Blocking, references to time, and juxtaposition of dialogue over occurrence have the ability to completely transform a production and alter the impression that an audience receives. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Kennedy Center portrayed the lives of young lovers through the art of ballet. The ballet primarily focused upon dancing, but involved speaking enough to convey and drive the plot. The production was a stunning expose of life, and its themes of spring and birth were extremely effective in convincing the audience that various characters throughout the story were under a spell.

The original dance patterns of Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius demonstrated to the audience the power of individual character development, even when the words themselves are challenging to interpret, or are non-existent. The actress portraying Hermia portrayed her character as a dainty societal woman, and the daughter of King Theseus. However, there is underlying rebellion beneath Hermia’s classy exterior, and this becomes evident when she abandons her upbringing and fleas to the forest with Lysander, whom she is not betrothed. Hermia’s friend, Helena, was portrayed as slightly less wealthy, and thus the steps of her ballet were slightly less defined. Hermia danced almost entirely on her toes, but had a tendency to droop slightly when Lysander approached her. This was symbolic of the fact that, though her character was strong in essence, her love Demetrius was enough to cripple her from her elevated throne. Helena pranced half on her feet and half on her toes, and when Demetrius, her ex-lover, appeared to be infatuated with Hermia, she bowed her head in solitude and surrender. Lysander and Demetrius, though very similar characters, effectively demonstrated the separation of their personalities through varied steps and leaps. Lysander, who is betrothed to and in love with Hermia, demonstrated his devotion through subtle grace and courtesy in his steps. Demetrius, thrilled to be escaping into the woods with Hermia, demonstrated his charisma and devotion through steps that appeared entirely willing to commit to a relationship. For example, he dipped frequently to meet Hermia’s gaze, and at one point leapt over a log, and moved it so that Hermia could travel through the forest more easily.

Additional characters, such as Queen Titania and King Oberon, were demonstrated with utmost class and eloquence. However, at one point, when Oberon and Titania begin to fight in regards to the custody of a child, they danced angrily through the stage, furiously twirling without regard to form or fashion of step. Their expressions conveyed utter distaste for each other, and they remained in a heated argument throughout the majority of the plot. At the end of Oberon and Titania’s “battle”, fairies appeared and shepherded Titania away daintily. This demonstrated that Titania was a woman of power, unused to receiving empty responses. Oberon was portrayed in a very masculine fashion, and his leaps seemed angry and controlling. Puck, the mischievous sprite, was continually associated with green symbols. Additionally, Puck moved with stealth and innocence, and even when the character made blunders, it was some how endearing to the audience. It was quite a contrast to witness anger in a ballet, because the dancing is typically associated with form and grace. However, through the use of blocking, all of the characters were able to convey their emotions at all times.

Even when the play was focused upon the events that occurred in the city, the abundant green symbolism left an impressive image upon the minds of the audience. The cityscape was highlighted with a number of buildings that had green foliage upon them. Also, green trees and bushes were prominent on the set at all times. Because green is also the color of jealous and the color of wealth, it seemed appropriate to all of the characters, because each them could be individually tied to jealousy, wealth or life anew. In the instance of Titania, all three applied. The time was represented through the aging on the various parts of the set, or the deepening/lightening of colors throughout the rest of the buildings in the city, which were also extremely realistic. It was apparent that the tale took place in the Ancient World, although the location was seemingly changed from Ancient Athens to a more metropolitan, and slightly more modern, location. When the side-story of Nick Bottom and his friends who were to perform a production of “Pyramus and Thisbe” for the wedding of King Theseus and Hippolyta developed, the setting changed to a slightly more urban environment. Because Nick Bottom and his troupe were commoners, slightly less was expected of them, and in addition, they were demonstrated in a much less wealthy light. The central town square where they performed was demonstrated as an effective meeting place for a variety of individuals, although it was apparent to the audience that is was much lower in class than the rest of the environments.

The director made interesting decisions while creating this drama. As mentioned previously, it seemed to have a slightly more “earthy” feel to it than other renditions of the comedy that I have seen in the past. It seems that the sole focus of this particular rendition was to create a surreal environment, while at the same time creating an interesting juxtaposition of the realities of love, friendship and the environment to overlap the fantasy. The choreographer also made unique decisions in terms of the varied levels of eloquence and determination conveyed by all of the performers. Essentially, it would appear that the production staff worked tirelessly to created varied illusions of the passing of time. For example, when the young lovers escaped to the woods, their clothing was altered when the scenes converged and the characters met. Because the females, due to Puck’s interference, become love-struck at intermittent parts during the production, the make-up that was applied to them created the appearance of flushed cheeks and devoted facial expressions. When Queen Titania became flustered, it was apparent with the lightly messy hairstyle that she sported. She approached King Oberon, enraged that he had had multiple affairs, and her hair was splayed away from her face in a way that indicated that she had been running her hands through it angrily backstage. King Oberon’s hair seemed unflappable, but the suit jacket that he wore became unbuttoned and opened more easily when he spoke the few lines that had been dedicated to him in the play. The fairies that supported Queen Titania during the dispute can only be described as “Tinkerbell-esque” in nature, because the green leotards that they wore, coupled with fringe skirts, pixie hair cuts and defiant expressions, released them straight from the animated screen to the stage of the Ancient World. Perhaps this was a choice made by the director and the costume designer, because it would provide a more relatable medium for the audience to comprehend. Additionally, the children in the audience were potentially more receptive to a character that they could relate to. The costumes excellently portrayed hatred and anger, even when gentle overtones of class and civility seemed to dominate the persona of the character.

The problems at the central core of this play are essential to the majority of Shakespeare’s comedies. In this instance, the problems were unrequited love and the value of misinterpretation. Hermia’s father is about to marry the Queen of the Amazon, but it remains unclear throughout the story whether or not the soon-to-be-queen feels genuine love for the King. Additionally, at the core of the Titania/Oberon marriage is a love triangle that is becoming all-consuming and indicative of the relationship as a whole. That aspect of the play is demonstrating misinterpretation, although the misinterpretation between Oberon and Titania is far less twisted and “screwball comedy-esque” than the misinterpretations experienced between Oberon and Puck. Oberon tells Puck to give the lovers a potion to make them some of them fall in love with each other. However, Puck misinterprets due to the fact that the lovers have changed position, and ends up making some characters love-struck while others remain completely unchanged and sober. When Puck attempts to make amends for the trouble that he has caused, he has a small speech at the end of the play (which was mostly edited out) in which he describes the subtle occurrences in life that make the play a realistic demonstration of all relationships. It is repeatedly mentioned that, while the comedy may seem incredibly far-fetched, it is still a realistic demonstration of the miscommunications that occurred on a regular basis in Shakespearian times due to lack of technology, and still occur today due to variations in word choice, pacing and emphasis.

In conclusion, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by William Shakespeare, performed as a ballet at the Kennedy Center demonstrated the values in Shakespearian literature of unrequited love, the hilarity of misinterpretation, and the symbolic meaning behind the various decisions and word choices of actors. The production staff did an exemplary job of highlighting the various symbols of green, and emphasizing the fact that the set was primarily structured around the concept of life beginning anew. The values demonstrated through the use of dance solidified my perception of the play itself, and led me to a more intense level of analysis concerning character development and juxtaposition.