A Midsummer Night's Dream
at South Lakes High School

Reviewed on November 23, 2019

Evan Howard
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

The chirping of crickets and tweeting of birds sets the scene while fog rolls across the stage. The lilt of banjo music encircles the theater. It's not Shakespearean England at all, but the Louisiana Bayou in South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

William Shakespeare's much-loved comedy, originally written in 1596, tells the story of the fairy world and the human world clashing on one midsummer's night. Four Athenian youths caught in a love "rectangle" have their love turned to hate and their hate turned to love when a miscommunication between the King of the Fairies and his fairy assistant Puck, causes a love potion to go awry. Amidst this, we are given glimpses of the production of a play-within-a-play that is to be performed for the Athenian royalty.

Performing Shakespeare is no small task, and South Lakes did a wonderful job of telling the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Even when the language of the script became somewhat confusing across the length of four hundred years since Shakespeare penned the words. The actors made sure to keep up the energy and convey exactly what the script meant through their emotions and strong physicality, and the setting of the Louisiana Bayou allowed for some great comedic moments and creative use of elements such as voodoo culture and accents.

Anchoring this production was the very strong comic relief Nick Bottom, portrayed by Ennis Shabab. Shabab's performance reminded us of why this play is considered Shakespeare's most popular comedy. Shabab's comedic talent was evident, with every single movement and line carefully considered to elicit the most laughs from the audience. The highlight of the show was when his troupe of actors, The Mechanicals, performed their play before the Athenian royalty. It was clear that Shabab and his fellow actors in the troupe were having fun performing and that joy translated into huge laughs from the crowd.

The four Athenian youths (Serena Mandala-Kol as Hermia, Farrah Greeves as Helena, Noah Rice as Lysander, Kiran Drew as Demetrius) that we follow also stood out as strong performances. The quick changes from love to hate and hate to love were believable, and through these transformations we saw a wide range of emotions—all executed wonderfully. Another standout performance was from Aaron Macdonald as Oberon, the king of the fairies. Normally a serious character acting as a foil to the fairy Puck, Macdonald showed great range from angry to gut-busting comedy. The image of Oberon sneaking across the stage and hiding in a small boat, concealing himself from the Athenian youths, brought the audience to raucous laughter and once again illustrated the strong comedic talent found at South Lakes.

Makeup (Emilia Cayelli, Midsummer Makeup Crew) was utilized throughout the play to illustrate otherworldly characters, with supernatural makeup for the fairies including two very well-done skeleton masks. These masks—as well as the costumes of those fairies—suggested the voodoo culture of the Louisiana Bayou.

Performing a story that was written over four hundred years ago is a daunting task, especially when translating comedy in a way that a modern audience would find funny, and South Lakes rose to the task and then some. This was by far one of the funniest productions of Shakespeare I have witnessed and was a unique twist on a classic Shakespeare play that left the audience smiling.

Jenalyn Dizon
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

A soft glow of twinkling lights illuminates the darkness as hushed chirps of crickets fill the air-- watch the magic unfold at South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Written in the mid-1590s, William Shakespeare's comedy was originally set in Athens, Greece as the Duke Theseus and Hippolyta prepare for a wedding. The story follows four young Athenians: Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius as their complicated love quadrangle takes them into the enchanted woods. Here lives the fairy king and queen Oberon and Titania, along with the fairies Puck and Robin Goodfellow who interfere with the four Athenians and complicate their love lives even more.

This production set the show in and around the Louisiana Bayou; Jonah Kossoy as Theseus and Ryleigh Line as Hippolyta performed with strong and consistent southern accents throughout. This setting change adds another dimension to the script, with the intertwining of three worlds: southern royalty, the common people, and the magical fairy realm.

Through high-intensity fight scenes and fast paced lines, the four Athenians interacted well together and played off one another to successfully move the scene along. Farrah Greeves amusingly portrayed a particularly dynamic and slightly unhinged Helena who really put the ‘crazy' in ‘crazy in love'. Greeves made clear choices with her character that made her emotional development throughout the story evident, while keeping her character's personality consistent.

