Renaissance Theatre's MIDSUMMER Opens This Month

Renaissance Now Theatre & Film, led by Kathy Curtiss, specializes in freely adapting Shakespearean plays. The troupe will present "A Midsummer Night's Dream," transported to the California Rock Music scene of Laurel Canyon in the early 1970's, from July 26 to 29 at The Chain Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, 4th floor.

Directed by Laurie Harrop Purser with vocal/text work by Steven Rimke, the adaptation was developed in workshops this year at Castle Amphitheater in Provo, UT, a thousand-seat, Greek-style open air stone amphitheater in the mountains of the Beehive State.

This adaptation of Shakespeare's most famous comedy is more visual than language-conceptual, being modernized to a California rock fest but sticking to the script most of the time. Its setting is a 1970 rock concert in Laurel Canyon, outside Los Angeles. The war that is scripted in Shakespeare's original is replaced by a battle of the bands: a sing-off involving Theseus, the Duke of Rock and Hippolyta, the Amazon of Songs. The comedic characters - the Mechanicals - are the opening act for Theseus and Hippolyta. The set is simple with projections depicting the rock concert setting and the woods surrounding Laurel Canyon. Costumes are indicative of late 1960's and early 1970's. There is singing, stage fighting, and chasing throughout the play as love triangles shift back and forth.

Perception changes with a dimensional shift into a land where fairies and fairy royalty exist in tandem with rock stars. The door to this dimensional shift is a "weed" often found and smoked at rock concerts. The mischievous fairy/roadie Puck enables the audience to see the Mechanicals turn into fairies before their eyes. There is much in this interpretation about perspective and "seeing what we want to see" when it comes to love. Ultimately everyone finds their way out of the woods, everyone is paired with the proper partner and it ends with hilarity and dance.

Direction, dance and fight choreography are by Laurie Harrop-Purser. Text work is by Assistant Director Steven Rimke. Costume Design is by Brooklyn Cordner. Music and sound design are by Nate Lowry. Lighting, projections and set design are by Rychard Curtiss. The actors are Rick Macy, Amanda Williams, Ryan Hopkins, Desmond Walker, Yulissa Torres, Joshua Johnson, Sydney Olsen, Seven Harrison, Sonja Hugo, Eden Bostrom, Caleb Voss, Joshua Munoz, Charli Purser, Austin Zimmerman and Preston Ochsenhirt.

Renaissance Now Theatre & Film (producer), led by Kathy Curtiss, specializes in freely adapting Shakespearean plays with additions of dialogue in contemporary prose. Its adaptations employ "now speak" to highlight social issues, including political and moral themes, from the viewpoint of characters in the plays. Last summer, Renaissance Now presented the NY premiere of Kathy Curtiss' adaptation, "Macbeth-Redux," on Theatre Row. John R. Ziegler and Leah Richards (Thinking Theatre NYC) described the effect of the modern language "now speak" passages as "something like getting a perspective on the play from within the play." The review also praised the production's fight choreography and imagery (some scenes achieving an "almost painterly visual composition") and declared that audiences "will find much to admire, as well as much to ponder" in the production.

Laurie Harrop-Purser ("A Midsummer Night's Dream" director; dance & fight choreographer) graduated with an MFA from the National Theater Conservatory in Denver, Colorado. She taught for 14 years at Brigham Young University in the Theatre and Media Arts Department and is in her eleventh year with the Theater Department at Utah Valley University. In addition to teaching acting, movement, and Improv, she directs, acts, does voice-over work, and writes. She directed "The Wizard of Oz," played Mrs. Paroo in "The Music Man" and Aunt Eller in "Oklahoma" at Sundance. She played the Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet" in an independent film by Parking Garage Pictures. In the last several years, she has been in three Hallmark Christmas movies and two Harmon Brothers commercials. One of her recent writing projects is a musical adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" which performed at Utah Valley University and in Springdale Utah at The Bumbleberry Theater. She was acting coach on the movie "Green Flake," that won a LAFA award in 2020 for best picture.

Steven Rimke ("A Midsummer Night's Dream" assistant director & voice work) is an acting teacher, dialect coach, and professor of voice and speech. He received an MFA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and a BFA in Acting from the University of Calgary, Canada. He has most recently taken a position at Utah Valley University teaching accents and dialects, voice for the stage, voice over, speaking Shakespeare, and acting fundamentals. Prior to Utah Valley University, he was an assistant professor at Penn State and an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be performed in rep with "Hamlet Speak," a new adaptation and shorter cut (world premiere) of Shakespeare's well-known tragedy that includes predominately the original text, punctuated with contemporary monologues for Hamlet and Ophelia. The contemporary writing is added to give a modern perspective to issues that relate the classic play to our time. Hamlet, at age 30, is the equivalent of a modern college graduate student, seeking wisdom and truth about humane and right behavior as he prepares to be Denmark's next king. He is surrounded by other identity-seeking college students: Laertes, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, and Horatio. His election as King of Denmark is overridden by fear-mongering that the King's brother, Claudius, has created in order to claim the throne. The ensuing atmosphere of panic and political confusion is all too familiar in our time. For more info on "Hamlet Speak," visit www.jsnyc.com/season/hamlet_speak.htm.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" will play Wed, 7/26 at 3:00 (preview); Thur, 7/27 at 7:30, Fri, 7/28 at 3:00 and Sat , 7/29 at 7:30. "Hamlet Speak" will play Wed, 7/26 at 7:30 (preview); Thur, 7/27 at 3:00, Fri, 7/28 at 7:30, Sat , 7/29 at 3:00.

Tickets to both shows are: Previews $5, General Admission $15, Students/Seniors $7, Group of 4: $26. To purchase tickets, go to the ensemble's website, www.renaissancenow.com.

These productions are supported in part by the Bill and Sharon George Foundation and by Brad and Melissa Coolidge.

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