After more than two decades of putting on primarily musicals for delighted audiences, Theatre 29 is making space for The Bard.
Years ago, at South by Southwest, I attended a keynote address by musician Neil Young who offered advice for creative inspiration: “If you’re terrified, you’re on the right track.”
With that directive in mind (and some gentle encouragement from Gary Daigneault), I braved the audition process and was somehow cast as Bottom the weaver in the upcoming production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Bottom is an ego-driven fool who fancies himself a talent, but with little education, he tends to misuse and abuse the English language. So not only am I striving to learn Shakespeare, but, in fact, a twisted, backward version of it. Thus, I am terrified, as advised, but enjoying the experience immensely, especially in being a part of the very first Shakespeare production at Theatre 29.
The director, Charlie E. Parker – who also plays Helena in the play – is the force of nature behind the production. After 15 years as a teacher, she circled back to her theatrical roots and deep love of Shakespeare:
Charlie E. Parker: “I used to have a repertory Shakespeare theater troupe several years ago, before teaching, and I decided I wanted to go back to producing Shakespeare. So I wrote this business proposal and I sent it to all the local theatrical venues and a couple responded back and one of them was Theatre 29. It was a huge thing because they had never done Shakespeare before, and they’ve been around for 23 seasons.
So that’s really huge for me, to get accepted to the theater that’s never done Shakespeare. I had to wait. They give you the announcement in June of the year preceding, and we were going to close out the year because it’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to be done in summer, so I had to wait a year for this to kind of come to fruition! So, it felt like a dream in and of itself because I waited so long to actually have it happen, but once we had auditions, I realized it was no longer a dream, it was reality, and it’s been such a joy.”
After late-April auditions, Parker put together a 19-member cast (ages 7-72) composed mostly of folks, like me, who had certainly heard of Shakespeare but never – in our wildest dreams or nightmares – imagined performing it.
Parker: “And even though they’d never done Shakespeare, most of these people have a love of Shakespeare, and or a natural ability to understand the language. They really just fill it full of so much life and sincerity which is what Shakespeare really needs, because people tend to think it’s this really lofty elevated thing, when it’s really not. It’s very much an Everyman’s thing. It speaks to the deepest sorrows and the greatest joys of the human condition that we all feel. And it’s done in such a crafty way, and I say that just because of the way that the language is crafted, very specifically, for a purpose. It just has this magic – just like a key when you discover it, you unlock all these secrets. So, it’s really cool getting to teach the cast about it and have them teach me the things that they know, and just unlock the magic of Shakespeare with everyone.”
Because the theater was still occupied by the previous show, the most excellent “My Son Pinocchio,” rehearsals began at an empty Dodge dealership in town. The bare-bones environment certainly infused the scrappy ‘let’s-do-this-scary-thing-together’ atmosphere and allowed for early cast bonding. And while there are elements of heartbreak in the 428-year-old play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is arguably Shakespeare’s most famous comedy and his most widely performed.
“I chose a comedy over a tragedy. I felt people need a good laugh these days. We’ve had a rough several years, we’ve all had enough tragedy in our lives. We could all use some laughs. And who doesn’t love fairies? But ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ just seemed very fitting for the high desert here. There’s this sort of magic to the natural landscape and having that be an inspiration was another reason why I chose ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ And I have always been fascinated with dreams, so this play speaks to me on many levels.”
Set artist Kevin Maddrey created an ethereal fairy-ridden forest and an Athens scene and Parker has overseen the addition of a fairy bower (bed), giant mushrooms and blacklight effects.
“I’ve always loved the aesthetic of blacklights and things that glow so we are going to be using blacklight-reactive make-up and costumes and set artistry to make the magic of this play come alive.”
On behalf of the entire cast, we beseech you to secure tickets to a famous tale of lovers’ bliss, scheming kings, pranking fairies, and dreams beyond comprehension.
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ runs June 16-25. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12.50 for seniors/military, and $10 for students/children. Theatre 29 is located at 73637 Sullivan Road in Twentynine Palms. For more info, call 760/361-4151 or visit theatre29.org.
