Our friend the bard, you know, Will Shakespeare, has authored plays that speak to every single human emotion, condition, and behavior from the heights of love to the despair of the same and everything in between. He takes us on journeys of the mind that transcend space and time to any space in time such as now – right now. Shakespeare remains relevant to modern people, including our children.
Acting teacher and director Jacob Sherburne had a dream, and for him and a group of very fortunate pre-teens and teens, that dream came true. “I have wanted to do Midsummer for years,” said Sherburne as he prepared for the first performance of the classic folly on August 14 at the Robert Broomhead Bandstand located on Marion’s Island Wharf.
Three weekend performances were scheduled for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and its performers were participants in the first-ever Midsummer Stages program hosted by the Marion Art Center.
Sherburne’s proposal to hold a summer theater camp in association with the Marion Art Center’s focus on performing arts is a dream come true. “It is our inaugural year doing this program with the MAC,” he said just prior to the first performance. Sherburne said that the age of the characters was in line with the age of the actors, 12 to 16, and that helped make the storyline more immediate to the actors. He said that in future sessions he plans on providing more technical stage and costume production, along with theater games and preparing to perform a real stage production.
Aside from actually learning the lines and movements throughout the program during a span of seven weeks, the participants experienced the classic tale of misadventure and young love. They learned how to move, to create costumes, how to use theater equipment. Perhaps the biggest takeaway, however, are the relationships the kids made that aided in the growth of the young people as they spread their theatrical wings.
“They are a very special group,” Sherburne said. Most of the participants came from the Tri-Town area, meaning that relationships built over the weeks of pre-production activities will translate to relationships that can continue to build during the upcoming school year, especially for those young people transitioning from grade school to junior high and onto high school, Sherburne believes.
During the development of the production, Sherburne said he encouraged the players to use modern references to aid in moving the plot forward. “I gave them license to interact with the audience where appropriate,” he said.
Sherburne also noted that the characters lent themselves to modern interpretations, especially where questions of gender and gender identification may impact relationships. “What is the performer’s gender and what is gender in relationships?” are questions that he said were considered by the group. “They (the actors) didn’t know each other before joining the group. They were able to engage each other, establish personal relationships.… The material made it easy to get excited. …They lit up the young characters in the play.”
Sherburne said that before joining the program, the play was an unknown for the majority of the kids, but some became familiar with the play or the theme of the play prior to the program’s creation. “One girl came with a ‘Mean Girl’ monologue,” he said.
Music was updated, too. Instead of using music that might have been part of a Shakespeare production when he lived, Sherburne said with a laugh, “We used the Git Up! – it was appropriately cheesy.”
Shakespeare is still our bard with works that are approachable and fully loaded for current times. “Shakespeare pulls at modern musical theater,” Sherburne stated.
Funding for the program was tuition-based with other support coming from the Marion Art Center. The cast members were Jade Beauregard, Alanna Robidoux-Couto, Lyra Demednonca, Zoe Pateakos, Charlotte Cook, Ava Duponte, Amelia Russell, and Harry Wisner, as well as professional company members Margo Wilson Ruggiero, Rick Sherburne, and Camerin Bennett.
Sherburne is a stage and television actor, director, and teacher. He holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Acting from Florida State University’s Asolo Conservatory. He has directed other MAC productions, taught theater in New Bedford and at Tufts University, and taught at Pierce Middle School in Milton.
Also providing guidance and movement training during the program’s duration was local yoga instructor Elke Pierre.
Coming to the MAC on Saturday, August 21, is the outdoor stage production of “Cedar Beach,” directed by John Heavey. Visit marionartcenter.org for details.
By Marilou Newell