Back in the dark, rainy days of February, an intrepid group of Island thespians began to rehearse a show designed to delight during the long, warm nights of July.
Now, the troupe is almost ready to take the stage in a production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — a free Shakespeare in the Park production slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Ober Park.
The show marks the fifth annual play in the Vashon Park District program; past shows in the series have included classic works not only by the Bard, but also Molière and Edmond Rostand.
Island theater veteran Phil Dunn, who has appeared in all but one of the outdoor plays, has taken the directorial reins for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” And after months of rehearsals, he said, the show is finally ready to go.
“Come prepared to laugh,” he said.
Dunn knows the plot of the play inside-out; this is the fourth time in his long theatrical career that he’s done the show. He’s appearing in this production as well, but he made sure he gave himself a part that would let him concentrate on his directing.
“I come on in the beginning and end, but not in the middle,” he said.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” weaves together three separate stories — one about a group of woodland fairies, another about four young lovers and a third about a group of amateur actors. Susan McCabe, program director for the park district, described the multi-faceted plot as being full of “trickery, romance and vain folly.”
The 22-member cast includes several local actors who are familiar to Shakespeare in the Park-goers: Lissy Nichols, Antonia Greene, Harris Levinson, Tim Morrison, Sue DeNies, Zoey Rice and Jeanne Dougherty, to name just a few members of the cast.
An energetic group of young Vashon thespians, including Roman Marquez-Twisdale, Jordi Marquez-Twisdale, Salena Brio and Hannah Fellbaum, has also joined the troupe.
Dunn particularly praised Roman Marquez-Twisdale, who is playing the pivital and comic role of Puck. “He’s been great,” Dunn said. “He’s shown up with his lines memorized.”
But still, a play as dense and wordy as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has been a challenge for the young actor and other members of the cast.
And last Saturday afternoon, as the sun shone and the thermometer settled at a perfect 78 degrees, Roman and some of the show’s other cast members gathered on the grass at Ober Park and formed a circle to speed through their lines just prior to rehearsal.
It was a lovely summer moment as they launched into the final stretch of rehearsals, and everyone seemed to be luxuriating in the balmy July weather. But getting their lines down wasn’t the only matter on the thespians’ minds.
“Let’s hope this weather holds for the shows,” DeNies noted, as she turned her head skyward. “No rain.”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 28 through 30, at Ober Park. The free, two-hour-long show will be performed without an intermission. Bring your own chairs, blankets and picnic supplies.
