WELCOME TO

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:

IN THE WOODS

For our third show of the season we’re stepping out of our black box theater, and into the woods at Hartley! Our first time ever infusing a mainstage show with kids at the helm. We’re so glad you’re here!

When we began the process of creating an educational theater experience at Zeitgeist we knew we wanted to combine it with a mainstage show in our season that would include kids and local adult artists… And we knew we wanted to do this with a Shakespeare play.

Shakespeare can be incredibly versatile, with room to experiment, so we thought we’d turn it up a notch and take Midsummer outdoors, often where Shakespeare was originally performed. The camp is a way for kids to see theater in a different light, literally! We’ll get to explore outside the boundary of a stage and spotlights and into something very raw and real. Come rain or shine. Theater can happen anywhere, and we are excited to embrace this new endeavor at Zeitgeist.

But this isn’t the first time A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been produced outside, with kids…

HUNTER’S PARK

News clippings from the Duluth News Tribune, published in 1907, highlighting the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Hunter’s Park, put on by none other than a bunch of rag-tag kids. We thought it was time to do it again:

ABOUT THE CAMP

Zeitgeist’s Midsummer Theater Camp covered just about everything there is to know about what happens on and off the stage. The camp included auditions, playwriting, stage management scenarios, voice and movement, the guts of Shakespeare, and everything from learning to trust your fellow castmates, to being vulnerable under those big theater lights. Each day, the kids got to experience testimonials from professional artists working in the biz here in Duluth, the Twin Cities, L.A., and New York City. This camp was designed for kids to connect to each other, their surroundings, and the beauty of ‘PLAY.

THE KIDS

Raven, Abby, Oliver, Aniya, Journey, Cora, Ovila, Ferris, Alex, Ellie, Dani, Henry, Maria, Quinne, Aspen, Sacha, Teela, Olivia, Adella

THE ADULTS

Mary Fox (Director), Cheryl Skafte (Director), Luke Moravec (Musician), John Pokrzywinski (Instructor), Amber Burns (Instructor), Joe Birdseye (Instructor), Rylee Kuberra (Instructor), Eric Elefson (Instructor), Tasha Ness, Dawson Ness, Jennie Ross

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Hartley Nature Center, Robert Lee, Tom O’Rourke, Mary Oliver,

And a very special shout out to Laura Mullen – the person who got this whole thing rollin’. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to acknowledge that the educational component of this endeavor would not have been possible without the support of District ISD709. Because of their generous funding, we were able to create a ‘no barrier’ approach to the camp, and the production, allowing kids to experience theater for the first time at no cost.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts cultural heritage fund.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM SPONSORS

Dr. Mary Anne Ebert & Paul Stembler

ZEITGEIST THEATER IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH YOUR HELP

A $10 donation is suggested to support Zeitgeist’s mission to provide low-barrier, accessible theatre arts education and performance opportunities for all youth in our community.

COMING UP AT ZEITGEIST THEATER:

MACBETH: A DINNER PARTY

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