Cast Info for MND

It occurred to me that since we're short on guys at NCS to play all the male roles for Midsummer (aka MND), I need to tell you which roles are open to girls to audition for as well:

I plan to cast men as
Theseus, King of Athens
Oberon, King of the Fairies
Egeus, father of Hermia
Demetrius
Lysander
Bottom (Pyramis)
Flute (Thisby)

Women may audition for
All the female roles, of course ;) --Helena, Hermia, Titania, Hippolyta
**Puck**
Philostrate
Quince
Snout
Snug
Starveling
Random fairies

--------------------------------
FYI:
I plan to teach Midsummer in full to both high school English classes this fall. The 8th graders will study the mechanicals' scenes as part of their regularly scheduled drama unit, and the 7th graders will run through the basics of the plot in their mythology unit (ties into the Greek story of Pyramis & Thisby).

Official Announcement: Midsummer in February 2006!

First official act of business on the drama blog:

The NCS Drama Dept will present multiple performances of Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream in late February 2006.

Roles are open to NCS students in grades 6 and up as well as faculty members. Priority consideration will be given to students in the upper school drama class; however I encourage all interested students and faculty to audition.

Auditions will be held in mid-November. More information and audition requirements will be posted here in the fall. I strongly recommend that interested students read the play before auditioning.

Rehearsals
Rehearsals will take place immediately after school, probably on Mondays, Tuesdays, and/or Thursdays. I expect the average rehearsal to run from 3pm till 4 or 4:30. We can work out your transportation problems.

Thanksgiving: Cast List Posted
December: Limited after-school rehearsals (1x a week)
Christmas Break: Learn your lines!
Early January: Off-book deadline
January/February: Regular rehearsals (2 to 4 hours a week after school)
Mid February: Costume Parade; Technical Rehearsal; Cast Photos (many hours!)
Late February: Dress Rehearsal
First Week of March: Performances (3)

* * * * * * * * * *
Midsummer lends itself well to grouping scenes with the same actors into the same rehearsal. Bottom Line: Unless you're playing a lead role, you probably won't have a heavy rehearsal load until February. (And there's no way to make the technical & dress rehearsals any less time-consuming . . . but I will lighten your homework load during that time.)

* * * * * * * * * *

What is Midsummer?

Great question. You can find a plot summary easily enough on the web . . . but here's my short version:

A Midsummer Night's Dream is three stories rolled into one, all dealing with the theme of love.

1. Two pairs of human lovers run into the woods outside Athens and things between them get royally messed up. You see, the two guys (Demetrius and Lysander) both love the same girl (Hermia). But Hermia loves only Lysander. And the problem is that Demetrius used to love Helena, until Hermia's dad offered him money if he'd marry his daughter. So Helena is rather upset that she's gotten "dumped." Things get worse when a love potion is applied to the wrong guys' eyes . . . and suddenly both guys begin to love Helena! You'd think she'd be happy for all the attention, but NOOOOOO. She's mad! And several amusing fights break out . . .
2. The fairies live in the forest and wreak havok on whomever they choose -- human or sprite. Puck (aka Robin Goodfellow) wanders about causing trouble just for the heck of it. He's the one who screws up the love potion and causes both guys to fall in love with only one girl. And he thinks that is just hilarious even though the mistake was accidental . . . . Meanwhile, the fairy king Oberon decides to get even with his wife, Queen Titania, for her refusal to submit to his ruling in a particular issue. So he sticks a love potion on her so that she'll fall in love with the first critter or person she sees when she awakens. Yeah, it's a dirty trick because . . . .
3. The third group to enter the forest are the "mechanicals"--blue-collar workers who get it into their heads that they should prepare a play for the upcoming marriage of the King of Athens (Theseus) to the Queen of the Amazons (Hippolyta). Can they act? Heck, no. That's all part of the fun.... Their version of the tragic story of Pyramis and Thisby (the Greek myth which inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) makes tears of laughter flow down the cheeks of everyone who sees it. Unfortunately for them, they were trying to be serious. :) The mechanicals offer some of the best comedy in the play . . . especially when Puck decides to have a little fun. He turns Nick Bottom's head into an ass's head . . . .then makes sure Titania sees Bottom when she awakens from her sleep (remember the love potion?) And she makes an "ass" of herself crooning over this ass-headed human, who is himself . . . well, a jack ass.

In the end, it all gets worked out: Oberon feels bad for Titania after watching her make a fool out of herself with Bottom, and releases her from the spell (and gives Bottom his normal head back). Puck lures the 4 humans into different parts of the forests and administers the correct antidotes so that Demetrius loves Helena and Lysander loves Hermia. The mechanicals get to perform in front of the king, queen, and entire court. And all ends well.

"The course of true love never did run smooth." -- Lysander, Act I, scene 1.

The Start of an Era

After years of wishing . . . NCS will finally launch its drama department!

It's kind of scary to "launch out" into the deep like this . . . uncharted waters for many of us. Students, I hope you feel the same excitement and anticipation that I do. Theater provides a rich opportunity to explore human nature while building relationships with your fellow actors / stage crew and having a blast all the while.

Why drama?
Well . . .
1. Actors must become keen observers of human nature. And that's a vital skill for any person, even if you never do another stage production in your life.

2. God created humans to love stories, to crave them. He paints a drama in our lives; we model His storytelling by creating and telling our own stories.

3. Theater allows you to get up and move. No sitting still for hours at a time, locked into a desk while an adult pours information into your head. Drama is a full-participation act. Embrace it!

4. Acting gives you a chance to experience the world through another person's eyes. For example, I hope you never know the horror of war. But you would gain deep insight into the human costs of war by acting a role in I Never Saw Another Butterfly (a story about children in a Nazi concentration camp).

So join me in this adventure -- a chance to build something at NCS that never existed before: a vibrant community of actors and crew who love and encourage one another, who become the school's "storytellers."