Northern Stage's Education Department Presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Outdoors

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed by Northern Stage Summer Shakespeare Intensive students outside at the newly-built Courtyard Theater directly behind Northern Stage's Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT, July 21 through August 1. For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults.

Northern Stage's Summer Shakespeare Intensive is a top-quality theater experience that delves into Shakespeare's work while building confidence, acting technique, command of language, and knowledge of dramatic structure. It is designed for serious theater students in grades 9-12 and is an audition-based program culminating in a professionally produced Shakespeare production.

The Summer Shakespeare Intensive was created this year to be the second production in Northern Stage's new outdoor performance space, the Courtyard Theater. The Courtyard Theater was built over the past five months to ensure a safe environment for public performance given the restrictions of COVID-19.. The summer Shakespeare Intensive replaces the company's traditional Summer Musical Theater Intensive, which began in 2015 with an outdoor production of 13, performed by 13 area youth on the Dartmouth College campus. Subsequent Summer Musical Theater Intensive productions have included sold-out productions of School of Rock (in partnership with Tuck's Rock Dojo in 2016), The Drowsy Chaperone (2017), James and the Giant Peach (2018), and Legally Blonde (2019).

A Midsummer Night's Dream,is one of Shakespeare's best known comedies and follows this plot: Hermia loves Lysander. Lysander loves Hermia. Demetrius also loves Hermia, even though he used to love Helena, who is still in love with Demetrius. The confusion multiplies when the lovers run away into a forest full of magical fairies. Throw in a troupe of amateur actors rehearsing a play and the result is lots of mischief in the woods. Directed by Eric Love, Northern Stage's Director of Education and Associate Artistic Director, this high energy, fast-paced adaptation will be fun for the whole family. Says Love of production, "A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most beloved plays of all time. There is comedy, adventure, love, and magical fairies! This

lavishly designed production is bringing our amazing students back together for the first in-person education show in over a year and a half. The chance to share this magical play with our community as it was intended, under the stars in midsummer, is truly a dream come true."

This production features area youth ages 12-18 including Paul Ashton (Hanover, NH), Johan Berendsen (Hanover, NH), Zach Carter (Hartford, VT), Liam Clark (White River Junction, VT), Tessa Cullen (Lyme, NH), Cordelia Durand (Quechee, VT), Katie Genzer (Norwich, VT), Eli Hoffer (Hanover, NH), Bebhinn Knudsen (White River Junction, VT), Danny Mello (Hartford, VT), Finn Powers (Woodstock, VT), Beatrice Raiken (Sharon, VT), Eva Roux (Lebanon, NH), Alicia Sanyal (Hanover, NH), Noah Schutzius (West Lebanon, NH), Skylar Spiro (Norwich, VT), and Olivia Swayze (Turnbridge, VT).

The professional creative team, led by Eric Love, includes Michael Ganio (Scenic Designer), Austin Conlee (Costume Designer), Hannah Kerman (Lighting Designer), Max Samuels (Voice & Text Coach), Kerrigan Quenemoen (Associate Director/Movement Director), Lilian McGrail (Production Stage Manager), Anthony Feola (1st Assistant Stage Manager), and Kendall Barbera (2nd Assistant Stage Manager). Maya Lynn will provide live musical accompaniment via the violin.

Performances are sponsored by King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich, VT, Henderson's Tree and Garden Center in White River Junction, VT, and Clint and Bonnie Swift. Performance times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults. All seating is General Admission. Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are $5 and are available for any performance while ticket supplies last. The Courtyard Theater is located directly behind the Barrette Center for the Arts, 74 Gates Street, White River Junction, VT.