Actors' Shakespeare Project offers levity with 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Enchantment, magical charms and moments of merriment abound in William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” That’s part of what drew director Maurice Emmanuel Parent to produce the mirthful play at Actors’ Shakespeare Project — its evocation of revelry and fantasy-driven levity. The Bard’s comedy came to Parent as a solution to the ongoing troubles in the world.

“We need joy. We need to feel hopeful and connected to community,” he said. “Sometimes, when life gets too challenging or times get hopeless, joy is an act of resistance.”

“Midsummer” will be ASP’s first staged show at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown (April 11-May 4), where they are a theater-in-residence. The staff have their offices onsite, and the company’s next two shows, “Macbeth” and “Little Women,” will also be performed there. According to Evan Turissini, director of marketing and communications at ASP, the move to the Mosesian last summer allowed the theater company to “really spread [its] wings as an organization.”

The narrative of “Midsummer” will be a familiar one to audiences. It largely revolves around the lives of mortals from the city of Athens. A spirited woman, Hermia (Thomika Bridwell), remains steadfastly in love with a gentleman, Lysander, but her father has betrothed her to another, Demetrius. Meanwhile, Hermia’s friend Helena cannot be torn away from Demetrius, who does not return her affections. A mysterious fairy court watches the lives of the lovers from afar, meanwhile harboring their own set of problems. When the Athenian pairs stumble upon a forest governed by the fairies, paths intersect, and they find their worlds toppled upside down, thrust into a kingdom ruled by trickery, mischief, and illusion.

When Parent envisioned his production of “Midsummer,” he imagined Athens as being touched by banality, while the forest embodied an escape. For this reason, he drew inspiration from his own experiences in the 1990s and early 2000s club scene in New York City, where he said he found a sense of inclusivity. With costumes that feature macrame, bright colors and leather, as well as pulsating music propelled by rhythm, Parent will conjure an environment of freedom and possibility.

“I knew that the show could have anyone on stage. I thought, ‘What was a space that I could create that would justify multi-ages, multiethnic backgrounds, multisexual identities, multi-genders?” said Parent. “I started thinking about the club scene of my 20s. It was queer positive, without it even being named that it was. Everybody was there because it was a refuge from whatever we were facing in our lives.”

At the same time, Parent said that he could not ignore the undercurrent of darkness that permeates Shakespeare’s fable, including jealousy, control and manipulation. “Both Oberon and Puck, as loveable as they may seem to be, do some really dark things,” he said. “He poisons Titania to get what he wants. Puck torments the mechanicals. It absolutely is there in the text.”

It’s important to acknowledge the sinister aspects of the play, because without them, we wouldn’t confront the tale’s characters for who they are. “I’m hoping audiences can go on that ride of emotions,” Parent said.

Feminism in “Midsummer” is something that actress Thomika Bridwell, who portrays Hermia, said needs to be addressed. Written into the text, female characters run up against patriarchal systems, as illustrated in Hermia’s defiance of her father. Bridwell said the women are working to find their agency, but it’s hard to ignore what reads as sexism in the story. That’s a condition that applies very much to our world today, she said.

“The fairy world is dark, but I don’t feel like it’s any darker than what we’re currently experiencing,” said Bridwell. “If we see the ways that we can relate the fairy world and Athens to what is happening right now, then we walk away entertained, but we also walk away educated and empowered to think differently and hopefully to do something differently.”

Parent’s direction of the show comes at a time when his role at the Front Porch Arts Collective is evolving. He will soon be sole artistic director after co-founder Dawn Simmons was appointed the new artistic director of SpeakEasy Stage Company. He said that Simmons’ departure will be strongly felt, but that he is excited to make big headway for the company.

“It’s truly bittersweet. I’m happy for her, and I’m happy for SpeakEasy. She’s been like a sister to me,” said Parent. “I know she’ll do a great job over there. I’m also very excited for what we have coming up for The Front Porch, both next season and beyond. We’re in the planning stages, and that’s really exciting for me.”

As he prepares for the opening of “Midsummer,” Parent said he hopes that the play will take audiences on a journey, much like the one the mortals embark on, entering into a surreal world that ultimately leaves them emerging changed. Their frolic into the mythical forest is something like what happens when a spectator views a work of theater.

“You go in one way and come out another,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the play. We regret the error.