The majestic king and queen of the fairies were portrayed by Aaron MacDonald and Maya Berry. MacDonald maintained an authoritative physicality for the role, towering over the rest and never dropping his kingly stature. Although he held a generally more serious demeanor, MacDonald was still able to create comedic moments with his character's reactions and movements, whether he was pretending to hide behind an invisible cloak or attempting to control Puck and Robin Goodfellow. This dynamic duo, Keaton Lazar and Emilia Cayelli, brought the delightfully mischievous fairies to life. The lovable sidekicks sustained sharp, animated movements while speaking and in reactions on the side. It was evident that they were extremely well rehearsed and consistently moved in tandem together, as if they shared one mind.

The wild acting troupe, the Mechanicals, made up the cast of a play-within-the-play that they perform at Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. All the characters were portrayed with distinct personalities that, when brought together, allowed them to feed off each other's energy and work together as a cohesive unit. Ennis Shabab as Nick Bottom stood at the forefront of the acting troupe with constant comedic lines and timing. Shabab's portrayal of the earnest, yet air-headed character, earned laughs and cheers from the audience with most every line.

The work of the props team, Jacob Dally and Leah Blum, was one of the most integral pieces of this production. Puck and Robin Goodfellow played with hand-sewn and decorated voodoo dolls, representative of Lysander and Demetrius, as if the dolls controlled the boys' actions. This small feature did a fine job truly anchoring the Louisiana setting. Hannah Donis and the costumes team also displayed great attention to detail contrasting Lysander and Demetrius - the boys were dressed in pink and blue dress shirts, and later took them off to reveal white and black t-shirts underneath.

Overall, the fast pacing and high energy combined to prevent Shakespeare's dense verse from affecting the audience's comprehension as South Lakes High School brought magic to the stage.

Joshua Mutterperl
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to FCPS Community News

Mischievous woodland spirits, a dynamic love quadrangle, and… the Louisiana Bayou?! South Lakes High School proudly presents a refreshing and hilarious rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The comedy, written by William Shakespeare circa 1596, establishes three distinct worlds: those of the confused lovers, a ragtag acting troupe, and mysterious fairies. He then sets them all on a crash course for each other, driving the story in utterly unexpected directions. In this production, while keeping true to the Shakespearean language, the costumes, set, and other technical and performance elements collaborated to place this play right in the middle of the Louisiana Bayou.

The four central Athenians, Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander (played by Serena Mandala-Kol, Farrah Greeves, Kiran Drew, and Noah Rice, respectively), interacted in engaging and expressive ways. They clearly communicated each character's opinion of the others and their understanding of the language, despite its complexity. In particular, Greeves showed superb commitment to the melodramatic Helena, never failing to draw a laugh from the audience whether clinging to Demetrius or mocking Hermia in a childish manner.

The troupe of actors, also known as The Mechanicals, were thoroughly entertaining in every second of their time onstage. Their consistent reactions to the events onstage and ability to perform energy-packed scenes created some of the funniest moments of the show, particularly during the "play within a play" they put on at the end of Act 2. Standing out from this already talented crowd was Ennis Shabab as Nick Bottom, who displayed a keen ability to inject every line with humor, from his glee for meeting fairies with unconventional names to Bottom's histrionic and memorable performance as Pyramus in the troupe's play.

Several members of the Fairy World added even more comedic moments to the already uproarious show. Aaron MacDonald utilized booming vocals and an exasperated demeanor to deliver a surprisingly funny interpretation of King Oberon. Also, Keaton Lazar and Emilia Cayelli as Puck and Robin Goodfellow (typically the same character, but split in two for this production) performed several physical gags in perfect synchronization.

The technicians worked incredibly hard to transport the audience to a mystical world, where anything was possible, and they were certainly successful!

Lighting (designed by Kendra Griessel, Hannah Berger, and Caleb Correllus) used consistent color palettes, namely vibrant greens and blues, to give the woods an otherworldly feel. Lights were used to seamlessly draw focus around the stage. Additionally, as a testament to the stage crew (Jacob Ham, Kieran Stevens, and Catrina Grant), transitions between scenes were quick and efficient.

The Fairy Costumes (designed by Hannah Donis, Maya Berry, Mikayla Kirr, and the Midsummer Fairies)created a gorgeous ethereal atmosphere, especially with the lights each fairy had on their hands, which were utilized in tantalizing movement sequences.

