Thespians deliver "unmissable" performance in Scotland

Cameron Williams '07

"I was standing in the wings waiting for my entrance and suddenly it hit me. I'm in Scotland, performing Shakespeare with the Highlands visible out the window and Edinburgh literally at my doorstep. It was a dream come true, standing in the dark of the Church Hill Theatre." For alumnus Julia Mcllvaine '05, performing in the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival was, in fact, a Midsummer Night's Dream come true.

On July 29, Mcllvaine, along with the entire cast and crew of last spring's play A Midsummer Night's Dream returned to campus, eager to prepare for the upcoming trip to Scotland. In addition to rehearsing lines and cues, it was also necessary for the cast to re-stage the production. At the festival, the cast would perform on a traditional "proscenium" stage rather than a black box.

This rehearsal period, though short, was successful. Joe Zych '08, who played Bottom, said, "We dealt with a lot of the problems that we couldn't deal with for the show at DA. The show we did in Scotland was probably even better." Mcllvaine added, "Everyone was more focused, and truth be told, a little more on edge about quality and dynamism."

After the rehearsal period, cast and crew flew to London, and spent two days sightseeing and attending plays. On August 5. the Scotland trip essentially began when the cast arrived at the University of Edinburgh. Max Jardim '6, Kyle Yager '05. and Julia Mcllvaine '05 participated in the festival's opening parade, which weaved through the streets of Edinburgh for three hours. Additional publicity for the play included short scenes from Midsummer performed streetside.

While performing a total of four shows, both cast and crew faced major obstacles related to time constraints. Director John Reese explained, "When you do a show at a festival you are only given two-hour time blocks to tech and present your show, which is definitely a challenge for all concerned. This includes set-up, performance, and the strike. When they say two hours they mean it." In spite of these issues, the performances were some of the best at the festival. Alumnus Bob Jacque '05 said, "We put everything we had into it, and that effort showed."

Outside of performance-related activities, everyone took advantage of Edinburgh's resources. Alumnus Meredith Olson '05 said, "We took every opportunity we could to see plays, musicals, one-man shows, and even national galleries". Vanessa Koo '07 added, "It was so enriching just to be in Edinburgh and to sample different parts of the Scottish culture and the arts."

When asked to describe the trip, the troupe called it "phenomenal, rewarding, breath-taking, and fun." Not surprisingly, reviews earned by the cast were extremely positive as well, "These Americans show that Shakespeare can be done the right way! Hilarious and witty. Teenage Americans pull off best performance yet! Unmissible!" said one online reviewer.

As published in the September 14, 2005 issue of the Deerfield Scroll, the monthly newspaper of Deerfield Academy.