Stephens College’s recent production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a celebration of both the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death and also the mission of the nearby women’s college.
Since mostly females attend the college, the theatre department often casts community members and professors in traditionally male roles. In this production, however, a different technique was used to fill several of the male roles.
“We get the privilege of gender bending,” Brescia says. “Egeus is a woman and a mother. Lysander is a woman. It tightens the stakes of the conflict, challenges the conventions of the time, and makes the story still relevant today.”
By casting “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with many gender-bent roles, Brescia is attempting to help a new group of people relate to Shakespeare in a more direct way than before. She wants the story of young lovers to reach beyond the borders of gender and sexuality.
“The most important quote is, ‘The course of true love never did run smooth,’” Brescia says. “For students young love is messy, ever changing and surprising.”
Lisa Brescia, a Broadway veteran and recent graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, is in charge as a first-time director.
After starring in several lead roles on Broadway, including Elphaba in “Wicked” and Donna in “Mamma Mia!,” Brescia decided to go back to school for her MFA and begin to foray into directing.
“She’s a great role model because she represents this female strength in an industry that can be challenging to woman,” Emily Chatterson, who plays Titania, says. “We really owe a lot to her.”
Since the school currently has fewer than 1,000 students, its different departments use each other’s expertise to produce their many artistic productions.
The digital filmmaking, fashion design, dance, visual arts and musical theatre departments have a very collaborative relationship, Brescia says.
“The environment is so lifting,” Chatterson says. “I think it really shows in our productions.”
Stephens also prides itself on being an environment for female empowerment in education.
“People come here for a reason,” Chatterson says. “It’s a lot harder especially now to get women to want to come to a women’s college. I am surrounded by people just as passionate and driven about this industry as I am.”
In her program of study, Chatterson was required to take a class specifically for acting in the work of Shakespeare, but her practice is far from over.
“(Brescia) would have all the actors involved sit down at the table and talk through each scene to understand what every word meant,” Chatterson says. “A lot of these words we don’t use any more.”
Brescia says “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a digestible length for newcomers to Shakespeare’s work.
“People who have never seen Shakespeare before find it very clear,” Brescia says.
Tickets for future Stephens College productions can be purchased online at the Stephens College Box Office.