A highlight of the show was the makeup done by the Midsummer Makeup Crew and Emilia Cayelli, which clearly sorted characters into different groups based on their physical appearances. The makeup on Puck and Robin Goodfellow was particularly eye-catching, as the top half of their faces were made to look like skulls.

With the help of very strong comedic performers and excellent world-building by the technical departments, South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is like a visit from a fairy: bound to make you fall in love.

Zander Kuebler
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

A low, creeping fog slinks across the stage, enveloping stumps and vines as it pools and disperses into the audience. It is certainly an impressive effect, but to what show does it belong? Perhaps a modern American romance, or maybe a 20th century Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery. It's not a regular old Shakespeare, right? Well, it actually is a Shakespeare, just one that is definitely not regular or old. South Lakes High School puts a Louisiana Bayou spin on Shakespeare's age-old favorite "A Midsummer Night's Dream," twisting the comedy into a new kind of masterpiece.

Written in the 1590s by William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" deals with two royal faeries, Titania and Oberon, whose presence near Athens disrupts the lives of the locals. Included in these locals, are four young Athenians stuck in a sort of love rectangle, who venture into the forest to solve their love-life problems, and get mixed up with magic, trickery, and even an acting troupe. Complete with countless opportunities for comedy mixed with a variety of interconnected plots, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" has been a theatre favorite for centuries and remains a favorite with the South Lakes High School production.

The four lovers, Lysander (Noah Rice), Demetrius (Kiran Drew), Hermia (Serena Mandala-Kol), and Helena (Farrah Greeves), are responsible for carrying the brunt of the main plot and have to somehow connect with the audience while remaining comedic. This daunting task can't stop the four actors at South Lakes, who exhibit remarkable chemistry with one another and create necessary intimate moments among an otherwise chaotic show. But don't let their intimacy fool you, these four stellar performers have no trouble joining in with the chaos when the time comes. When Hermia and Helena grow angry with one another and Lysander and Demetrius are forced to separate them to keep them from fighting, the four actors dive headfirst into the pandemonium. The overly dramatic physicality of Mandala-Kol and Greeves as they struggle towards each other through the desperate grasps of Rice and Drew, who each have their own humorously pained expressions, leaves the audience in absolute hysterics and illustrates the flexibility of the actors.

Speaking of leaving the audience in hysterics, Ennis Shabab as Nick Bottom brings another dollop of laughs into the already hilarious production. The character Bottom, a member of the acting troupe, is considered to be an "over-actor." This trait leaves ample opportunity for the actual actor playing Bottom to make everything he does funny. Let's just say Shabab is eager to seize that opportunity.

So sure, we laughed, but it was a comedy, and that's supposed to happen. It's the technical elements that should bring authenticity. Absolutely, but the crew at South Lakes High School did more than just bring authenticity. In addition to the eerie fog, the technical departments worked together to create a truly magical ambiance. For instance, the fairies were doused in shiny gold with green vine-like patterns crawling up and down their limbs, and tiny lights radiating in all directions from their fingertips. These fairies danced student choreography to a song with student-written music in a Louisiana Bayou environment, illustrating the ability of the South Lakes technicians to work in tandem to create something beautiful.

There's no doubt about it; the cast and crew of South Lakes High School's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" twisted the classic Shakespearean comedy into something that never seen before.

Madelyn Khoury
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Connection

Fog unfurls across the ground, gray tendrils spreading through the darkness of a bayou night and hinting at the sinister and mysterious happenings in these woods… The perfect setting for South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The play, written by the great Shakespeare in 1596, is one of his later comedies and has received much acclaim over the years. Following the misadventures of four youths intertwined in a complex love triangle, a struggling group of actors, and a quarreling fairy king and queen, the story lends itself to laughs as miscommunications abound.

Featuring an ensemble cast, South Lakes' production shone by virtue of the actors' mastery of Shakespearean language. With each contorted facial expression, bold physical movement, or cleverly delivered line, the actors made clear to the audience that they understood the story Shakespeare wrote, and were better able to tell the story as a result. The four lovers Hermia (Serena Mandala-Kol), Helena (Farrah Greeves), Lysander (Noah Rice), and Demetrius (Kiran Drew), for example, performed sharply-executed fight scenes and physical interactions that helped propel the comedy of their lovers' quarrels: Drew marched onstage with Greeves hanging off his leg dramatically, Mandala-Kol jumped on Rice's back for an impromptu piggy-back ride, and Mandala-Kol and Greeves portrayed a screaming match between Hermia and Helena with skill, getting in the other's space and needing, at one point, to be held back from each other in their fury.

