A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Welcome to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”!  When we first embarked on this journey to adapt this play to a dance/theatre production (almost 3 years ago) we knew we wanted to do two things.  Firstly to tell the complete story as outlined in the original play and secondly, to include dance as an integral part of the narrative story. For some scenes we have chosen to use script for some dance and others we involve both. But for all we have endeavoured to endue a sense of wonder, surprise, laughter and magic that exists in the original work and still entertains audiences worldwide.  But for those who may be unfamiliar with the story let us start at the beginning.

The play is about love and therefore about lovers.  Theseus (Duke of Athens) will wed Hippolyta after conquering her Amazonian warriors in battle.  Hermia for love of Lysander defies her father Egeus, and the Athenian law.  Egeus comes before Theseus and asks that the Athenian law be enforced; that she either dies or enters a nunnery if she does not obey her father.  Hermia wants to marry Lysander and Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius.  We learn that Demetrius, her father’s choice, has abandoned Helena.  Helena still loves her unfaithful Demetrius.  (Are you still with us?).  Lysander and Hermia plan to elope.  All four lovers end up in the woods the following night: Hermia and Lysander to elope; Demetrius to prevent this and Helena herself to be with Demetrius (and you thought T.V. soap operas were a modern invention).  To complicate matters a group of Athenian workmen have come together to prepare a play as entertainment after the Duke’s wedding.  They also agree to meet in the woods the following night.  In the woods we also meet the fairy world.  Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies are quarrelling over a changeling boy.  Their conflict is causing catastrophic results on earth.  Even the seasons are turned around.  Oberon decides to enchant his beloved Queen with a love juice that will cause her to fall madly in love with anything she sees.  While she is diverted he will get the changeling boy.  The plot thickens when the enchanted love juice is put in the hands of mischievous Puck, Oberon’s helpmate.  You will just have to witness the havoc that occurs.

So the play is about love…and lunacy.  The passionate head strong love of youth, the mature love of older people with responsibilities, in whom passion is subordinated to duty and the ephemeral love of the fairies. If things are not complicated enough, throw into the mix the mischievous fairy Puck, a flower with magical powers, flying fairies and a dancing Ass.  All under the spell of the full moon, that “Mistress of Love” and set in the woods on a summer night.  So join us, as warriors become lovers, lovers become dreamers and dreams become a reality.

A fanciful dancing dream

Midsummer Night's Dream

Motus O
At the Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts in Markham, Ont., on Saturday 

On one of the stormiest nights of the year, Motus O attracted a packed house to the Markham Theatre to unveil the world premiere of its version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

The 12-year-old company performs imaginative text-based physical theatre, and its formidable reputation rests on a series of acclaimed touring children's shows. This production, however, includes adults in its target audience. 

The Stouffville, Ont.-based company is under the joint artistic directorship of James and Cindy Croker and Jack Langenhuizen. Motus O is also a family affair, with costumes by Cindy, props by James, and Croker and Langenhuizen names proliferating the production credits. The artistic directors worked with dramaturge Karen Rickers in adapting Shakespeare's beloved play, while the choreography is a collaboration with the company's five dancers. 

For this ambitious production, Motus O has been augmented by 10 additional performers, and the result is a thoroughly entertaining mini-extravaganza. A Midsummer Night's Dream is very cleverly constructed. There is just enough text to tell the bare-bones story, but not too much to be irritated by dancers voicing Shakespeare. 

The basic set design is a drapery back wall for projections and light changes, and three roll-on pieces that look like flying saucers. The latter are war chariots, sleeping bowers, or ceremonial shields depending on need. The Motus eight play a multitude of roles, and it is a testament to the costume design that they are practically unrecognizable in these transformations. For example, Bottom and the Rustics all work at Peter Quince's car-repair shop, and are garbed in hilarious boiler suits, caps and nose masks. In a trice, these outfits can be thrown off in the wings, allowing the company to become fairies in skintight, decorated unitards, with fanciful masks and headdresses concealing their features. 

If the pacing was a bit slow opening night, it was due to the complicated staging and is certainly correctable over time. Gilding the lily are the rhythm-driven, electronic original score by Spinfinity (Peter Jarvis and Paul Tedeschini), Bonnie Armstrong's magical lighting and Danny Wilson's inspired video/animation effects. 

