A modern Midsummer Night’s Dream
The HHS drama club, the Footlighters, is getting ready to put on their fall show of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. You may be thinking, “Oh no, not another boring Shakespeare play,” but trust me, this is far from your typical Shakespeare show. The traditional comedy is about two lovers, Hermia and Lysander, who are running away from her father’s edict that she must marry another man. They travel through an enchanted forest, chased by her other suitor, Demetrius, and Helena, the woman who loves Demetrius. The good intentions of the fairy king to help the couples go comically awry, but all is happily resolved in the end. Footlighters’ new director, Mr. William Sawyer, describes the show as “definitely ‘playing’ with the idea of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where the elite and not so elite, the educated and not so educated, and the sane and not so sane are brought together under the same theater to bring an old story out of the traditional and into the now…complete with crazy mothers, dangerous thugs, boot strap wearing Amazons, fashionistas, and an urban jungle.”
Opening night will be Thursday, November 1st, with additional shows on Friday and Saturday nights at 7pm in the Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students and senior citizens and $8 for adults. The show consists of 24 actors and over a dozen students involved in the technical crew. Students have been working since early September in preparation for the upcoming performances. Olivia Zerphy, a senior playing Titania, The Fairy Queen, states, “When you think of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you don’t think of graffiti and Gossip Girl, but that’s what this show is. I hope audiences will appreciate the modernization, and I hope die-hard Shakespeare lovers will recognize our efforts to remain faithful to the original text.”
We are not only excited about our upcoming performances, but we are happy to have two new additions to Footlighters: Mrs. Amy Good, our Footlighters advisor, as well as Mr. William Sawyer, our new director.
Mrs. Good, a Learning Specialist at Hanover High, was a stage manager in high school and helped out on a friend’s movie. Mr. Sawyer, also known as Bill, is a well-known director in the Upper Valley. He has directed many shows, including NCCT’s Music Man. Anjali Sundaram, a junior playing Egeus/ Tom Snout, states, “I think our new director and advisor have really stepped into the spots left by their predecessors and have fully stepped up to the plate. They have been committed to making this a good show as well as fostering a great community of Footlighters.” If you were able to see the show, you know what I’m talking about.
