Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 20, 2016 6A
What fools
these
mortals be
VSC presents ‘Midsummer’ for
second season, to open July 27
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Valley
Shakespeare Company at
Western Oregon University is
back for its second season,
this time weaving the play-
wright’s most famous come-
dy, inspired by the foolish-
ness and craziness of love.
“A Midsummer Night’s
Dream,” opens at Western
Oregon’s Leinwand outdoor
stage on July 27 and runs
through July 30.
Director David Janoviak
has re-set the play in the
mid-1800s, just after the
Civil War has ended.
“We’re contrasting rigid,
southern plantation culture
against the culture of Hait-
ian voodoo in Louisiana,”
he said. “So you have this
very rigorous culture, and
the world of voodoo comes
in, which is very earthy and
round and spiritual in a dif-
ferent way.”
Janoviak has 11 years of
professional experience with
outdoor Shakespeare com-
panies. In 2015, he was in-
spired to make use of WOU’s
outdoor stage for Shake-
speare during the summer.
This year, the show will
start later — 8 p.m. —
which is the same time Ore-
gon Shakespeare Festival
starts its productions,
Janoviak said.
“What’s nice about that is,
the magic really starts when it
gets dark,” he said. “We have
this lit up stage outside.”
The show runs about two
hours, and as the evening
draws on, it can get a little
chilly, even on a warm sum-
mer day. Blankets, chairs
and picnics are encouraged.
The cast is made up of
Western Oregon students,
alumni, community mem-
bers and professional guest
actors.
Declan Hertel said per-
forming outdoors is a “mas-
sive challenge.”
“You’ve got to be heard to
have a good show,” he said.
Janoviak said Rice Audito-
rium’s walls provide some
help acoustically, and that
the actors are rising to the
challenge of learning how to
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Jeff Presler, right, and Sarah Cotter rehearse a scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
See the magic:
What: Valley Shakespeare Company at Western Oregon
University presents Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream.”
When: July 27 through July 30, 8 p.m.
Where: Leinwand outdoor stage, next to Rice Auditori-
um at WOU.
Admission: Free.
Of note: Bring a picnic, chair and blankets to this family
friendly production.
use their voice healthfully
and well.
Belladina Starr said it’s
more than just projecting
vocally.
“The outdoor stage pres-
ents a challenge to lots of your
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Sarah Cotter practices a scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Western Oregon.
acting,” she said. “You have to
be bigger and more expressive
in everything you do, in your
face and body, because every-
body needs to see you.”
That includes the inti-
mate scenes.
“To make that work, you
have to scream at someone
who’s less than an inch
away from your face,” Starr
said. “It feels insane, but it
looks good.”
Jeff Presler said outdoor
theater forces the imagina-
tion to work.
“You have to accept the
world,” he said. “Inside the
theater, you’re not going to
hear a car drive by or the
neighbor mow his lawn.”
In the play, three worlds
collide and mesh.
“We have basically three
different types of music in
this,” said Ollie Bergh. “We
have a jug band; we have
old-school Dixie hymn, and
kind of a Haitian call-and-
response thing.”
Janoviak said the music
defines the three main
worlds of the play: the
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Actors receive instructions during play rehearsals.
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Sarah Cotter and Jeff Presler work on showing emotion
through movements for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
world of the court, the
world of the forest, and the
world of the mechanicals.
The play is perhaps the
most family friendly one
Shakespeare wrote, Janoviak
added.
“It’s a great way to intro-
duce your kids to Shake-
speare,” he said. “It’s a farce.
Everything is taken to the
extreme.”
That doesn’t take away
from the entertainment
value for Shakespeare buffs.
“Every show you see is
different,” said Sarah Cotter.
“So even if you think you
know ‘Midsummer,’ you
should come see it, because
it’s going to be different
from anything you’ve seen
before.”