The actors with Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre are excited to be performing William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in an outdoor setting Friday, Sept. 10, Saturday, Sept. 11, Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18.
Kami Zbanek-Hill, who plays the role of Puck, is in her first Shakespeare play.
“This show really lends itself to be performed outside, as it’s setting is mostly in forest environments,” Zbanek-Hill said. “Being outside and experiencing wind and sounds of insects really adds to that experience.”
“Being outdoors is one of the safest ways to experience an event like art right now,” Zbanek-Hill said.
She said one of the hardest things for her has been the number of lines she has had as Puck, but she is reveling in the role of Puck who she describes as an agent of chaos.
“Wherever Puck goes, there’s sure to be chaos that follows,” Zbanek-Hill said.
Greg Smith is joining the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre for the first time as Oberon, King of the Fairies.
“I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about MVLCT, working with some of the actors in Theatre Cedar Rapids over the years,” Smith said. “I auditioned and was lucky enough to get the part of Oberon.”
“Working with this cast has been an absolute joy,” Smith said. “I have full confidence we’ll be doing extremely well in this show.”
Smith is also coming off of TCR’s “Bright Star” this past June, one of the first outdoor shows he was a part of.
“It’s a completely new experience to be performing outdoors,” Smith said.
For Nelina Johnson, 10, one of the youngest on the cast, the opportunity to be interacting with other people and meeting new people in this community after her family moved to the area is one thing she has enjoyed as being one of the fairies in the production.
“This was a great way to meet new people,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the ongoing pandemic and her inability to be vaccinated has provided some challenges, in that she has to watch her proximity to other actors when they practice indoors.
For Becca Warfield, choosing to audition for the play as a fairy was a bit of kismet. She had just finished watching “Dead Poets Society,” where the film “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” plays a part in the plot.
“I was looking for any Shakespeare plays that might be in my area, and this ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was the only one,” Warfield said.
For Irish Stoll, this is her favorite Shakespeare play.
“I read the Wishbone Classic version of Midsummer Night’s Dream a number of times growing up and always wanted to be a member of the play if I had the chance,” Stoll said.
“I hope people will love the minor tweaks we’ve made to this show,” Warfield said.
“People should come see this show because it’s a great cast of actors and you’ll have some fun watching this show,” said Stoll.
Greg Smith as Oberon and Kami Zbanek-Hill as Puck practice a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.