A Midsummer Evening’s Play

Although there were plenty of free events to attend in Ithaca during the summer, I can, every couple months or so, be persuaded to use actual real money to buy things. On this occasion, my roommate and I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream put on by the Ithaca Shakespeare Company at the Plantations. Our other choice of production was Henry IV, and as much as I love history (I don’t), I thought I’d rather see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We went on a midsummer Thursday night, which was five dollars cheaper than a Friday or weekend. On top of that, students received a five dollar discount, so our tickets were only five dollars.

I packed dinner and made the trek out to the Plantations on foot after work. When I got there and met my roommate, there was already a decent sized crowd camped out in front of the stage. We paid our five dollars and found a spot near the back/middle of the audience where we could see. Having brought neither a blanket nor chairs, we sat on the grass. Having brought neither wine nor a fancy home-cooked dinner, I settled in to eat my oatmeal. At least I fared better in the dinner department than my roommate, who forgot her dinner in the fridge at work.

Once the show started, I will say it really helped to have read A Midsummer Night’s Dream before, even if it was in eighth grade. I remembered the basic storyline of the play, which was enough for me to follow what was happening onstage. They kept the set simple, but it was still effective. The sound was the only disappointing part of the performance. The sound effects were nice, and not obnoxious or intrusive, but the basic mike/speaker system was not working well. During the first act or so, it mainly seemed to pick up the actors’ footsteps(. . . ?) rather than voices, though it improved later. If it had been the first showing, I could have understood sound problems, but this was at least the second week of performances. (It was outdoors and also the first show of the weekend, but I would have hoped they’d worked things out after a full weekend of performances.)

Right after the play ended, with everyone packing up to leave

Even with sound problems, I could still hear most of the lines, and the play was overall highly entertaining. I’m glad I went, and I would recommend it, with the addition that it would be helpful to read the play beforehand.