The UL Lafayette School of Music and Performing Arts is proudly presenting a production of William Shakespeare’s acclaimed play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on March 19, 20, 21, 27, and 28 in Burke Theatre on UL’s campus. An additional performance has been added on March 29 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at http://tinyurl.com/ulmidsummer. Admission is free for UL students, faculty, and staff.
After nearly a decade, Professor Sara Birk, the director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, claims that it was high time for a Shakespeare play to be produced by UL Lafayette’s Performing Arts program. “Giving actors who are training as theatre artists exposure to and experience with this material is absolutely critical,” Birk says. “Actors will be expected to be familiar with this kind of material, so to create an opportunity for our students to delve deeply into this kind of work is important.”
Shakespeare is known for his use of colorful and often ambiguous language, sometimes leaving audiences bewildered at the meaning of poetic lines. Birk admits that the language is always a challenge when conquering Shakespeare’s work. She feels a great responsibility to help craft a performance that is accessible and will allow people to find the life and entertainment in the piece. Prof. Birk says, “The actors are doing a beautiful job of handling the language of the play and creating performances that are emotionally connected and lively.” Andre LaFleur, a UL student actor in the play, says that although Birk has chosen to give the production a prohibition America look, none of the language was spared, as the director is truly a purist. Being no stranger to this type of writing, LaFleur argues that there is much depth in Shakespeare’s language that is thrilling for an actor to discover but challenging to convey to an audience.
Nevertheless, audiences will be able to both comprehend and enjoy the play. It encompasses elements of magic, fantasy, and comedy with a splash of true Shakespearian drama. “People can relate to love and the joys and heartache that [Midsummer] provokes in us,” Birk says. Due to Shakespeare’s universality and timelessness, his plays have a relevant message for contemporary audiences. The director revels in the fact that the cast of over 20 UL students truly claimed the show as their own, making their performances funny, enjoyable, and truthful. The production is in the midst of adding lights, sound, costumes, and all the other elements that will come together to create what is sure to be a brilliant production of a great play.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is part of Festival of the Arts, a two-week celebration of the innovative, creative work by faculty, students, and community partners at UL Lafayette and in the local community. The festival will run March 14 – 29 at various locations on campus and around Lafayette.
