‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed exclusively

Ryan Wessels 

Sugar Beet staff reporter 

On October 18, during sixth and seventh hour, several different classes combined their efforts to make a play based on William Shakespeare’s, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The play was performed exclusively to the classes  involved, with the exception of a few staff members. These classes included Lisa Neely’s Art class, Jesse Bernal’s Radio class, Robyn Hilt’s Costuming class, Ellen Irsik’s English class, and Elisabeth Maldonado’s Culinary class.

The backgrounds and props were created by Neely’s class.

“They created two five-panel scenes for the backdrops. One was a garden scene, and one was a wall,” Neely said. “They also created plenty of tiaras and crowns, along with fairy wings, donkey ears and horns for Puck. We did a lot of the props.”

Bernal’s class helped with the sound aspects of the play.

“We recorded it and collaborated with the English class about what music and sound effects they needed and played those during the performance” Bernal said. “This is a really neat collaborative event, that we were able to get all of these different minds together to create something wholly unique.”

Irsik’s class helped adapt Shakespeare’s work into a play. “I spoke with Mrs. Neeley on how neat it would be to do the ‘play within the play’ as a class project and it just evolved from there as a collaborative unit between numerous classes” Irsik said.

Aside from these classes, Hilt’s class helped with costuming and Maldonado’s class helped by making and plating Greek food to be used in the play.

During parent teacher conferences several of the set pieces and props were displayed for the parents and onlookers to see.

The play followed the fictional events involving the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, the former Queen of the Amazons. It focuses on a group of four Athenians who are involved in a complicated situation regarding to who they will marry. The rest of the play involves intervention from some fairies and how that complicates things. Along with these events, the play also follows a group of Athenian workers who are trying to write a play for the wedding between Theseus and Hippolyta. The play is a comedy, and one of Shakespeare’s most performed and popular works alongside “Romeo and Juliet” and “Julius Caesar.”

Ryan Wessels is a trade and health sophomore. You can contact him at wesselsr@student.gckschools.com.