PROVO — Director Christopher Clark knows Shakespeare can intimidate.
He also loves Shakespeare and wants to share his passion for the Bard's work.
So he's purposefully gearing Provo Theatre Company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which opens Friday, to those who think they don't like or understand Shakespeare.
"High school audiences will love this," Clark said. "It's so easy to follow, and it's very short, under two hours."
Clark said this is the first time Provo Theatre Co. has featured a Shakespearean play, so he's anxious to put it before the local audience.
"I've been pounding them to let me do this," he said. "My great love in life is Shakespeare. I have my master's in directing Shakespeare. I worked at the Globe Theatre in London doing Shakespeare."
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is already beloved by Shakespearean fans as one of the more accessible comedies, so Clark has worked hard to retain the elements people love.
"We have a beautiful set. It's very 20th century, though," he said. "It's Shakespeare brought forward with a mystical quality."
Clark said it has been a challenge staging the show in a small auditorium, but the size also gives the show intimacy. "In a small space, it just comes alive. We use the whole theater, every bit of it, and my actors really get to interact with the audience."
Clark recruited Barrett Ogden to play Puck. Ogden has roots in Utah County and has worked in New York, Los Angeles and London.
"Chris has emphasized getting into the fairy kingdom, making a commitment to the reality of this alternate reality, getting outside the safety zone of humans," Ogden said. "For instance, with Puck, I'm almost never going in a straight line from one side of the stage to the other. I'm all over the place."
Ogden said the cast does away with the "fourth wall" between the action and the audience, so those who come to see the play should plan on getting involved.
"That's how it was done originally," he said. "Shakespeare lends itself to storytelling this way. It helps keep the actors focused and helps the audience get into the story."
Ogden said good theater focuses on the relationship with the audience, something movies cannot do and something theater can do extraordinarily well.
Kathryn Little plays the role of the Fairy Queen. She recommends the production for anyone who usually shies away from Shakespeare.
"This is a great show to cut their teeth on," Little said. "It's just fun and silly. It's literally a romp through the woods. The director is very, very creative, and the cast that he has put together, they're funny. They have the best comic timing."
The cast also includes J. Scott Bronson as Oberon/Theseus, Eric Glissmeyer as Egeus/Tom Snoth, Celeste Barrand as Helena, Rachel Emmers as Hermia, Cristian Bell as Demetrius, Brett Merritt as Lysander, Tanya Quinn as Patty Quince, Ryan Simmons as Nick Bottom, David St. Julien as Francis Flute, Moronai Kanekoa as Robin Starveling, Ben Sansom as Snug, Becky Wallin as PeaseBlossom, Fallon Hanson as Cobweb and Amelia Schow as MustardSeed.
If you go
What: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Where: Provo Theatre Company, 105 E. 100 North, Provo
When: nightly except Sunday at 7:30 p.m., April 1 through April 30
Cost: $15 and $12.50; $7.50 student rush (available 30 minutes prior to curtain)
Tickets available at the theater box office or by calling: 379-0600
The plot
Originally written as light entertainment for a wedding celebration, the basic plot of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" involves two sets of couples (Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius) whose romantic cross-purposes are complicated when they find themselves in the play's fairyland woods. There, the king and queen of the fairies (Oberon and Titania) rule and Puck, the impish folk character, cavorts. Another set of characters, Bottom, the weaver, and his bumptious band, go into the same enchanted woods to rehearse a play that is very loosely based on the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. Along the way, there are lovers mismatched and ridiculously complicated situations that make this one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies.
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