Meanwhile, the comedy troupe led by Peter Quince (Hannah Donis) and starring Nick Bottom (Ennis Shabab) displayed masterful ensembleship. Particularly during the performance of their play for the royal family, this group of actors expertly used physical choices and character voices to paint a picture of a dysfunctional theatre troupe. Madison Cosgrave, for example, who played Tom Snout, exaggerated her frustrations and frantically whispered lines to the rest of the actors. Meanwhile, Shabab truly shone with every moment onstage, creating a pretentious actors' persona complete with intentionally unnecessary physical flourishes to showcase Bottom's acting skill (or rather, lack thereof) and playing wonderfully off Queen Titania (Maya Berry) and her fairies.

Truly, though, the story wouldn't have succeeded without its technical elements. Not only did the skillful use of a fog machine by the SFX department (Anna Gillespie) add to the ambiance of a bayou (a quite clever design choice), but the swirling fairy makeup and voodoo-esque skulls painted on Puck and Robin Goodfellow by the makeup department (Emilia Cayelli and the Midsummer Makeup Crew) added to the show's ambiance. In addition, fairy lights on the tips of the sprites' fingers, whimsical costumes, and calming use of the cyclorama by the lights department (Kendra Griessel, Hannah Berger, and Caleb Correllus) immersed audiences in the story.

With barefoot, dancing sprites, twinkling fairy lights, and depictions of comedy and drama both, South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream holds a bit of magic for everyone. As a new and interesting twist on the Shakespearean classic, this production is sure to leave audiences looking for midsummer – or midwinter, for that matter – adventures of their own.

Kamryn Upson
Freedom High School
Submitted for publication to Fairfax County Times

A royal couple, a clan of fairies, an amateur acting company, and four young lovers all in a… Louisiana bayou? This innovative production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at South Lakes High School transported the audience to a Shakespearean world of comedy, magic, and malice set to the knee-slapping sound of tickling banjos.

A Midsummer Night's Dream was written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500's, and has become one of his most popular works. It is one of the most commonly performed Shakespeare plays, and has been produced at high school, collegiate, and professional level theatres around the globe. This play brings four worlds of very different people together one night in the woods, which causes more mischief and conflict than one would imagine. With fairies meddling in lovers' business, and an acting company with very little experience preparing to perform for royalty, it can be assumed that something will go wrong, and it most certainly does.

The four lovers, played by Serena Mandala-Kol (Hermia), Noah Rice (Lysander), Farrah Greeves (Helena), and Kiran Drew (Demetrius), were portrayed splendidly. They fully encapsulated the sweet innocence of these characters, along with the youthful vigor required of them in the intense and comedic fight scene they executed in Act 1.

Among other parts of the woods resided the Mechanicals. This group of six created excellent chemistry with each other that was showcased in their humorous interactions with one another. Nick Bottom, played by Ennis Shabab, was exceptionally hilarious. His extravagant physicality and signature pose playfully showed Bottom's energetic personality.

Watching over all of the incidents involving these characters were the fairies. Maya Berry and Aaron MacDonald put on wonderful performances as the Fairy Queen Titania and Fairy King Oberon. They showcased the power they had over their subjects through their authoritative tone of voice and proud stature throughout the show. This was especially seen in Oberon's power over Puck (Keaton Lazar) and Robin Goodfellow (Emilia Cayelli), his two servants. Traditionally played as a singular character who answers to two names, Lazar and Cayelli worked together seamlessly to create a pair of witty partners in crime who captured the audience's attention each time they sprung onto the stage.

The technical elements of this production elevated the enchanting feeling of the show, and accentuated the bayou in which it was set. Placed center stage were expertly painted trees that were incredibly detailed, in front of which stood a wooden porch with two rocking chairs. Another element that contributed to the fantastical ambiance of the show was the use of a fog machine. Fog would creep onto the stage as the lights were dim and the fairies entered to create an eerie yet enticing atmosphere.

South Lakes High School's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was truly magical, and left the audience feeling as if they had just awoken from a swampy, spellbinding dream.