch, the choreography and movement of the many characters was especially important. What I noticed about the characters was that their choreography almost indicated their mood or role in the play. For example, Puck’s sporadic and flexible movement indicated to viewers that her main role was to be a form of comedic relief. Because she moved so fluidly, you could tell that she was always cheerful and giddy. I found this type of choreography to be consistent with most characters. Another example is when Lysander and Demetrius are fighting over the love of Helena. They’re movements were very fierce and aggressive and indicated their passionate love for Helena as well as their anger towards each other for wanting to pursue the same woman.
The choreography really helped me to understand the play better mainly because I had never read the play before. I also really enjoyed how the children and their choreography was utilized. There were many points throughout the performance where the children were used as a part of the scenery because of how they were moving. For instance, when Demtrius and Helena are running through the forest, the kids were rolling on the floor beneath them. This was supposed to be seen as logs that Lysander and Helena were running after.
The choreography was very important to understand different scenes as well. One scene that may have been interpreted different had it not been for the choreography was when the Lord of Shadows and Puck are on the stage but are supposed to be viewed as “invisible.” Lysander is professing his love for Helena while Puck and the lord of Shadows are making sly, discrete movements behind the bamboo sticks that represent the forest scenery. Had the lord of shadows and Puck been moving normally then the audience may receive the impression that they are just as visible as Lysander and Helena. Choreography played a very important role in the play being viewed as a fluid yet refined work of art. I thought the director did an amazing job in every minute detail of the characters’ movements.
