
The Missouri Valley College Division of Fine Arts has announced the cast for its production of “A Pandemic Night’s Dream,” which will be performed at 7:30 p.m. March 18-20 at the Eckilson-Mabee Theatre in Marshall and streamed live via the college’s website <https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mvc/>.
A news release says the play is a multimedia comedy focusing on a troupe of actors trying to figure out how to produce a live performance of, “Pyramus and Thisbe,” in the midst of a pandemic. There will be a mix of live performance and recording, and the audience will be a mix of a small live audience with a much broader online audience.
The play utilizes the “Rude Mechanical” characters from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” who ineptly rehearse and perform a version of “Pyramus and Thisbe” as part of the celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta. “A Pandemic Night’s Dream” is a modernized version that addresses the challenges we face when trying to stage productions with masks and social distancing.
The cast features Troy Hunt as Peter Quince, the beleaguered director of the production; Kaylee Hering as Bottom, the arrogant actor who thinks she can and should play all of the parts; Taeyoon Lee as Francis Flute the actor who reluctantly takes on the role of Thisbe; Rick Bailey as Snout the stage manager who is forced to perform onstage at the last minute; and Sara Pruther Vazquez as Snug the nervous actor who plays the fierce lion in the play. There will also be some surprise cast members who appear virtually. The live audience is limited to the campus community. The play is conceived and directed by Professor of Theatre Harold Hynick, with costumes designed by Dyann Rozema.
For more information, contact Harold Hynick at hynickh@moval.edu. For a complete calendar of fine arts events at Missouri Valley College, go to <https://www.moval.edu/news-events/events/>.