'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.

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.