Midsummer nights dream - rehearsal process

When we started rehearsing we realised that this play would not take long to block simply due to the fact that it is only a 50 minute play however it was crucial that we got the right setup on stage if not the audience would not be able to see or hear us. So when we were deciding  where to put sparks, gaffer and Shakespeare we thought it would be best to have them at the back centre stage as the audience are in a semicircle around the stage as that position would enable everyone to be seen and enough space for the actors to perform.

We then had to think about where the actors entrances and exits were going to be. Since the audience are in a round we thought it would be nice for the actors to enter in between the audience so that the children feel completely emerged into the performance. So we have 5 entrances 1 at the centre back of the stage which is called entrance A, then there is one at upstage left called B, one at downstage left called C, one at downstage right called D and a final one in upstage right called E. Within all of our scripts we have written in each letter so that we will know where we and entering and exiting from.

During the play Titania has fallen asleep on the ground and stays there from page 25 till page 36. This meant that we had to place Titania so that she could still be seen but also so that she doesn't get in the way of the other actors on stage. So we decided to put her centre stage originally as we though it would be the best place for her to be seen however we lost a lot of space for the actors to perform in so instead she is still centre stage but she has been pushed up against the blocks that Shakespeare, sparks and Gaffer stand on so that she is not in the way of the scenes going on. She is also covered in a green blanket which the mechanicals can now reference as the green plot where they can rehearse their play in the woods.

Midsummer Nights Dream - Children's theatre

Children's Theatre is a type of theatre that bases its production for an audience of families and children usually under the age of 12. It's main criteria is to educate children in a certain subject which the play is about and also to entertain them through slapstick comedy and large theatrical dances and songs. children's theatre has become extremely popular that some children's TV programmes have gone on to become theatre productions so that they can enhance the children's enjoyment of the favourite TV programmes.

There are many elements to children's theatre and they can also be found in children's TV programmes as well. For example in the TV programme Balamory uses elements such as ...
. Catchy songs to explain different themes
. Interesting names such as Miss Hoolie
. Charming accents for different characters such as spencer the painter was an American
. Colour matching for each character
. Sound effects
. Facial expressions
. Audience interactions
. And many more
Here is a link to a song that has nearly every element in it from Balamory
https://youtu.be/FlhPre4j1ss

In our production we also use these elements as well

• Catchy songs - we have 7 songs in our play that each describe some kind of element to the play for example the song "scene change" explains to the children what a scene change in the theatre is and also what types of set will be used in the scene.
• Interesting names - since our play is Shakespearean it will already have interesting names such as Lysander and Hippolyta but we also have added characters such as Spark and Gaffer which relate to their jobs as the are theatre technicians.
• Charming accents - in our production we have made it so only the mechanicals have accents as they are meant to be silly characters so in one cast the character Snout has a lisp but in the other cast he has a very deep and bored emotion to his voice.
• Colour matching - for our Athenian characters they will all be in white togas however for each of the couples that end up together they shall have a matching fabric that will show the audience who they are meant to be with.
• Sound effects - we use some sound effects for magic but we also have the characters Sparks and gaffer make some of the sound effects with their mouths like the trumpets that wake up the lovers.
• Facial expressions - since this used in all children's theatre productions we decided to use this to help explain some of the complicated emotions of the play and also to make the characters funnier to the children they will over exsagerate their facial expressions.
• Audience interaction - we use this throughout the play especially the characters spark, gaffer and Shakespeare. At one point Sparks and gaffer get children up from the audience to be fairies for queen Titania and they get to do a dance around the donkey.

Midsummer Nights Dream - Character Costumes

Egea's Costume:
Since Egea is a noble Athenian from Greece, she and all the other Athenians will wear toga's because it is a traditional garment of Greece. A toga is sort of a white sheet that wraps around your body so it looks like a dress once it is draped upon a persons body. It was a semicircular length of cloth about 12 and 20 feet long. This costume not only showing the Greek culture but it also gives the character Egea a high statues as it was considered a noble garment. 

Snug's Costume:
Since Snug is apart of the mechanicals and it probably one of the lowest statues characters, she is not going to be in the toga's like the Athenians. Instead she is in a matching set of waist coat and shorts that are white and blue striped and a yellow strips on the side. With this she shall wear a bright yellow to underneath her out fit. The reason she is wearing yellow is because in children's theatre, most characters will have bright colours and costumes to make it eye catching for the children. Also the yellow will also match the lion's main that she must wear for the play with in the play. The lion's main in a hat with orange, gold and yellow string attached to it that will match with the yellow colours already on her costume.

Sparks's Costume: 
Since Sparks is a part of the stage crew, she is going to be wearing a black pair of dungarees, with a colourful top underneath and a pair of trainers. This costume symbolises the handyman job aspect but it also has a hint of colour that will be suitable for the children's theatre style. Also she will have a head set which will also link to her job title. for her hair I thought that i would have two backcombed pigtails on each side of my head to show a more childish nature to my character and some spiky hair ties that sort of look like sparks which will be wrapped around my pigtails.

Midsummer Nights Dream - Sparks Character Profile

Name: Sparks
Statues: Narrator's helper (Stage Crew)
Relationships: Friends with Gaffer and Shakespeare
Play: Midsummer Nights Dream
Part Of The Play: appears through out the play however it is an extra character that has been added to the original play


Right to left: Sparks, Shakespeare and Gaffer

Sparks's Character:
Sparks is an extra character that has been added to our production as well as Gaffer and William Shakespeare. this three character's narrate the play for the children due to the fact that the original Shakespearean language would be hard to follow for children aged 3 to 6. So instead Sparks and Gaffer, who are considerably dumb stage crew, continually ask Shakespeare questions about what is going on which is then explained by Shakespeare in modern language so that the children will understand.
for example:
"Where is puck going?" - Sparks
"Don't worry Oberon has sent Puck to fetch a Magic flower, he won't be long" - Shakespeare

This device of having Shakespeare, Sparks and Gaffer narrating and asking questions throughout the play makes it more understandable as it breaks down what happens with each character and it reassures the audience on what is going on.

