New York City based theater company The Seeing Place is on to something. They found new ways to use Zoom to present a unique reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. An outstanding cast gave two live presentations on Aug. 29 and 30 to virtual audiences. Performances continue through Sept. 5th on YouTube.
Using a variety of enhanced camera and visual effects, the production was a feast for the eyes and ears. Additionally, a twist on one of the plots provided a link to the LGBTQIA+ community and a benefit fund raiser for the Ali Forney Center.
Outstanding Cast
The story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is made up of 4 subplots which employ a variety of characters. In some instances, several actors played more than one part. Normally on stage, a costume change would be needed to understand what character is in the scene. With this being a live reading with actors located in a many different locations, another very effective method was used. That method used call-out caption with the name of the character posted for each person.
Excellent camera work brought good closeups of the actors on screen and it made the dialog easier than usual to understand. I happened to watch the presentation on a fairly large screen and it seemed like the actors were right in the room with me. It brought a new awareness of all that was being said and done.
The cast themselves were well prepared for this performance. Playing the roles were Brandon Walker, Laura Clare Browne, Jon L Peacock, Ellinor DiLorenzo, Weronika Helena Wozniak, William Ketter, Erin Cronican, and Dan Mack. If scripts were in hand, they certainly did not show on screen. Only 25 hours were allotted to prepare for this show. A huge round of applause needs to go out to this cast for doing such a fabulous along with a creative team including Co-Directors/Digital Design by Brandon Walker and Erin Cronica. Original Music Composition is by Randi Driscoll and Stage Management by Shannon K Formas.
A Remarkable Variety of Visual Effects
To add to the strong acting skills of the cast, a variety of visual effects were used. Rich, colorful backgrounds show the settings of the play. This first one was representative of an ancient building where the love between Lysander and Hermia is first shown. A twist to the traditional plot occurs when this couple is represented as lesbian lover. No changes were made to the script so the love between the two women seems as natural as ever.
One of the most special settings in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the forest where the fairies live. Lovely background scenes featured shades of blue and green with light filtering though. The photo shown below shows the appearance of a fairy. Look closely and you can see the face of one of the actors.
Filters from Snapchat Camera allowed all sorts of decorations to cover the actors’ faces. For example, a donkey’s head might be used as a prop on stage. But here, the filters provided the same effect to to cover the character Bottom’s face.
The variety of visual effects especially the vivid colors added much to the enjoyment of this production.
Final Show
This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream shows a wide range of things that can be done with plays performed on Zoom. The Seeing Place has demonstrated a willingness to experiment and provide a fresh look to a time honored classic.
There is one last opportunity to see the show. This show will run on YouTube at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Streaming Tickets are available on The Seeing Place Theater website at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34676.