As you may or may not know, a small section of the BHS Performing Arts department will be putting on William Shakespeare’s classic comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” this week. This is not to be confused with the department’s spring musical, a separate production that is put on around the end of March, which I encourage you all to see as well.
As someone who has been a part of the fall play cast all four years of my high school career, I know very well that this small budget production has become synonymous with one thing: English extra credit. Though they are unique and entertaining, the stories Mrs. Ogren has chosen over the years don’t always capture the attention they deserve. Often times the stories are fairly hard to follow and this translates to kids as “unbearable”, which I can understand! As I sat for two and a half hours to watch Guilford High School’s fall play production of Arcadia, a show focusing on the life and discoveries of a young female math prodigy, I often found myself getting lost in the mathematical portion of the plot and I certainly wasn’t getting any help toward my math grade for sitting through it.
I believe the fact that most English teachers offer extra credit for those that attend production is fantastic- I even get to take advantage of it myself for being a cast member. However, I encourage all of those who decide to pay the five dollars for a full vocab quiz credit to look for more in the piece our cast will put on for you.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of the most performed plays in the world and is known as Shakespeare’s most famous comedy. The show revolves around a series of plots existing in both a normal human world and a mythical fairy land. Fairies and humans find themselves at odds with each other throughout the story, resulting in some unfortunate yet hilarious situations.
By setting the show artistically in Caribbean style, director Mrs. Ogren brings a well known story into a unique and new perspective. She was aided in the process by assistant director Mr. Matthiessen, who helped bring the story to life.
Having participated in the play for four years, I know that we always put on interesting shows, but I was ecstatic when I learned that this year’s play was going to be one of my very favorites. I can’t expect my peers to appreciate it in the way I do, but it breaks my heart that they often don’t give it a chance. If you plan on coming to the show, try to get into it! Do some research ahead of time and get to know the plot so that the Shakespearean language doesn’t throw you off. Please, come for the extra credit, but if you manage to walk away from the production with something more, think about how it must feel for the cast to be able to give that to you.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be playing in the BHS auditorium Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30pm; tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults; and don’t forget to ask your English teacher about extra credit.