A Midsummer Night's Dream

A reader's edition, modernized language ("you" for "thee," etc.) and glossary for unfamiliar words. This popular Shakespeare play pursues the theme of love in many ways, on three distinct, somewhat interacting ways: the court of Theseus about to be wed to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, the four young lovers in impossible love triangles, complicated by the shenanigans of Puck's magic potion changing who is chasing whom — and thirdly, by the Fairy King and Queen with their own relationship problems. Oh, and to top it all is the band of inept players who are rehearsing an inappropriate tragedy for Theseus' wedding, confounded by Puck (again) transforming Nick Bottom's head into an ass's head, with the Queen of the Fairies, having had the love potion, waking to see and fall in love with the Ass. Clear? Of course not, nor is the course of love. Shakespeare, I would assume, is poking fun at his own early days in local theater. The unwinding of the plot let's them all assume is was just a dream, a Midsummer dream. Much more sophisticated comedy than Shakespeare's usual comic relief. For the more ambitious reader, take a look at the Midsummer Night's Dream Director's Playbook edition, which uses the same text with greatly expanded sections for every part of every scene, plus sections for auditioning, the Stage Manager, coordinating the director's vision with the Set Designer and the Costumer, plus the responsibilities of the Producer for the budget, tips on creating a playbill program, fundraising, advertising, parents (if a high school or college production), and much more behind-the-scenes activities that must take place before actors set foot on stage. This Playbook is available at (www.createspace.com/3893774).