Ep. #38: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Discussion with the Woodstock Shakespeare Festival directors

Tell Me What You’re Reading

Our friend Maxine Davidowitz recently introduced me to Hank Neimark, telling me that Hank was getting ready to work on the Summer 2022 Woodstock Shakespeare Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After talking with Hank for just a short time, I asked if he would like to talk about the play on the podcast, and he agreed. At Hank’s suggestion, we were joined on the podcast by David Aston Reese, the Producing Artistic Director of the Bird-On-A-Cliff Theatre Company in Woodstock. David has acted, directed and produced works for Bird-On-A-Cliff Theatre Company's Woodstock Shakespeare Festival and The Woodstock Playhouse. David is the Director of the Summer 2022 Woodstock Shakespeare Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hank is working with him. Hank and David, both extraordinarily knowledgeable and enthusiastic Shakespearians, discussed A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s often misguided or misdirected lovers, the Kings and Queens, marriages, and dreams, the irrepressible Bottom and Puck, and the other “mechanicals” and fairies, the play within the play, and the tension between what some think of as one of Shakespeare’s most sexual plays, and also as the one most suitable for children. An unlikely but highly effective combination. Lots of discussion as well about the production of the play, the direction embedded in the language of the play, and the “choreography”, i.e. the blocking, and stage direction, that comes together with the music that is embedded in Shakespeare’s words. Our discussion culminates with Hank’s Mel Brooks impersonation from “Queen Alexandra and Murray”.