A Midsummer Night's Dream: Cast and Crew bios

by William Shakespeare

Cast
Theseus/Oberon:      Geoff Zimmerman
Hippolyta/Titania:      Caitlin Jackson
Egeus:                       Kitty Mortland
Demetrius:                Tim Larson
Lysander:                  Ken Miller
Hermia:                     Letitia Guillaud *
Helena:                     Mary-Kate Arnold
Quince:                     Maria Burnham *
Bottom:                     Michael Houghton Wagman *
Flute/Peaseblossom: Naomi Lindh
Snug/Cobweb:          Miona Lee †
Puck:                         Julia Rigby
The Lion:                  Herbert the Lion
Understudy:              Kirk Jackson

Production Team
Director:                          Holly Robison *
Stage Manager:              Lisa Uhlig *
Costume Designer:         Carrie Campana *
Lighting Designer:           Eric Van Tassell
Scenic Designer:             Lauren Angel-Nichols
Sound Designer:             Keith Gatchel *
Production Manager:      Brad Gunter *
Prop Designer:                Mel Gill
Fight Choreographer:      Robert Tobin
Graphic Designer:           Mike Wozniak
Photographer:                 Austin D. Oie
Audience Development: Jaclyn Jensen*
Marketing:                      Maria Burnham*

*Strangeloop Company Member
†Strangeloop Associate Company Member

April 24 – May 25, 2014
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Side Project Theatre, 1439 West Jarvis Avenue, Chicago, IL

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' closes this weekend

The final four performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream begin tonight. This is the last weekend to see this show, which audiences have called "a magnificent and intimate production. Such fine acting and a joy to witness!"

Tickets are going fast (as all closing weekends do). Get yours now on Brown Paper Tickets.

Strangeloop's intimate approach to William Shakespeare’s classic tale of love, magic and fairies features promenade-style staging, in which audience members move and sit amongst the action of the play with no formal differentiation between stage and seating.

The production takes place in the 1940s – a time period that shares with the ancient Athens of Shakespeare’s original setting political turmoil, war and the subduing of monstrous beasts (literal in one case, figurative in the other). But despite the unrest of the outside world, love still finds a place to bloom during this, the shortest night of the year.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through May 25 at the side project theatre (1439 W. Jarvis Ave.) in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood (just steps from the Jarvis Red Line stop), at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Wagman rolls up his sleeves, slips on a donkey's head for iconicShakespearean role

Wicker Park actor Michael Houghton Wagman loves that his neighborhood is developing into its own theater district in a city filled with storefronts and stages.

But Wagman’s latest project – taking on the iconic role of Bottom in William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”with Strangeloop Theatre – has taken him a little further afield, up to a small performance space in Rogers Park. The trek north for the actor has been worth it, however, to take on a role that is known for its heavy comedy, but also much subtler shades of introspection, passion and joy.

Read more about Michael, including his thoughts about Bottom in Strangeloop's production A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Bucktown-Wicker Park Patch.

Review: 'Go home Helena, you’re drunk'

Chicago Theatre Review recently recommended Strangeloop Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream, calling it "ribald, cacophonous and soused" and "never bloodless":

Actresses fly past inches from your knees, suitors are hurled across the room and, unless you chose to avert your eyes, you can catch eyefuls of intimate caresses between the monarchs of the forest.

Read the whole review here and then come join us this weekend.(Just make sure you're "prepared to duck, weave, and dance to ukulele strains and forties hits.")

Director's Note: A Midsummer Night's Dream

I came to this production of A Midsummer Night's Dream through a series of happy coincidences.

I had seen productions performed in promenade and loved the staging. The experience of being on the same level with the actors, surrounded by their world, was an incredibly vivid and exciting experience. I felt an immediate urge to do a promenade staging myself, and for several years, I have wanted to do so with one Shakespeare’s plays.

When discussions began in the company about Strangeloop’s upcoming season, I realized it might be the time to finally do it. Promenade is unusual and can put a unique, visceral, intimate twist on classic – a concept that fit right into Strangeloop’s mission. I also knew that we had The Side Project space. While small, it offered many things that could lend themselves to a promenade staging. With its large lobby and multiple doors, I felt it was a venue where the entire space could be utilized for performance. Moving an audience with the action through the space was another concept I had been contemplating for a long time. It seemed to be the right time and the right space for this staging.

I settled on Midsummer as the play because it’s a classic and endearing comedy. Much of Strangeloop’s recent productions, as well as my own personal projects, explored the tragic or dark side of stories. I wanted to do something lighthearted. I felt it was time to do a big, fun, rollicking comedy that made an audience laugh. Midsummer was the natural choice.  It has two distinct worlds – the "normal" world of Athens and the magical forest – which plays perfectly into the staging. And what I enjoy is, at its heart, it’s a honey-tongued farce that manages to be broadly comic while making incredibly profound observations on the nature of love.

Setting the story in the 1940s seemed natural, as well. It was a time of war, upheaval and some uncertainty, but the period somehow has its own classic, timeless sense that lends itself to so many stories. It was a time of darkness that produced to goofy screwball comedies and bright, boisterous big band music. That is ultimately what I tried to accomplish with this production – laughter and optimism in the face of uncertainty and darkness.

— Holy Robison

Fairy of The Day

Cobweb (Miona Lee), left, and Peaseblossom (Naomi Lindh), right, attende their mistress Titania (Caitlin Jackson) and her new love Bottom (Michael Houghton Wagman).

Previews for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" start on Thursday, April 24, with the show officially opening on Saturday, April 26.

Tickets are available in advance at Brown Paper Tickets. But to get you in the mood for magic, we've been featuring a fairy a day on our Facebook page.

Check out all our delightful fairies (and suggest your own), as well as photos from rehearsals and tech week.

Strangeloop announces casting, production details for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Summer is on its way and so is Strangeloop Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Strangeloop company member Holly Robison. This intimate approach to William Shakespeare’s classic tale of love, magic and fairies features promenade-style staging, in which audience members move and sit amongst the action of the play with no formal differentiation between stage and seating.

Strangeloop’s production takes place in the 1940s – a time period that shares with the ancient Athens of Shakespeare’s original setting political turmoil, war and the subduing of monstrous beasts (literal in one case, figurative in the other). But despite the unrest of the outside world, love still finds a place to bloom during this, the shortest night of the year.

The cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is: Mary-Kate Arnold (Helena), Maria Burnham (Quince), Letitia Guillaud (Hermia), Caitlin Jackson (Hippolyta/Titania), Tim Larson (Demetrius), Miona Lee (Cobweb/Snug), Naomi Lindh (Peaseblossom/Flute), Ken Miller (Lysander), Kitty Mortland (Egeus), Julia Rigby (Puck), Michael Wagman (Bottom) and Geoff Zimmerman (Theseus/Oberon).

The production team includes: Lauren Angel-Nichols (set designer), Maria Burnham (marketing), Carrie Campana (costume designer), Keith Gatchel (sound designer), Brad Gunter (production manager), Jaclyn Jensen (audience development), Lisa Uhlig (stage manager) Eric Van Tassell (lighting designer) and Mike Wozniak (graphic designer).

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs April 24 through May 25 at the side project theatre (1439 W. Jarvis Ave.) in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets and are $18 for general admission. Discounts are available for seniors and students. Limited reserved seating will be available for those with disabilities.    

A Midsummer Night's Dream