Shakespeare couldn’t predict memes, NFTs, or the Klingon translations of “Hamlet” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” but he was onto something when he wrote, “Lord, what fools these mortals be.” Humankind has made tremendous strides since Shakespeare’s day, but actual humans are just as foolish as ever.
Even if it makes life difficult sometimes, this foolishness is also a great inspiration for artists. That very foolishness is center stage in Savannah Ballet Theatre (SBT)'s upcoming performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," fully immersing us in a story most of us will recognize.
To really channel the chaotic everyday lives we lead, SBT throws us right in the mix from the very start.
“We open on some fairies dancing very fast. The score is very anxiety-inducing but exciting,” Ashley Casstevens, a performer with SBT since 2015, said. “Just get ready because it’s going to get foolish.”
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
From there, it’s full speed ahead.
Motivated by love’s tangled vines, four Athenians escape to the woods for a break from an arranged marriage and a couple of unrequited crushes. Meanwhile, a troupe of actors squabbles over a play, and the King of Fairies plots a prank on the Queen of Fairies.
After using a flower stricken by Cupid’s arrow to mess with the Queen, the King of Fairies orders Puck to use the same flower to bring the Athenians some peace. In short, there are a million things going on at once, and this affects the characters. In his confusion, Puck uses the flower on the wrong character, a real “oopsie daisy” that changes the course of the story.
“I think it's probably one of the funniest ones,” Casstevens said. “If you want to see a comedy show, then this would be the one.”
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
As humorous as it is, the melee reveals a key truth: no matter how much control we think we have, there’s always something left up to fate.
“There are lots of outside forces, whether good or bad, intentional or not,” Casstevens said. “Lots of things are happening that you can't control.”
In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” those outside forces are fairies and magic. The outside forces in our world are just as unseen and uncontrollable, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to control them when we want something to go our way.
Each character has their own motivation, and those motivations drive them to some pretty extreme choices. As the audience, we can laugh because we’ve been there. Our world is chaotic and confusing, and seeing that onstage is both validating and strange. It’s confirmation that life is hard, but it’s also a step outside of reality to show us how silly those extreme choices can be in the grand scheme of things.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
That strange familiarity makes it easy to get invested and generates so many questions. Will the four Athenians ever figure out who they truly love? Will Puck fix his mistake? Will the actors ever figure out their play? Do we ever look this foolish when we try to make things go our way?
Most importantly: what are we supposed to do with all these loose threads?
“It all comes together to build a story,” Casstevens said with a smile. “My dad would always say, ‘oh, what a tangled web we weave.’”
To unravel that web, Casstevens recommends arriving early enough to grab a program. Inside that program, you’ll find a short synopsis and character list that will tell you everything you need to know. Consider it your key to a whole new world, one with its own stories, jokes, and insights into not only the performance but the things we can learn from it.
Thanks to SBT, we have a chance to see the beauty in being foolishly human, so artfully imperfect, together.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
“People forget we're all spiritual beings here,” Casstevens said. “We all have that emotional, artistic stuff in there, and those kinds of things are really important. It's like the difference between being just a human being and being a superwoman.”
Savannah Ballet Theatre will perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday, and tickets start at $30 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit savannahballettheatre.org.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Let's get a little foolish with Savannah Ballet Theatre and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
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