Shakespeare’s Stage and Dream

As We Liked It!

Recently, the Sayville Players presented the works of William Shakespeare: in two, back-to-back productions held in the Backstage Theatre.

The first, All the World’s A Stage  (originally a one-act by Mary Schaller and later enhanced by George Spelvin) was a succinctly entertaining retrospective—from Mrs. Shakespeare’s perspective—that clearly oriented Shakespeare’s genius in his times and works. Audiences learned the two-word definition of  Shakespeare’s tragedies (“everybody dies!), the three-word definition of Shakespeare’s comedies (everybody gets married!), and the four-word definition of Shakespeare’ histories (everybody goes to war!). In a game show setting, “contestants” were asked to guess who gets married to whom in which Shakespearean comedies. All the World’s A Stage, offering a sampler of famous soliloquies, infamous characters, and unforgettable storylines, showcased the diverse talents of the Sayville Players. Thanks to the momentum it built, audiences were primed for the romantic comedy that followed the intermission.

In the whimsical A Midsummer’s Night Dream, reality merged with fantasy. Four Athenian lovers fleeing oppression and the binding ties of arranged marriages, a troupe of  guildsmen as “wanna-be” actors, and the ethereal King and Queen of Fairy converged in the moonlit woods for some albeit magical misadventures.

The adept Sayville Players delivered their performances with variation and gusto, comically recreating the plight of the mix-matched lovers, the pompous high-jinx of the acting troupe, and the machinations of King Oberon and Robin Goodfellow in the realm of Fairy. Adding another layer of levity, the play within the play about Pyramus and Thisbe ended both shows with hearty laughs.

Not only were the Shakespearean performances by the Sayville Players worthy exercises in teaching Sayville’s young actors today about the famous Bard, the performances were exactly as we liked it—very amusing!

(Click on the video presentation below: music credit: 25 Years Contemporary "Renaissance" music by Blackmore's Night.)