By Ella Tysse
Giggles, shrieks, and flute whistles tumble down the auditorium aisle in a flash of glitter and flowing fabrics, and so Oberon’s fairies alight the stage, merry with mischievous mirth. Come one, come all, to dance in the fairy rounds and join their moonlit revelries – but beware! The fairy kingdom is not for the weak of mind, and in Meridian High School’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish,” one’s senses will be twisted until dream and reality blur into one.
Adapted from William Shakespeare’s classic comedy of the late 16th century, this play follows four young Athenians, tied up in a complicated love square. They rush into the forest one night, only to get caught up in the magic and mayhem of King Oberon and Queen Titania’s fairy realm.
The true highlight of this performance was the engagement and dedication of the ensemble as a whole. No matter how small the role, each ensemble member had a distinct vocal inflection and style of movement which served to create a rich and thoughtful tapestry of characters, and a melodramatic, over-gesticulated acting style, which effectively brought to life the words of Shakespeare. Even when the actors weren’t the star of a scene, they remained actively listening, reacting, and interacting with the main action, bringing the world of the play to life with such a vivacious zeal and careful attention to detail which can sometimes be lacking in high school productions.
Standout performances included that of Mia Schatz as Puck, who lent the show both levity and a heartfelt touch. Schatz’s constant wide-eyed expression of innocence, trotting gait, and guffawing laughter gave the character an air of youthful mischievousness instead of malice as Puck used the love potion to switch around the minds of the young lovers. In addition, in contrast to these lighter moments, Schatz also cowered in fear before the wrath of Oberon and breathed heavily in annoyance and exhaustion after leaping around the stage to put the lovers to rights. No matter what, Schatz offered a genuine display of earnest emotion that gave the character a childlike innocence and an infectious joy.
Ensnaring the audience with laughter, Eudora Neal gave Helena a ditsy, valley girl air with a bouncing skip, a vacant smile, and just enough vocal fry, which made Helena’s persistent declarations of unrequited love to Demetrius and pouty tirades all the more humorous. The lovers as a whole made up a cohesive unit, performing physical and slapstick comedy together (for example, pulling on each other’s legs, jumping on their backs, or tackling them to the ground), with efficiency and confidence, and engaging in astoundingly comfortable and easy intimacy, no matter who they were in love with at the time.
The dynamism and chaos of the show was only made possible by the set, (Bailey Cash and the Technical Theater class), whose massive pillow fort with hidden steps and back entrances made for an extremely interactive and dreamlike world. The abstraction of the set made settings and scene transitions blurry, accentuating the play’s theme of dream vs. reality, and the deterioration of the set over the course of the show, with pillows scattered across the ground, emphasized the increased wild chaos and confusion of the characters and their situation.
Altogether, Meridian High School’s cast and crew demonstrate that a performance can at once be hilarious and heartfelt, chaotic and well thought out. With no shortage of funny moments, Meridian elevates and provides a unique interpretation of a classic piece. So, lend them your hands, if you be friends! Robin shall restore amends.
