The University Hill Secondary School Theatre Company rocked this year’s production of Midsummer/Jersey by American playwright Ken Ludwig.
Taking on a modern Jersey Shore-style re-telling of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the talented cast and crew members put on yet another successful and hilarious show following last year’s production of murder/mystery CLUE: On Stage.
The play is a re-telling of the Shakespeare’s classic, with a modern twist. It is set on the boardwalk of a seaside town in modern-day New Jersey.
According to Ludwig, “The story revolves around the impending marriage of the Governor of New Jersey, the love affairs of four beach-bound high school crushes, a lively crew of screwball fairies and the staff of the local beauty salon.”
“With several weddings and the acting careers of six beauticians hanging in the balance, the lovers take to the boardwalk, backed by pop music and an iPhone-obsessed wood sprite.”
The production team was made up of roughly 60 student creatives of various disciplines, and included two separate casts. This year’s production included show dates that alternated between cast A and cast B, with shows on January 13-15 and January 20-22.
Production work began in October, with actors working hard to memorize their lines and develop their characters. At the same time, the production crew were crafting, designing, and executing technical aspects of theatre such as the set, costumes, and lighting.
Under the direction of drama teacher and director Karen Penney, the production consisted of the set and props department led by me, the costume and makeup department led by Beatrice Cobb, lights led by Carl Suderman, sound by Nathan Yao, publicity by Cami Yu, and a team of floaters led by Acadia Vozel.
Supervising and leading the whole production process was stage manager Samuel Goh and assistant stage manager Ting Zeng.
The cast and crew were able to make the play a success through dedicated work, said Goh. “(The actors) experimented when acting, doing something different each day, working hard to become the characters that shone on the stage this January.”
Goh added this year’s production had the benefit of leveraging on last year’s successful production of CLUE: On Stage.
“Having a year of knowing (the cast and crew) allowed me to trust everyone since I knew what everyone was capable of,” he said. “I am so lucky that the cast and crew I got to work with this year were a bunch of fun energetic teens that always seem to brighten up the room, even during the darkest days.”
Check out the University Hill Theatre Production Company’s Instagram account, @uhilltheatre. And here’s to another year of good shows!
OLIVIA HAI LAI JIAO IS A STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY HILL SECONDARY SCHOOL.