Student Blog: Welcome to Midsummer Ensemble!

Hi everyone, and welcome back to my blog! Today, I am going to be spotlighting an up-and-coming theatre company in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California: Midsummer Ensemble. Midsummer Ensemble was created in 2022 with a production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which is how they got their name. I was fortunate enough to play Hermia in said production. This past summer, they put on a production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” and have plans to put on an encore production this winter. Next summer, they are planning a production of “Trap” by Stephen Gregg, along with some stand-alone scenes. Without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to some of the company members that have answered questions for you.

Our first company member is Sophia Alexander-Sidhom. She is 22 and played Lady Macbeth in this summer’s production, as well as serving as fight captain.

Our next company member is Molly Craft. She is 20 and played Helena in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In “Macbeth,” she played Banquo and Doctor, as well as serving as props master.

The next company member I’d like you to meet is Isaac Ludington. He is 21 and co-directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Molly Meyers, as well as playing Lysander. In “Macbeth,” he played Macduff.

Our next member is Violet Love. They are 20 years old and played Oberon and Theseus in the ensemble’s first production. In “Macbeth,” they played Ross. They are the website designer and one of the social media managers of Midsummer Ensemble.

Our penultimate member for today is Molly Meyers. She is 22 and co-directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Isaac Ludington, as well as playing Titania and Hippolyta. In “Macbeth,” she played Fleance and Lady Macduff.

Our final member is Yarrow Sifry. She is 21 and has played Demetrius in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and co-directed “Macbeth.”

Now that you’ve met some of our members, we will move on to the questions.

Q: What is your favorite part of Midsummer Ensemble?

Sophia Alexander-Sidhom: “While there are a number of things I love about this ensemble, I'd have to say the most prevalent is the sense of community. Oftentimes in theatre there can be an air of competition which pushes people apart. This is nowhere to be found in our ensemble. Through the whole process, even joining as a new actor, all I've ever felt was safety, support, group wide appreciation, and a strong encouragement to be my authentic self.”

Violet Love: “I love being with other people who are excited to create and explore new things in theatre! With our productions, we make the shows fit our group and vision, adjusting character dynamics and bringing our experiences as a majority queer theatre troupe into our work.”

Q: What is the hardest part of being a part of being in Midsummer ensemble?

Isaac Ludington: “The hardest part is definitely the logistics. SInce we’re an amateur theatre company, coordinating things like venues and schedules is a real beast. When Molly [Meyers] and I co-directed [“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”], our original venue double-booked us twice in a row! There’s a lot of coming up with solutions by the seat of our pants with this stuff, and hopefully with time it will become more manageable.”

Yarrow Sifry: “The hardest part is probably adjusting to putting on productions without any outside organization (like a school or theatre company), which means all production elements fall on us. This means booking a venue, dealing with ticket sales, admission tax, budgeting, and all that kind of stuff which we’re all a little new to.”

Q: What are you looking forward to most with Midsummer Ensemble’s future?

Violet Love: “There are so many show ideas that have been bounced around so I’m excited to see which ones get latched onto. I’m also excited to see how our group grows and evolves from production to production.”

Molly Meyers: “It’s still the beginning (and honestly I didn’t think this would be a continuing thing - I’m so happy it is though!!) so I’m just excited to see how it continues. I also think branching out and doing a non-Shakespeare show next year will be a cool opportunity for the ensemble!”

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share:

Molly Craft: “I am just so excited to see what we do next! This year’s production of Macbeth felt like everything we could have possibly hoped it would be and more. We were thrown so many hurdles and we got through all of them, and put on something I think we were all incredibly proud of.”

Sophia Alexander-Sidhom: “I would encourage everyone who feels that they may have lost sight of their passions or joys in life take one step to rediscover those things. Midsummer Ensemble allowed me to do just that, and now I'm never going back.”

That concludes our Q+A! You can find more information about Midsummer Ensemble at their website https://midsummerensemble.weebly.com/ or on their Instagram @midsummer.ensemble.

Until next time, I wish you all love and good fortune!