After being unable to present a play last summer due to COVID-19, the Chicago Street Theatre will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for its 10th annual Shakespeare in the Park. Throughout the past year, the theatre persevered through the pandemic and produced shows remotely.
According to the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Craig Nordstrom, they are happy to return to Central Park Plaza.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought an end to our in-person performances last March. However, we continued our education program and presented play performances and readings online. Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano, the director of our education program, directed and produced a play in the spring of 2020 entirely on Zoom,” Nordstrom said. “The young people rehearsed and then performed the play from their own computer stations. The playwright was also present at the online performance and the students were able to ask him questions.”
Formosa-Parmigiano is also the director of Shakespeare in the Park and teaches one of the two workshops the Chicago Street Theatre puts on for those ages 8-18. These workshops allow young people to learn more about the original literature of Shakespeare. Further description of these camps can be found here.
“Each summer we have three levels of Shakespeare. We teach two 6-week camps: ‘Shakespeare in Shorts’ for campers ages 8-13 and ‘Teen Shakespeare Workshop’ for those ages 14-18. They learn and perform an hour-long adaptation of the same production the adults are working on and perform on our main stage on July 23 at 7:00 p.m. and July 24 at 2:30 p.m.” Formosa-Parmigiano said.
The Chicago Street Theatre will be returning to Central Park Plaza, home to the Northwest Health Amphitheater. The last “Shakespeare in the Park” “Macbeth” in July of 2019, and to celebrate their ten-year anniversary, the theatre will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“This production will be directed by Formosa-Parmigiano and celebrates our 10th anniversary of Shakespeare in the Park. Our first production for Shakespeare in the Park was ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ and this led to our decision to present this work again,” said Nordstrom.
This rendition of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has been adapted to be more modernized. This allows patrons to be able to understand and relate to the story much easier than if the play had been left in the original Shakespearian language.
“The concept is a contemporary presentation with traditional language. Athens is a 'country club,' and when the lovers run away into the woods, they stumble upon a summer camp. The Rude Mechanicals are staff at the camp: lifeguard, groundskeeper, dining hall cook, janitor, arts and crafts teacher, and head camper. This allows us to translate the experience to something we are more familiar with,” said Formosa-Parmigiano.
This event is free to the public and will be held on both Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10 in Central Park Plaza. The performance begins at dusk and community members are encouraged to arrive early to ensure a good spot.
“Food vendors will be present for your enjoyment. This production provides Chicago Street Theatre a way to give back to our community in recognition of their support throughout the year,” Nordstrom said. “This is a show that will be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. We are so happy to return with a very popular Shakespeare play with a great cast! Come and enjoy the magic of live theatre!”
For anyone who would like to watch indoors with air conditioning, they can watch this year’s production on July 15-18 at Chicago Street Theatre. For more information regarding all things Chicago Street Theatre, please visit https://chicagostreet.org/.