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Release date: Oct. 10, 2003 Theater Emory Presents Contemporary, Urban "Midsummer Night's Dream"
The concept of this update--which preserves Shakespeare's original language--was originally conceived by director Paulsen, who drew upon her own experience with city life and a desire to explore the play in a new, contemporary and relevant way. "I saw the play as speaking to the various 'worlds' which exist in a modern city, but which rarely cross," says Paulsen. "I wanted to explore what happens when those worlds collide, and what they each can learn from one another." The production's privileged, somewhat naïve main characters (Theseus and members of his court in Athens, Greece) are re-imagined as inhabitants of the Fortune 500 world of corporate acquisitions, high finance and information-era prosperity, while the "mechanicals" or townspeople of the original are envisioned as the industrial, technological and Internet-savvy workers that keep the corporate machine running. The fairies, whose forest is the centerpiece of the play, are re-imagined as a mix of outrageous couture and artistic hipness--a sort of artistic underworld into which the lovers and the mechanicals unwittingly stumble. The case will include a mix of Emory students, faculty and professionals, including Shannon Eubanks as Titania, Judge Luckey as Oberon, James Donadio as Bottom and Larry Larson as Quince. The production design will include a significant amount of fantastical costuming, especially among the fairies, whose urbane, cyber-punk and couture look aims to capture the mysterious other-worldliness of the characters in totally new ways. Production designer Leslie Taylor drew from diverse sources ranging from Rene Magritte and the surrealists to modern corporate architecture to create a design that juxtaposes the rigid rationality of Athens, Greece, with the carefree energy of the forest in startling and surprising ways. "I wanted to capture the beauty of both the rational and chaotic worlds created by Shakespeare, and see how the two could be brought together onstage in ways that emphasize the beauty of each. That way, we could see how these worlds are not mutually exclusive, but mutually beneficial," says Taylor. General admission tickets are $15 for general public, $12 for Emory faculty, staff and discount groups, and $6 for Emory students. Tickets can be purchased through the Arts at Emory Box Office at 404-727-5050 or online at www.emory.edu/ARTS/. Parking is available in the Peavine Parking Deck. On Halloween night, Emory students are encouraged to dress up in fantastical consumes to join the world of the fairies. The most creative costume will win a prize. Performance dates and times follow: * Pay-what-you-can performance and costume night ### ---Release written by T. Brian Green Theater Emory is the professional producing organization of Emory University and is affiliated with the Department of Theater Studies. It is a member of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts and operates under a seasonal agreement with Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Emory University provides a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment for the study, creation and presentation of the arts. |
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