The three-layered, oft-recreated Shakespeare comedy A Midsummer Nights Dream will hit the stage at Don Ross Secondary School (DRSS) next week.
DRSS drama students have been hard at work on an upcoming dramatic presentation of William Shakespeares classic play, and they want to make sure everyone knows it.
Its exciting and its going to be amazing! said David Thomson, who plays Nick Bottom, the weaver.
These people are great actors and theres not a flaw in the whole thing.
Full of romance and trickery, Athenians and fairies, co-director Whitney Franklin said the show is sure to delight audiences of all ages.
Shakespeare geeks for sure, she laughed. But I think its good for little kids too because the language has been simplified a little bit and its a very age-friendly play.
It has a lot of magic and mystery with the fairies and the spells and the trickery and I think it would be good for everybody.
She said the story is more familiar to people than they often realize.
Its a pretty popular story, Franklin said. A lot of famous TV shows or parodies recreate it.
Franklin, an art and drama teacher at DRSS, has been involved in community theatre for 20 years. Thanks to her involvement in community productions, she has known most of the students in the play for more than 10 years since most of them are also involved in drama outside of school.
Thomson had his first performance as a kid in the rock musical Little Shop of Horrors when he was six years old and hasnt looked back since. He and Jamie Sweeney, who plays lovesick Helena, participate in as many performances as possible.
Sweeney loves acting and the feeling it elicits when shes on stage.
I love the feeling of being able to be someone else for a while and entertain the people and the crowd, she said. Its amazing.
Both she and Thomson also sing and dance so theyre keen to participate in musicals as well.
A Midsummer Nights Dream is set to hit the stage for two nights Wednesday (Jan. 12) and Thursday (Jan. 13) with both shows at 7 p.m.
The play is co-directed by Mrs. Dayle, and stars several Don Ross Grade 8 and 10 students.
Shows are at 7 p.m. at Don Ross Secondary and tickets are $8 in advance (available from cast members) or $10 at the door. For more information contact Franklin at [email protected]
