Photos by Angelica Ramos
Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG- “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was performed in Blacksburg by Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts as part of the annual Summer Arts Festival.
The play was originally to be performed in the Hahn Horticulture Garden from July 18, 2024 to July 21, 2024, but rain changed the venue to the Creativity and Innovation District LLC Building for a portion of the performances.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is a comedy set in Athens, Greece filled with love, humor, sneaky pranks and a donkey. Director Natasha Staley explained the cast is made up of 16 actors, herself as director, a stage manager, her assistant, a sound and production manager and an event coordinator, Ariana Wyatt. The crew has sourced their own costumes, worked together to gather minimal props as the production is meant to focus more on the language and acting. The cast is a mix of experience from professional actors to students to Virginia Tech Alumni to community members.
Planning for this event began in January.
“There’s nothing like live theater,” Director, Natasha Staley said, “because it’s 90 minutes straight of telling a story, you don’t stop and start. It’s live. The text is in the actor’s head and it’s a communal experience between the audience and the actors. For me, I grew up doing theater, there’s nothing like it. I just want the actors and the audience to have a good time. I want it to be a joyful experience for both the actors and the audience.”
“My goal,” Event Coordinator Ariana Wyatt said, “is to provide an opportunity for people in the community to participate in the production so there’s cast members from the community and it’s an opportunity for students in the summer to showcase that local talent that we have. It’s to give people an opportunity to participate in something that should be fun and rewarding and exciting. Art brings people together. Theater brings people together.”
The Summer Arts Festival offers many events in Blacksburg this summer like a showing of Forrest Gump at the Lyric on July 27, 2024 or Stepping Out on the first of August.
