In the process of directing, one always starts with a great idea (or at least an idea that one thinks is great at the time). For me with Midsummer, it was setting the Theseus and Hippolyta story in 19th century Japan, and the fairy world of Titania and Oberon in some kind of Korean folktale world.
These settings seemed to me to provide an opportunity to explore ideas in the play on many levels -- from character and cultural change to costuming and movement. It was a somewhat vague and intuitive choice that I worked on and thought about in the process of rehearsal, and I found that these early notions began to take on an even more interesting shape and impact than I had imagined.
For example, since I realized I couldn't cast the show entirely with Asian American actors, I decided to cast John Catron as Lysander and Gary Keast as Peter Quince. With this, I found that having John play Lysander as the outsider being rejected by the Japanese court in the first scene fit rather nicely. Then I loved the idea of a character played by Gary Keast that could have been some westerner in Japan living amongst the local villagers (as a number did from the Meiji Era onward as Japan opened up to the west).
And, as I have always loved the flowing white sleeves (hang sen) of Korean mask dance, I felt they could fit the magical style of the fairy world. The movement possibilities with the sleeves seem infinite and could support and express so much of the text and emotion in the play.
Finally, in terms of costuming, I wanted to have the young lovers wear 19th century western costumes in the Japanese style court. For me, they represent the westernization and new wave of thinking in Japan at the time. The lovers are bringing the western notion of love to a court steeped in the old ways of filial duty. One of the lines that popped out at me in this context was Puck's, "Weeds of Athens he doth wear" and I smiled because there was Lysander in western garb while the others were all in Asian garb.
But of course, by the time one gets to first preview, one is never sure if any of these supposedly great ideas will actually work in performance. It was with a great sigh of relief that I felt not only the wonderful responses of the first audiences to our production, but also got to see that the critics wrote glowingly of our work. Directing truly feels like a long day's journey into night, but thank goodness we sometimes get to see the dawn.
And as with every theater production, none of this success could have happened without a great team, from the Mu staff, to coaching and directing input from artists like Martha Johnson (who has been my extraordinary directing collaborator and third eye from the beginning of Mu), Randy Reyes (a terrific acting coach and theatrical resource), Stephanie Lein Walseth (our wonderful managing director/director/coach) and Jennifer Weir (our up and coming director in demand), to the great choreography of Sandy Agustin, to a fantastic group of designers, and of course to a wonderful cast and crew to fulfill the dream. This is truly a Mu production.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Now playing through May 28th
Venue: The Southern Theater
Reservations: 612-340-1725
