Bottoms Dream to Present THE DREAM, Begin. 3/25

THE DREAM is the first installment in The Weaving Series from Bottoms Dream, and the young company's first full production. The play knits together themes, characters, and plots from two Shakespearean classics: A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo & Juliet to create a unique story.

Refusing to wed Demetrius, the husband her father has arranged for her, Hermia escapes into the forest with her new fiance, Lysander. Her father and Demetrius are in pursuit when all are put under a powerful spell by the fairies Oberon and Puck. The fairies weave an elaborate dream around the sleeping humans, who awake as characters in the world of Romeo & Juliet. Just as their dream begins, a rogue playwright from a nearby rehearsal stumbles upon the sleepers, and Nick Bottom becomes a surprise actor in the fairies' production.

The cast of includes Corey Whelihan (Theseus, Oberon); Ariel Marcus (Hippolyta, Puck); Sean Driscoll (Lysander/Romeo); Caitlin White (Hermia/Juliet); Matthew Castleman (Demetrius/Paris); Joann Sacco (Helena/Nurse); Nat Angstrom (Nick Bottom); Emily Philio (Quince, Peaseblossom); Sean Lounsbury (Egeus/Capulet, Flute); Meghan Blakeman (Titania/Lady Capulet, Snug).

Kevin James Hollenbeck is Production Stage Manager.

Nat Angstrom and Caitlin White (directors) are directors and actors based in New York City. They founded Bottoms Dream as a place where friends and artists could reunite and work together again. Their team experiments with reinventing classic texts, a process that gives new meaning to familiar words, new depth to well-known characters, and new life to timeless stories. They each spent time acting and teaching at Shakesperience Productions in CT, where they appeared in several roles (among others, Nat as the titular roles in Henry V and Richard III and Caitlin as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream). They work closely with other young Shakespeare companies, helping to build the Shakespeare scene in New York City.