Interview: Boiling Point Players Stages A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM With An All-Female Cast

In its third season, the Boiling Point Players presents the A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM mixtape replete with dance breaks and an all-female cast. The remix production retains the essence of the Shakespeare tale. The love quadrangle between Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius is just as emotionally messy as always, but the fairies just may prefer Lauper to the lute. Christine Weems of Cone Man Running Productions directs.

BroadwayWorld: This production is a MIDSUMMER remix. What direction are you going in for the design elements and staging?

Christine Weems: It will be set in the 1980s, with a lot of the costuming, hair and music that was prevalent back then. The staging will be heavily physical with a lot of aggressive fighting as well as a dance break (because you can't really not have a dance break). This production is all about having fun with the material.

BroadwayWorld: Now, I ask the following question with the full knowledge that most plays have an all-male cast and no one bats an eye at that. All-female casts can come off as gimmicky, especially in plays like A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM where the intended cast was always male. How do you navigate this while keeping performances truthful and grounded?

Christine Weems: There are just so many talented women in this city and this show was a wonderful opportunity to work with so many of them at once. These women are working so hard that particularly those playing men are committed to being as honest to the performance as possible. I find that one of the bigger elements that I wanted to emphasize in this show - the stage combat - is easier to choreograph and execute with women then if you have a mix of genders. There is less of fear of injury and therefore less hesitation. They just go for it! As for keeping the performances truthful and grounded, they are focused more on playing the emotions, which are relatable.

BroadwayWorld: Once the play is believable, you're faced with the even more difficult challenge of making the audience laugh. How will you bring the funny?

Christine Weems: I think the funny is inherent in the situations that the characters find themselves. This is definitely not your typical night in the woods. But the women have amazing comedic timing and that combined with a fun concept - a tremendously physical show set in the 1980s, an iconic decade - good and bad - for music and clothing. The funny will be brought.

William Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, directed by Christine Weems (Cone Man Running Productions), runs April 1 - 9. 8 p.m. Studio 101, Spring Street Studios, Spring Street Studios. For information, call or visit boilingpointplayers.com. $15-$20.

Photos courtesy of cvweems.wix.com
Poster artwork courtesy of the Boiling Point Players