The parts of the play that are given over to dance are rendered very imaginatively. For example, Dream opens with the war between the forces of the Greek hero Theseus (Lincoln Shand), and Queen Hippolyta (Cindy Croker) and her Amazons, and it is truly bone-bruising physicality between the tunic-clad sexes. The entrance of the head fairy (Lisa King) is done via video. A Tinkerbell-like figure is seen whizzing around flowers and as her image zooms larger, King suddenly appears in person. The rest of the fairies come in on a swoop of hanging ropes employed in dizzying crisscross patterns. 

The four lovers are mostly talk, but in amusing scenes Demetrius and Helena (Langenhuizen and Lara Bernstein) rip off their outer clothing in a fight, while Lysander and Hermia (Jonathan Lawley and Dahlia Steinberg) have theirs torn off in a wind storm. James Croker practically steals the show as Puck, earning waves of laughter with his quirky, quicksilver physicality. It took three years for Motus O to pull Dream together, but given the standing ovation at Markham, it will be touring this delightful production for years.

MOTUS O dance theatre

Presents

William Shakespeare’s

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

NEWS RELEASE:

“MOTUS O puts the play in Shakespeare”

Can there be love without lunacy? Four star-crossed lovers escape into the woods when mortal law thwarts their passions.  There a hidden society of imps, elves and goblins, all ruled by the fairy queen and king, turns human longing on its ear!  Text and movement merge seamlessly in MOTUS O’s new adaptation of the well-loved family classic.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a two-hour “mini-extravaganza” (Paula Citron – Globe and Mail) of Shakespeare’s classic play, which is presented in a multi-disciplinary form including text, dance and video complete with original music.  With a cast of eighteen performers “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will entertain both youth and adults alike.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has been adapted and coached by Karen Rickers; choreographed by James Croker, Cindy Croker and Jack Langenhuizen with collaborators Lara Bernstein, Dahlia Steinberg, Jonathan Lawley, Lisa King and Lincoln Shand.  Original music is by Spinfinity (Peter Jarvis and Paul Tedeschini); lighting design by Bonnie Armstrong; video creation/animation by Danny Wilson; costume designs by Cindy Croker and prop and set design by James Croker.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” creation was supported by the Trillium Foundation, The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, Laidlaw Foundation, Complete Truck Maintenance Ltd. and the Markham Theatre. 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Can there be love without lunacy? Four star-crossed lovers escape into the woods when mortal law thwarts their passions.  There a hidden society of imps, elves and goblins, all ruled by the fairy queen and king, turns human longing on its ear! 

An alchemy of text, movement and original music merge seamlessly in MOTUS O’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s well-loved family classic.

“a thoroughly entertaining mini-extravaganza”

Paula Citron (Globe and Mail)

MOTUS O

Technical Rider for A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

MOTUS O has toured extensively and is very adaptable to performing in various venues.  All information and scheduling is subject to change and will vary depending on the venue’s norms and procedures.  All information will be discussed and agreed upon by the venue’s Technical Director and MOTUS O’s Tour Manager (James Croker – 416-993-0311 cell / email: motuso@sprint.ca) and/ or Stage Manager.

CREW REQUIREMENTS:

                 Load In & Set-up:

1 Rigger

1 LX Operator

1 Sound Operator

1 – 2 Crew, as necessary, depending on whether LX plot is pre-hung or not

1 Backstage Supervisor/ Stage Crew

                 Show Call:

1 LX Operator

1 Sound Operator

1 Backstage Supervisor/ Stage Crew

                 Strike & Load-out: as necessary

                 MOTUS O Crew:

1 Stage Manager

1 ASM/ Projectionist

16 - 20 Performers who assist with set-up and strike

SCHEDULE:

The schedule will vary, depending on the venue’s norms and procedures.  Time must be allowed for rigging of ropes and fabric (as mentioned below), as well as to set lighting and sound levels.  The crew call and schedule will be discussed and agreed upon by the venue’s Technical Director and MOTUS O’s Tour Manager and/ or Stage Manager.

