The University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film is advocating for inclusion in the arts with its musical production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“We’re looking at what is both urgent and necessary in the field and in the community,” said UT Professor of Theatre and Film Matt Foss. “We’ve been trying to increase our access and inclusion with live captioning and thoughtful, intentional and ethical representation on our stages.”
Previously, the university partnered with OpenSpot Theatre in Detroit to bring workshops to community members with developmental disabilities. The success of these workshops led to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical,” said UT Assistant Professor of Disability Studies Becca Monteleone.
“We wanted to press forward with a larger project,” she said. “Midsummer has been an experiment in what it looks like to do theater that invites in all kinds of bodies and minds. And not just invites them in but celebrates them.”
The cast includes OpenSpot program participants, university students and other community members. The resulting ensemble has made the production process special, said community member Nick Fulton, who plays Theseus.
RELATED: New Toledo-based magazine strives to spotlight women of color
“Theater in general has been a really joyful experience for me,” he said, “but for this play in particular, I would say the ability to get together with a cast as a unified group and just not feel judged at all, no matter what.”
UT alum Jackson Howard, who plays Bill, credits the play’s inclusion for his return to the stage for the first time since graduation.
“I thought it was very cool that people like my stepbrother will see a play and will see people that look and sound a lot like him,” he said. “It shows that something like this is very possible, that we can accommodate people of different types of learning into theater.”
This version of Shakespeare’s classic play is a jukebox musical, meaning the actors speak the original dialogue but sing modern songs. The musical includes a wide range of artists and genres.
Everyone will find something familiar within the performance, Foss said.
“What we’re trying to do is not a translation and it’s not an adaptation, as much as it’s an imagining that’s informed by what scholars think Shakespeare was trying to do,” Foss said. “But with a unique ensemble that I think illuminates some of these themes in a really meaningful way.”
All performances of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical” will take place in the black box Center Theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts.
“Because it’s black box, you can see everyone interact with the play,” said environmental studies student Abigail Sowinski, who plays Hippolyta. “So, if you laugh, we hear it much sooner and you don’t even need to be loud. You can just chuckle, and we hear you.”
A free community and campus preview will take place April 10 at 7:30 p.m., followed by opening night April 11 at 7:30 p.m. An ASL interpreter will be present during the performance April 13 at 2 p.m., and all performances will have open captioning.
A full list of performances can be found online.
