CMU School of Drama


Friday, November 06, 2015

Seton Hill takes on Shakespeare's 'Dream'

TribLIVE: Student actors at Seton Hill University are off on a journey through one of William Shakespeare's most popular romantic comedies, “A Midsummer Night's Dream.”

Not even the writing style of the Bard — sometimes difficult to master for those new to the playwright's poetic verse — is getting in the way of their enthusiasm for the classic piece of Elizabethan theater.

2 comments:

Burke Louis said...


Okay I am about to get very honest here and I hope I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings but I don’t think I will because no one else has commented on this article. I can’t even understand why this article was posted on this blog. This production sounds like the definition of theatrical immaturity. Although, it’s difficult to be mean towards it because this school is just really trying to help its students grow as artists. Doing all the scanton and work that must be put into shakespeare is something that will challenge students, they will learn about writing and emotions and acting and develop their analytical skills. But the approach to this production is just boring, its like throwing a frigid wet blanket over the fun, warm spirit of theatre. No one in the audience will enjoy the controlled, stiff actors, they have all heard and seen this story before and there is nothing in this production that will keep them listening.

Stefan Romero said...

"Midsummer Night's Dream"is one of the many Shakespeare shows that I would love to see performed. Reading and analyzing the text in high school was much more challenging merely due to its lighthearted, comedic nature which focuses on the many faces of love which often are masked and revealed at various intervals. I think this play in particular would be translated much better through viewing rather than reading, as voice intonation informs a great deal of the body language that the actors use. While many consider Shakespeare's comedies easier to perform, this article shows that this is not the case--the brisk plot and snappy dialogue make it necessary for the performs to break down the text to not only make sure it is spoken correctly but that is it easy for the audience to understand the many nuances and development throughout the show.