‘Lord what fools these mortals be…’

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).

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 30^th 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. 

Professor John Hart to Host Hamlet-Fest

By Anthony Czelusniak

Motlow Buzz Staff Writer

         SMYRNA – Associate Professor of English John Hart extends an invitation to all students for his two-week seminar on Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" starting Feb. 5.

         Hamlet-Fest will be held from 2-3:30 p.m. in room 127 of the Arthur L. Walker Jr. building on Feb. 5, 7, 12 and 14.

         Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" is one of the most influential of Shakespeare’s plays. It is also Hart’s personal favorite work of any author. He believes that the themes in the play are universal, even in modern society.

         "'Hamlet' captures a time in everyone’s life when people aren’t in sync with the world around them," Hart explained. "Hamlet is faced with a problem that he isn’t ready for. It’s a good metaphor for deciding who you are going to be.”

 

         Hart said that each class will be self-contained, and participants won’t need a background in the play to understand the discussion. Each day, Hart will show clips from a variety of different portrayals of Hamlet. Actors include Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant, and more.

Hart believes that seeing Shakespeare’s work performed is a far better approach than just reading the plays.

         “Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not read," he added. "Different actors read it their own way, and that makes it far more interesting than if you had read it yourself.”

         Hart hopes that most students take something personal away from Hamlet-Fest. He believes that there is something for everyone in the play, even those people who think they don’t understand it.

         Hart concluded by saying, “The major theme is still relevant to people today. Why do good people have bad things happen to them?”

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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