A Midsummer in Midwinter Knock-Out
at PS8
By Michael Rock, PS8 Parent
Photographers by Nathalie Scheuller
Having not thought much about elementary school plays since I was in one about forty years ago, I only had vague memories of brightly lit cafeterias, flimsy scenery and missed cues. So when I heard that PS8 would be staging "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" with third, fourth and fifth graders I must admit I was curious bordering on skeptical. In addition it was billed as a "Remix" which could suggest something terribly misguided: think: "Yo, Lysander, awesome saber."
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of Shakespeare's most fantastical creations, notoriously complex and intricately interwoven. It is one of the very few shakespearian dramas not based on an earlier source so almost entirely the product of the author's vast imagination. As the play toggles back and forth between the Ducal palace and the Athenian glade it requires precise staging and the characters themselves are constantly getting enchanted, bewitched and transformed in ways that can make the trajectory of the plot a challenge. On top of that the actors must portray every conceivable type from aristocracy to "rude mechanikals" to fairies and sprites. A tall order for a group of eight to eleven year olds.
Well, Friday night in the PS8 auditorium, drama teacher Noelle Gentile along with Angie Nelson, dance teacher Josette Slivinski and a cast of over forty young actors and dancers managed to expand the circle of enchantment from Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena to include the entire audience, perhaps the entire school. The performance completely obliterated any memory I had of the stilted spectacles of my youth. This staging, adapted expertly by Gentile herself, captured all the humor and romance of Shakespeare's frolic at a scale and complexity that still amazes me.
The performance began with an evocative dance piece with 13 fairy dancers choreographed by Silvinski and set to music by Parent Coordinator, Blake Amos. As the musical prologue ended the auditorium came alive with yelps and growls from throughout the hall as the Wild Fairies emerged from the audience and took over the stage. Woodland creatures were depicted as equal part feral and fairy -- as they should be -- and set the tone for the strange happenings that would take place in the wild woods that night.
The stage setting, directed by Madeline Schwartzman and her art students at Parsons School of Design was a wonder of economy. While working with the standard cardboard and paint of the typical school production, the design team created an illusion of remarkable depth. By using cardboard boxes to create volume instead of flats, they were able to build up forms upstage and leave deep shadowy areas behind from which the fairies could emerge. One large volume rotated to transform the castle into the moonlit glade and the sets spilled off both sides of the stage onto the surrounding floor yielding a twisted, bramble. The staging was enhanced by the lighting. By relying on two main spotlights, the action was framed by shadow giving the sense of rustled movement always just out of sight.
The actors were simply remarkable. Any preconceived idea about "dumbed down" language was immediately dashed. Gentile edited the play down to a length appropriate for her actors but kept Shakespeare's beautiful verse intact. And the young actors handled their often difficult lines without a hitch. The action was expertly narrated by Ione Saffady and Callie Skopelitis who invested their lines with a spooky, witchy quality reminiscent of the Weird Sisters from Macbeth. Zeke Merlis and Najal Judd made a fine Theseus and Hippolyta, with Najal drapped in a wonderful grecian robe and Zeke sporting and impressive crown. And Katerina Soto, Tom Leier, Max Brown and Kate Foley fully occupied their roles as the young lovers. (By the way, Demetrius and Lysander's sabers *were* awesome.)
All the characters, in fact, were greatly enhanced by the wondrous costumes designed a team lead by by Diane Galashaw and Jenny Bevill especially the fairies lead by Miles Nabritt's Oberon and Octeavia Andall's puckish Puck. The stage came alive with joy and mischief as they pranced about sprinkling their "magic juice", enchanting lovers and changing grown men into asses. But it was perhaps the Mechanikals that stole the show (as they often have in Midsummer Night's for generations.)
Directed by Trixie Saffady's Peter Quince, the hapless theater company goes on to perform their hilarious play-with-a-play at the end with an outstanding performance by Madison Kendall as the Wall. One of Shakespeare's greatest comic creations, rivaling his Falstaff, the weaver Bottom, was played by Carlos Toure Mayer with utter joie de vivre and flair. The imposing young man is a natural comedian.
Overall the performance was intricately staged and the coordination of the huge cast of actors and dancers was completely remarkable. They were on time, on cue with the right line at the ready throughout. Working in a cramped space with limited means, the action was flawless. As the entire cast gathered -- and completely filled -- the stage at the end I was struck by the sense of joy and enthusiasm the cast and crew projected. Here lovely young boys and girls, only a few years younger than Shakespeare's imagined fairies and lovers, were fully immersed in their work, in the beautiful verses of the play, and their cooperation and friendship with each other and their wonderful teachers. And I thought to myself that there could be no better expression of the beauty of a public school like PS 8 where so many people come come together and contribute (over 150 in all!) to making such a amazing event. That is an enchantment that for all there who witnessed it, will not soon wear off.
And from the PTA, a special thanks to the many, many people that came together to make this event spectactular...
- Noelle Gentile and Angie Nelson
- Mr. Phillips and Mr. Mikos
- Anthony and the custodial staff at PS8
- The PTA of PS8
- Lisa Hubel
- Blake Amos
- Mr. Brown, The YMCA, Kevin and Kids Orbitz
- Madeline Schwartzmen from the Parsons School of Design and Parsons students
- PS8 Teachers Ms. Galashaw, Ms. Kravitz, Ms. Mulouso, Mrs. Forrest, Ms. Scorza, and Mrs. Slivinski (a.k.a. Ms. D), Kristen Jennings, Melissa Browning, Mrs. Long and Mariann Levkulic
- Assistant to the Directors Daina Potter
- The costume design crew, Marilyn Galashaw and Jenny Bevill along with Maya Miller, Annalivia Rose Balaban, Clarence Saintuil, Sakara Carter, Taylor Bryant, Kaitlyn Desjardins, Florence Alpha, Kayla Priester, Devin Pierce, Kenji W. Schecterson, Jeremy Rosenbaum
- The prop design group including Kacey Scorza, Elaina Heaton, Laila Durrani, Grace C. Cox, Naomi Washington
- Stage Managers Otto Benson, Coby Schmutter and Sjene Kendrick
- PR group, Mary Molluso, Zaire Bamberg, Sean Barnes, Brianna Blissett, Jelani Francis, Kara Jackson, David Rosa, Michael Rosenbaum, Andaiye Wurm, Shanice Andall, and Lanise Paige
- Family volunteers
- PS8 Librarian Amanda Green
- Anne Powers, Jonathan Garbar, Ms. Martin, and Bradie Hayes
- The P.S. 8 staff
- Cristina and General Judd
- Otto Benson and Colby Schumter
- Anna Grier
- Cristina Soto
- Onida Mayers
- Jenn Kendall
- Diane Millerr
- Susan Sellers
- Charlotte Balibar
And finally to all the actors! Thank You!
Posted on: February 11, 2010
