Midsummer afternoon’s “Dream”
Last time I wrote a life-update entry, I mentioned the Shakespeare Santa Cruz offsite, but didn't go into detail.
Not gonna go into detail now, either. Suffice it to say, it was a nice performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in SSC's nice outdoor performance space; and unlike the last version I saw, this one was entirely in English. Gave me even more appreciation for how well the multilingual production handled things, I think.
During the first half of the SSC version the other week, we were sitting in the sun, which got very hot; after intermission, we moved down the hill into the shade, and somehow the second half was much better than the first half. (That "somehow" is sarcastic; point being, the heat made it hard to concentrate on the show, and the shade made it much easier.)
One thing I was struck by: during much of Dream, various characters spend significant amounts of time asleep onstage. I wonder if the actors find it boring.
Another thing I wondered: has anyone done a Dream reworking in which the first person seen on awakening is one of the same-sex characters? I imagine some judicious Googling would lead me to the answer, but no time for that right now.