The Wayne State College theatre department garnered audiences’ attention when they performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from March 28 to March 31 in Ramsey Theatre.

WSC students, community members and attending high school students gathered to see William Shakespeare’s comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The play follows lovers Hermia and Lysander as they flee from Athenian law after Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius at her father’s wish. They are followed by Demetrius, his admirer, Helena, and a host of fairies. What follows is a tale filled with mistaken identities, love and laughs as the fairies secretly try and fail to help the lovers.

Director Jeanne Tiehen considered the performances a success, and believed the growth of the actors contributed to that success the most.

“[Shakespeare] is something that I think is an important experience for college students to have,” Tiehen said. “A lot of professional work that you can get in theatre after college is doing Shakespeare. It just kind of was a matter of giving students that opportunity.”
Griffin Presnell, who played the role of Theseus, felt that he truly was his character once the production started coming together.

“With other shows you would normally have a ‘fourth wall’ on your set at the front of the stage where the audience saw you, but you never addressed them,” Presnell said. “But with this show, we face and speak right at the audience many times. Every part of putting this show on is a blast. No matter how challenging it may get, it’s worth it.”

Trystan Bennett, who portrayed Robin Goodfellow (Puck), said he enjoyed his first role in a Shakespeare play.

“I was very excited to play Puck,” Bennett said. “I wanted Puck because he’s a fun character. I’ve been a fan of the Puck character since I was a kid watching ‘Gargoyles’ on TV.”

Even students like freshman Michael Benson felt the performance was innovative.

“The way [the crew] used the abstract props [stood out],” Benson said. “It really made the play feel more like a dream, as it’s supposed to be, in a way.”