STAGE:

                  The company requires:

A clean, level proscenium stage with a surface suitable for dance

Minimum Dimensions:  36’ deep x 40’ wide 

A minimum of 8’ of wing space on each side of the stage 

Main curtain (may be flown or traveled)

3 – 4 sets of black legs and borders adequate to mask wings

All wing space and backstage areas must be clean and clear of obstruction for the safety of the performers. 

Access to wings from stage should be level and unobstructed. i.e. free from cables and cable mats. 

RIGGING:

                   MOTUS O will bring:  

5 x 30’ lengths of 1 ¼” soft nylon rope (flame-proofed)

12 x 30’ lengths of white fabric (flame-proofed)

Rigging hardware for ropes and fabric

We will require points to dead hang ropes from the grid or ceiling in the following

locations (the required working load per point in 500 lbs.): 

Upstage Right 

Upstage Left

Centre Stage

Downstage Right 

Downstage Left

We also require 2 fly rails or suitable hanging positions at the rear of the stage, at least 2’ apart, for the lengths of fabric (6 per pipe).  This fabric acts as our projection screen.  The separation is necessary to allow performers to enter, exit, and pass in between the pieces of fabric.

AUDIO:

                   The company requires:

2 CD players

2 – 3 PCC’s or equivalent microphones on apron to amplify speaking onstage

2 monitors onstage, Downstage Right & Downstage Left, for CD playback.  Monitors should be run post fader.

House speakers

Clear Com set up with headsets for lighting & sound operators, stage supervisor, our stage manager (in booth), our projectionist (at rear of house or in booth).

An experienced audio operator.  Although the audio requirements of the show are few, there are many occurrences of cues happening in quick succession, usually involving level changes and jumping back and forth between the 2 CD players, which can be tricky. 

Please note: In some circumstances we may travel with an accompanying musician who will be vocalizing, and playing various percussion instruments as well as an electric keyboard during the show.  If so, our audio requirements will obviously increase, and an extra crewmember may be required for audio set-up.  He shall be positioned either downstage right or left, and will require 1 x SM58, 1 x SM81, a DI, one monitor and may have his own FX unit.  In this event, MOTUS O’s Stage Manager will contact the venue’s Technical Director prior to our arrival to confirm and to fine-tune details.

LIGHTING:

Lighting plot will be provided.  If possible, plot should be pre-hung prior to our arrival.

Our Stage Manager will be in contact with you to discuss details.

PROJECTION:

The company will require a suitable position for our projector and projectionist, either at the rear of the house or in the booth.  We require the ability to project onto the full rear stage wall (onto hung fabric, mentioned above), and can be a maximum of 150’ away from the rear of the stage.

HAZE AND FOG:

                         The company requires:

1 hazer with fan (grid level preferred)

1 fog machine with fan (stage level preferred)

These will need to be operated by venue’s stage crew during the performance.

If one or both of these are not available at the venue, please inform the Stage Manager in advance.

DRESSING ROOMS:

The company requires a minimum of 2 – 4 clean dressing rooms: Each should have a minimum capacity of 5 - 10 people. 

Each dressing room should have a costume rack and each person must have a chair with counter and mirror space

HOSPITALITY:

For the performers and crewmembers (18 – 22 people) the presenter should provide snacks and beverages such as soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water, hot water for coffee & tea, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, and cheese & crackers.  If two performances are scheduled in the same day, a light meal consisting of sandwiches, soups, salads, pasta, etc. (including vegetarian options) should be provided between performances.  Access to a microwave is appreciated.

PARKING:

MOTUS O requires parking passes and spaces for 5 – 10 cars (as close to the venue as possible) and one van with trailer (totaling 37’ in length), with access to the venue’s loading dock.

STUDIO:

If a studio or rehearsal space is available, please have it booked for us.  This allows us to move warm ups and rehearsals off stage, allowing unrestricted use of the theatre for set-up and levels.

LAUNDRY:

If available the company would like to have access to laundry facilities at the venue 

TEMPERATURE:

Due to the nature of the performance and for the safety of the dancers, it is very important that the temperature of the stage, backstage and dressing rooms be at least 22°C (72°F).  This should please be set prior to our arrival.