MTSU Students Perform Shakespeare’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'

By Shanice Green

Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— The crowd at Middle Tennessee State University's Tucker Theatre roared with a standing ovation after actors completed their stirring performance of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," on Nov. 10.

            MTSU’s Theatre and Dance Department's faculty and students staged the classic play with professional actors from the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. The NSF has been remaking Shakespearean plays since the late 1900s. The organization’s motto is to further educate people in Middle Tennessee about how Shakespeare shaped the art of theatre.

            "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a famous play that displays the controversial love triangles springing up around the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazon, Hippolyta. The play included mystical creatures and falls into one of Shakespeare’s lovely fantasy genres.

            The production’s cast included students from MTSU and actors from the NSF. Student actors included Alex Pulley (Hermia); Chris Anderson (Lysander); Kryslin Williams (Helena); Conner McCabe (Demetrius); Justin Hand (Bottom); and Parker Chase (Puck). Actors from the NSF were Denice Hicks (Titania) and Brian Russell (Oberon).

            The show was directed by MTSU Professor of Theatre Santiago Sosa. The set for the play was funded by Ascend Federal Credit Union and organized by MTSU theatre students.

            The set was created to occur around Ancient Greece and a mystical forest as well. The stage had a beautiful scenery with neutral colors such as green and blue. The whole play was set at night, so the lights were dimmed over the projection of the Ancient Greek buildings and the projection of the moon with trees.

            MTSU’s costume artists matched the clothes to the setting of the play for the Ancient Greek culture. The men wore a chiton, a chlamys and sandals. The women wore a dress or a short cloak. The fairies wore floral garments with green body paint. The artists also attempted to make the characters appear fashionable by adding a ‘60s and ‘70s look.

            According to student actor Chris Anderson, a junior at MTSU, the experience of performing in one of Shakespeare’s play was an opportunity of a lifetime, although time-consuming and hard work.

            “Shakespeare is difficult to understand starting off," Anderson said. "However, if you take the time to dissect the language and make it your own, one will be able to project the true meaning of Shakespeare as he meant for it to be interpreted.”

            Anderson added, "We spent countless hours putting in the practice to make such a beautiful product, and to me it was well worth it.”

            Anyone was welcome to visit MTSU in Murfreesboro to experience the nature and words of Shakespeare. The 7:30 p.m. Friday show drew a large audience and filled the auditorium with laughter.

            Throughout the entire performance, the audience was full of happiness due to the actors’ additional dialogue. The audience consisted of mostly MTSU students who had classmates who were performing in the show. This made the comedic play that more entertaining for the audience.

            “It was a lot different than I expected due to it being funny, and I didn’t expect it to be funny,” said Motlow State Community College student Kortney Zienkiewicz.

            Following “A Midsummer Night’s Dream," MTSU’s Theatre and Dance Department will perform "Joys of the Season" on Dec. 3 during the university's "Winterfest." In Spring of 2018, MTSU students will take the stage on March 1 for "The Taste of Sunrise" by Suzan Zeder. All upcoming show and event tickets are on sale through Tucker Theatre at www.mtsu.edu/tuckertheatre/shows.

            Motlow students, faculty, administrators and staff can learn more about MTSU’s Theatre and Dance programs at www.mtsu.edu/theatreanddance.

            For more information about the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, visit www.nashvilleshakes.org.

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Middle Tennessee State University Theatre Students Perform 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

By Shane Standifur

Motlow Buzz Reporter

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee State University theatre students performed the well- known drama “A Streetcar Named Desired” to a sold out crowd at Tucker Theatre on April 6.

The Tennessee Williams play, which is set in 1940s New Orleans, is known for the chaos Blanche Dubois creates when she moves into her sister’s,Stella Kowalski apartment. Blanche has very high standards and morals compared to her sister, and the people in New Orleans. She has a rough time adjusting to their way of life.

Blanche also has numerous arguments with her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche’s indiscreet past comes to light in an argument with Stanley, which makes everyone think less of her. Stanley realizes that Blanche is making up stories and events that happened in her life that didn’t happen, even though Blanche thinks they did. The tension builds throughout the play until Blanche is taken away by doctors to a mental institution.

“When we were deciding what kind of play to do this semester, this particular drama was an easy one to choose,” said MTSU Artistic Director Marsha Barksy. “ It is a play that has been done for years, and our actors were very eager to do this play.”

Blanche Dubois was played by Hannah Ewing. She used an authentic Mississippian accent to pull the  audience in. Her well-spoken lines and movement kept theatre-goers guessing what was going to happen next.

Connor McCabe drew applause for playing the hot-tempered Stanley. The arguments between Stanley and Blanche felt real.He nailed the role of a man with a vicious temper.

Having a modern theatre like Tucker Theatre gives us advantages that some other theatres do not have,” said Stage Manager Megan Inmon. “ We were able to have a streetcar sound effect go over the speakers. So it sounded like a real streetcar being stopped outside of the apartment just as it would in real life.”

The talent of the artistic staff brought the well-known drama to life.  The stage featured the Kowalskis’ apartment, as well as a second-floor apartment for their friends, Steve Hubbell and Eunice Hubbell. The artistic staff created real stairs that connected the two apartments, acting as a door for actors and actresses to enter and exit the stage.

“We also had an opening and closing door sound effect so actors would not have to rely on a real door”said Inmon. Sometimes they can get tricky, and it allowed our actors and audience to use their imagination.”

Another way the talent of the artistic staff shined was the way the background was created. A green screen was projected in the very back of the stage that would change colors based on what time it was during the day. Powerlines were projected on the screen that connected to prop streetlights created by the artistic staff, this giving the effect that a real streetlight was made.

Of course, every successful drama has a great production staff, and “A Streetcar Named Desire” had one. The scene changes were smooth and fast. The sound engineers mastered a state-of-the-art speaker system, giving the audience a well-defined, crisp sound of the actor’s voices. The lighting crew never missed a beat, dimming the lights when they were supposed to, and spotlighting the actors when needed. Needless to say, “A Streetcar Named Desire” was what every audience member and theatre lover could ever hope for, a perfect play that everyone from the actors to the sound crew to the directors handled professionally.  

The next scheduled play at MTSU is “How I Learned To Drive,” which will take place at Studio Theatre from Oct. 4-13. Anyone interested in pursuing theatre at MTSU can find more information at  http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/theatre/.

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