Day 88: A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare

Right at the start of the project, I promised myself that my favorite Shakespeare play from my school days would be my birthday treat to myself. I have read the play before (though not since starting the project), seen several different versions performed including at least one film adaptation, and performed in it twice: once at school as a generic extra fairy (I don't remember exactly but I think we were given a few of Puck/Oberon's lines, since we were in his train) and again at university where I played Peaseblossom and also was dresser and costume design assistant to the fairies. I won't go into details but if most actors are superstitious of the Scottish Play, I feel like this is my particular cursed script. Something has gone dramatically wrong backstage both times, and I have been involved in sorting out both, and each time the audience were none the wiser (as it should be!). All that said, it remains my favourite play. I've made no secret of the fact I am drawn to fantasy when it comes to stories, books and films. It's rarer, it seems, to find a play that isn't a musical and has a fantasy setting. I did try to focus more on the lovers and court scenes this time, since most of my love for the play comes from the fairies plotlines, and the play-within-a-play. Part of that comes from how seperate the three groups of characters are through the play. To some extent they all interact with one another, but they feel more like three stories which could each exist almost entirely alone (if not for Puck, they basically would). Minor fairies don't share a stage with any of the courtiers (except perhaps right at the end, depending on how the wedding blessing is staged) and of the mechanicals only interact with Bottom. The courtiers encounter Puck, but no other fairies. The mechanicals perform at court, so that link is stronger.

I have been considering whether any monologues might be suitable for adding to my repetoire. I used Puck's last two speeches, cobbled together, as a monologue for a speech and drama exam at school, but for most drama school auditions character choice is limited to gender-appropriate (and some actively ban Shakespeare's more androgynous fantasty roles like Puck and Ariel) so I'm not holding much hope for that to come in handy, though I might use something along those lines for one of the RADA certificates later this year. My alternatives seem to be Titania or Hippolyta, since I'm probably somewhat older than might be suggested for Helena or Hermia.