Deciphering a Shakespearian play can be daunting for any high schooler, so 25 teenage drama students are reenacting the comedic love story from a perspective their peers can relate to.
In the Alberta High School of the Fine Arts’ (AHSFA) upcoming performance A Midsummer Night’s Midterm, four high school students try to make sense of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as they cram for their midterm paper and watch as the play comes to life before their eyes.
Performances take place at Okotoks Junior High School from Dec. 13 to 17.
“It’s a watered-down version of the play,” said Grade 12 student Ciaran Sisson.
In the play, the four students watch a comedic story unfold involving characters caught up in a love triangle who become victims of mischief and hijinks.
The play within a play is sometimes interrupted as the high school students discuss difficult passages to gain a better understanding of what’s going on.
Sisson plays the witty, sarcastic and love-struck Lysander who attempts to elope with Hermia, despite her father promising her to Demetrius.
He embraced the unique adaptation, having studied and performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Grade 9.
“We do have to speak in the old English but I’m fairly good at reading,” he said. “For me it comes relatively easy.”
Chloe Payton struggled with the older style English, but had a little help from mom Nicola Payton, an actress with Okotoks’ Dewdney Players Group Theatre.
The language wasn’t the only challenge Payton faced while preparing for her role.
She fearlessly took on the role of the male character Theseus – the Duke of Athens.
“I was very interested in changing things up from what I played before,” she said.
“It makes an actor stronger to play someone from the opposite gender. It makes you more able to play whatever comes your way.”
To be convincing as the duke, Payton changed her posture to be more expressive and lowered her voice.
She also brushed up on her acting skills with some pointers from her mom.
The extra work helped Payton say her lines in a more conversational manner rather than focusing on pronunciation, she said.
Drama teacher and director Sherry Schalm watched all 25 actors transform into their Shakespearian characters over the past three months, with a few hiccups along the way.
“It’s not easy to get a sense of the language and that cadence and rhythm,” she said, adding many struggled with memorizing their lines.
Schalm had her students watch the 1999 movie A Midsummer Night’s Dream to gain a better understanding of how the characters speak and act.
She was eager to see them tackle the modified version of the Shakespeare play.
“It’s an enjoyable play to begin with,” she said. “It’s lighthearted with shenanigans, misunderstandings and a couple of dramatic death scenes.”
Performances of A Midsummer Night’s Midterm take place at Okotoks Junior High School on Dec. 13 at 10:30 p.m., Dec. 14 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Dec. 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The matinee shows cost $5 in advance or $8 at the door and evening performances cost $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Only cash will be accepted as payment at the door.
Tickets can be purchased in advanced at evenbrite.ca
