Chance Briant as Oberon and Brooke Gleason as Titania, king and queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Photo by Isabel LaSala
You spotted snakes, with double tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen; Newts and blind-worms do no wrong; Come not near our fairy queen. Lines so familiar and magical should trip off the tongue of every student of the English language. But alack, alas, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed no longer inhabit the imagination of today’s youth. Amy Waguespack is out to rectify that, directing 40 students in a summer Shakespeare camp production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The play will be the seventh annual Summer Youth Shakespeare ensemble production led by Waguespack, director of Acting Up in Acadiana. Students range in age from 9 years old to high school seniors. The two-week camp, which began on June 5 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, is an intensive performing arts experience.
Mornings, small groups of campers rotate through music, design and acting classes taught by UL architecture professor Hector LaSala (set design), dancer Paige Krause (choreographer and dance instructor), musician Danny Devillier (composer and music instructor), Chad Trahan (costume design) and Waguespack. Campers help write songs, learn dances and make their own costumes. Afternoons are the application of those lessons, as campers become an acting troupe. Eleven days into the camp, the curtain rises.
“Only kids are tenacious to attempt such a thing,” says Waguespack. “It’s too daunting for adults.”
Performances for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are set for July 17, 18, 24, & 25 (7:30 p.m.) and July 19 & 26 (2 p.m.) at Acadiana Center for the Arts. Pre-sale tickets are $10 and $5 for students through high school. All tickets the day of performance are $10. For ticket information, call 233-7060 or 739-4273.
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