By Ramona Shelton
Motlow Buzz Managing Editor
Fairies and mortals… love and
foolishness… In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” William Shakespeare gives us an
intertwining tale with several plots set in the forest and in the realm of the
fairies.
This “play within a play” is one of the
Bard’s most commonly presented works, and this was true of the 2018 Shakespeare
in the Park presentation by the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. Members of the History Club attended the final
performance of the season, held in Franklin’s Academy Park on Saturday (Sept.
15).
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| The Motlow Smyrna History Club attends William Shakepeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." |
The story begins with the love
quadrangle of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena. Hermia is in love with
Lysander and her BFF Helena loves Demetrius, but their powerful parents have
decided that the best (arranged) marriage is between Hermia and Demetrius.
Demetrius decides that he would be better off with Hermia, though she still
clings to Lysander, and of course, what about poor Helena? The four run into
the woods, and as you can imagine, things quickly go pear-shaped. What the
erstwhile lovers do not realize is that the woods they have run into are filled
with fairies and sprites led by Puck, as well as the King and Queen of the
Fairies, Oberon and Titania.
At the same time, Oberon and Titania are
having their own little lovers’ quarrel over each other’s feelings for
Athenian-engaged couple Hippolyta and Theseus. Oberon asks Puck to find a
magical flower that will cause Titania to magically dote on him. Puck finds the
flower and slips some to not only Titania but also to Lysander, causing him to
fall for Helena. Yep, you can imagine the chaos that brings! The “mechanicals,”
a group of workers who are supposed to play at the nuptials of Theseus and
Hippolyta, gather in the woods to practice their performance, and Puck decides
to have a little fun with them by giving Bottom, one of their members, the head
of an ass. Imagine Titania’s confusion when she awakens from her magical
slumber to see that!
The play winds down with Oberon and
Titania reconciling, Theseus and Hippolyta wedding as planned, and that love
leading Theseus to bless the marriages of Hermia to Lysander and Helena to
Demetrius. Of course, no triple wedding could be complete without some sort of
festivities, right? The mechanicals put on a play that gives Bottom (with his
ass’s head magically removed) the opportunity to present the longest and most
dramatic death scene in history!
The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is
celebrating its 30th anniversary, having started with their first
presentation of “As You Like It” in Nashville’s Centennial Park in 1988. In
1992, The NSF developed its “Shakespeare Samplers” program in Metro Nashville
Public Schools, providing abridged productions for students.
Starting in 2008, the Nashville
Shakespeare Festival established its Winter Shakespeare productions in
residence at Belmont University’s Troutt Theater. More than 46,000 people have
attended the winter productions since. Standouts from this included Eddie
George playing the title roles in both “Julius Caesar” and “Othello.” The 2019
Winter Shakespeare presentation will also be “Julius Caesar.”
Nearly 20 members of the Motlow Smyrna History Club attended this year’s final
summer performance, enjoying the performance and definitely laughing raucously
at Bottom’s exaggerated death scene. The group has plans to attend the winter
production of “Julius Caesar” as well.
For more info on the Nashville
Shakespeare Festival, check out www.nashvilleshakes.org. If
you are interested in joining the Motlow Smyrna History Club, contact Ramona
Shelton, club advisor, at rshelton@mscc.edu or come to our
next meeting at 11 a.m. Sept. 26 (Wednesday) at the covered pavilion behind the
Art Walker Jr. building.
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