But first I wanted to note how much fun it was to visit the rehearsal Tuesday evening in Town Hall and to watch director Jim Skofield at work along with his large cast of energetic and enthusiastic Thespians! Jim is a highly organized and strict taskmaster with, obviously, very high standards. And the cast is clearly motivated to perform on a high level and is brimming with anticipation of next week's performances!
Here's my preview as originally written...
Walpole Players Presenting Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”
Tickets went on sale yesterday for the Walpole (NH) Players production of William Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” in the round at the Town Hall June 23, 25 and 26 with a 40-person cast under the direction of Jim Skofield.
Skofield, who told me that he had "wanted to direct this play since I was a kid,” has been rehearsing his cast since February, beginning with the most basic lessons in breathing, voice control and stage movement. “Mid Summer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies,” according to Skofield, “and it blends the worlds of reality and fantasy into one another. You have to get the actors over their fear of doing ‘Shakespeare’ but then the intentions of the characters are pretty transparent, and the actors realize the situations they’re in.”
In the play Oberon (Michael Delaney) and Titania (Tara Sad), King and Queen, respectively, of the fairies, find themselves in Athens for the marriage of Greek hero Theseus (played by Walpole State Representative Jack Pratt) to the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta (Trina Carmody). But things become more than a little thrown off when a lovers’ quadrangle appears, a group of clueless rustics attempt to stage their own play, and a mischievous fairy, Puck, who loves to play tricks on humans, intervenes. Much hilarity follows before the Bard brings things to a happy conclusion.
The Titania role, according to Walpole activist and actress Tara Sad, “is wonderful, wonderful, the best part in ‘playdom!' She’s a powerful person who changes into a hopeless wimp in love with a donkey!” Oberon, to be played by Walpole resident and National Grange computer programmer Michael Delaney, is a mighty part with a whole range of challenges for an energetic actor. Inspired by his son who found acting in a Fall Mountain Regional High School production fun, Delaney began his stage career only recently but has appeared in several Branch River Theater productions in Marlborough. On the side he writes poetry and does readings.
The slapstick rustics who appear in the forest determined to offer their own play include Petra Quince, the carpenter (Fran Kemp), Nick Bottom, the weaver (Jim Baucom), Francis Flute, the bellows mender (Frank Balla), Snout, the tinker (Julie Marden), Snug, the joiner (Bill Perron) and Robin Starveling, the tailor (Lucy Weber). Rebecca Holtz plays Puck. Other ensemble roles are played by assorted fairies, attendants to Titania, henchmen to Oberon, and Athenian nobles.
Beth Cannon is Stage Manager, Carolyn Norback is Assistant Director, and Gretchen Ackerman has served as Dramaturge and Diction Coach. Gretchen Abendschein is the choreographer, Eric Merklein has designed the sound, and Ben Northcott and Steve Grenier have designed the lighting.
All performances are in the Walpole Town Hall, which is handicapped, assessable. Tickets are $10 apiece and may be purchased in Walpole at Burdick’s, Galloway Real Estate, Real to Reel Video and Walpole Village Store.
For further information, call Walpole Players president Kris Tyson at 756-4124.
P.S. Isn't Jack Pratt a wonder of a man? Here he is more than fully engaged in representing us in Concord in a very complex and contentious state budget battle and he still can find time and energy to play his role in this community production!