Sparks is a dumb comic relief in the play as he is one part of a double act with gaffer and they  pop up during the play to make jokes, sing songs and be silly for the children. I have decided to make Sparks a character who always tries to please Shakespeare and believes that she is smart but she actually gets most stuff wrong. 

for example:
"oh can we go and wake the Atheneninians?" - Sparks
"Athenians, no the duke Theseus is going to do that now" - Shakespeare

As you can see, Sparks says the word 'Atheneninians' which is wrong as she believes thats how you say Athenians. this joke is used throughout the whole play and both Sparks and Gaffer use it. I feel that it shows she is trying to be smart but she is still getting it wrong. 

Midsummer Nights Dream - Snug Character Profile

Name: Snug the Joiner
Statues: Mechanical
Relations: friends with Bottom, Quince, Snout, Starveling and Flute
Play: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Part of the play: Act 1 Scene 2, Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 1

From left to right: Snout, Flute, Snug (Girl in Yellow), Quince, Starveling and Bottom


Snug's Character:
Snug is to be apart of a play that will be presented for Duke Theseus as he is getting married to Hippolyta. They will show it on their wedding day. Quince is the leader and writer for their amateur company  and within their first scene we see Quince giving each of the actors their parts. Snug is left till last as is given the role of Lion. However Snug is a very timid and slightly dumb character so playing the lion seems like a confusing concept as snug isn't brave or loud like a lion and he is scared about playing the character due to the lines. Therefore he says:

"Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am slow of study."
Act 1 Scene 2 - Snug

This line basically shows Snug's character to be shy, dumb and nervous about performing the play to people. Quince then tells Snug...

"You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring."
Act 1 Scene 2 - Quince

It shows how quince as been kind to Snug as he says that you can basically improvise the character as it is nothing but roaring. It also show that Snug is probably well looked after by all the mechanicals as they are considerate enough to put him into the play and they consider how hard it is for Snug to learn his lines. Therefor I believe that Snug is probably more confident with the mechanicals compared to when he is performing the play within the play as he is not comfortable with the lords and ladies.

Our Version of Snug:
Originally the play within the play tell the story of the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe who have been separated by a wall of their families land. They therefor plan to meet at Ninnies tomb so that they can be together. However a lion intercepts Thisbe and it tears of a piece of Thisbe's clothing which is now covered in blood.  Pyramus then finds the clothes and believes that Thisbe had died so he takes his life. Later Thisbe then finds Pyramus dead and she also takes her own life. It is sort of a take on Romeo and Juliet. 

Due to the fact that we are performing to children age 3-6, we have had to change the play within the play's storyline as it originally contains to many inappropriate themes for this audience. Therefor the story now goes ...

Pyramus and Thisbe hear a strange cat like sound and they see a tail flick through a whole in the wall. They decided to climb over the wall to see what the sound is and they find a 'cat'. They therefore bring up the cat as their pet but one night the moon shines on the cat and it actually shows that it is a lion. the lion then says goodbye to Pyramus and Thisbe and runs of to be free.

This version of the play within the play is a lot more suitable for the young audience as it not only doesn't contain the inappropriate themes but it also uses slapstick humour when Pyramus and Thisbe try to climb the wall but instead they go through the walls legs. 

Midsummer Nights Dream - Egeus Character Profile

Name: Egeus
Statues: A gentlemen of Athens
Relations: Father to Hermia
Play: A midsummer Night's Dream
Part of the play: Appears in Act 1 Scene 1 and the second to last scene Act 4 Scene 1

Egeus is the lady on the left, then Duke Theseus and Hippolyta 



Egeus's Character:
We first see Egeus in the house of the Duke Theseus where he appeals to the duke to allow him to be able to choose his daughter's (Hermia) husband. Hermia is in love with a man called Lysander but Egeus doesn't like him and Egeus wants Hermia to marry a man called Demetrius instead. 

In the original text it says:

"I beg the ancient privilege of Athens.
As she is mine, I may dispose of her—
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death—according to our law
Immediately provided in that case."
Act 1 Scene 1 - Egeus

This basically says that Egeus is so determine to choose for his daughter that he would rather her be killed then have her marry Lysander. Since he is a high gentleman in society he also is able to hold the law up against is word as he is educated and he has high statues and control over his daughter. to me this show that Egeus probably isn't a very caring father as he cares more about controlling her then considering her feelings on the matter. therefore I feel everything about his character should be upright and cold since he doesn't show any compassion to his daughter.

Our Version of Egeus:
Since our version of the play is based for children between the ages of 3 - 6, we are not going to say that Hermia must die instead of marrying Demetrius as this would be a very inappropriate theme to put to children of that age. Also the two actors who are playing Egeus (myself included) are both female so in order not to make the children confused we are changing Egeus to Egeia. So this means that references of Egeus must change so that they are female.

For example...
"Be advised fair maid:
to you your father should be as a god;"
Act 1 Scene 1 - Theseus

it will change to...
"Be advised fair maid:
to you your Mother should be as a Goddess;"
Act 1 Scene 1 - Theseus