Mauckingbird Theatre Co Presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM 8/20-9/12

William Shakespeare's classic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream is re-imagined with a queer aesthetic in Mauckingbird Theatre Company's gender-bent tale of modern love, directed by Mauckingbird Artistic Director Peter Reynolds and co-Director Lynne Innerst. Committed to producing professional gay-themed theatre, Mauckingbird's ambitious 7th production, produced in residence at the Department of Theater at Temple University, features a talented cast of twenty - the largest in company history - and an original pop score by Barrymore Award-winner Chris Colucci.

A Midsummer Night's Dream runs from August 20 - September 12, 2010 (opening night is Wednesday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m.) at the Randall Theater at Temple University, located at 2020 N 13th Street (13th and Norris Streets) in Philadelphia. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $15 for students and are available by calling the Mauckingbird Theatre Company box office at (215) 923-8909 or online at www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org.

In Mauckingbird's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Athens is an elite boarding school where the social scene is fierce and dating is as dramatic as ever. In the company of Headmaster Theseus (Benjamin Lovell) and his bride to be Hippolyta (Melanie Julian), Egeus (Nick Anselmo), the Duke, demands that his daughter Hermia (Erin Mulgrew), the "it girl" of Athens marry his ideal son-in-law Demetrius (Sean Gibson). Young love gets complicated when Hermia locks eyes on Lysander (Emily Letts), a gorgeous girl just like herself, and a handsome boy named Helena (Patrick Joyce) lusts after Demetrius. All bets are off when the schoolmates take a trip to a futuristic forest where sexuality is fluid and love has no boundaries. Meddling monarchs Oberon and Titania (Matt Lorenz and Charles Illingworth IV) and cyberpunk fairies stir up chaos and mischief while hilarity ensues as thespian misfits present a play within a play.

In an intimate performance, Mauckingbird Theatre Company's contemporary Midsummer with a twist explores love's difficulties among all couples - boys and boys, girls and girls, and boys and girls - while exposing the confusion, passion, excitement and heartache the play's young lovers experience exploring their burgeoning sexual identity in a fantastical Athens where labels do not apply.

"I am fascinated in examining how young people today are blurring the lines of sexuality and paving the way to true inclusion for the queer community," says Peter Reynolds, Mauckingbird Artistic Director and co-Director of the production. "Mauckingbird Theatre Company is thrilled that Temple University's Department of Theatre has invited the company to be in residence for this exciting new interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We appreciate Temple University's generous support as the residency allows Mauckingbird to present its largest show to date and affords talented Temple Theater students the opportunity to work closely with professional actors in an intimate theatrical setting."

ABOUT THE CAST

The A Midsummer Night's Dream cast of twenty pairs professional actors from Philadelphia's thriving theater community with promising young student actors from the Department of Theater at Temple University.

In the play, Demetrius, played by Temple University student Sean Gibson, finds love with a male Helena, played by Patrick Joyce. Mauckingbird welcomes Gibson in his first professional production. Patrick Joyce joined Mauckingbird as Eliante in the company's memorable inaugural play The Misanthrope (2008); his national theatrical tour credits include Footloose the Musical and Grease (October 2010).

Erin Mulgrew, in the role of Hermia, received classical training through the Rutgers' Conservatory at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London, England. On the Globe stage, she performed the role of the Queen in Cymbeline, directed by Mike Alfreds. Most recently, she was seen on stage as Jeannie in Fat Pig (Theatre Horizon) and Val Taylor in the feature film 99 Percent Sure. Emily Letts boldly assumes the role of Hermia's true love Lysander as a young woman. Letts was recently seen in New Paradise Laboratories' acclaimed production Fatebook (2009, Live Arts Festival) and is a member of Bistro Romano's dinner theatre.

Matt Lorenz, Oberon, King of the Fairies, is an actor and designer. He was last seen as Paris in the Arden Theatre Co.'s Romeo and Juliet (2010). He returns to Mauckingbird after portraying Reporter 3 in Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story, Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler, and his role as a sound designer for TRU, The Threshing Floor and Never the Sinner. Titania, Oberon's love and Queen of the Fairies, is played by Charles Illingworth IV, whose acting credits include productions with Play Penn, Magic Circle Theatre Company and Villanova Theater.

Ben Lovell makes his Mauckingbird debut as Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Recent credits include Scrooge at the Walnut Street Theater and Caesar Rodney in 1776 (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). He has worked as an understudy for both History Boys and Romeo and Juliet at the Arden Theatre Co., where he took the stage as Capulet during the final week. Melanie Julian's Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and betrothed to Theseus, is a member of the full-time acting faculty at Temple University. She has worked with many theatres including the Mondavi Arts Center, the New York City Fringe Festival, The Public Theatre, and Pangea World Theatre. Locally, Julian has vocal coached for the Arden Theatre Co., the Philadelphia Theatre Company, BRAT Productions, and Temple University.

The Mechanicals, Athens' thespian troupe, invited to create a play for Theseus' marriage celebration to Hippolyta, include Brent Knobloch as Robin Starveling, Will Poost as Snug and students of the Department of Theater at Temple University: Stephanie Cryor as Peter Quince, Danielle Pinnock as Nick Bottom, David Quinn as Francis Flute, and Rebecca Sherman as Tom Snout.

The cyberpunk Fairies include Department of Theater at Temple University students: Justina Ercole as Peaseblossom, Eileen McHugh as Mustardseed, Luis Pagan-Anderson as Moth, and Richie Sklar as Cobweb.

Additional cast members include Nick Anselmo (recently seen in Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue at the Walnut Street Theatre) as Egeus, Hermia's father, and Sam Han as Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, servant to Oberon.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM & DIRECTORS

The A Midsummer Night's Dream production team includes lighting design by Dom Chacon, sound design by Chris Colucci, video design by Mike Long, costume design by Lauren Perigard, and set design by Dan Soule and S. Cory Palmer.

Peter Reynolds is the Artistic Director of Mauckingbird Theatre Company. He currently serves as the Head of Musical Theater for the Department of Theater at Temple University. In Philadelphia, he has worked at Media Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre, Hedgerow Theatre, Villanova Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in New Jersey. Reynolds spent 6 years as Artistic Director of the award-winning HealthWorks Theatre in Chicago and has also worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Building Chicago, Apollo Theatre Chicago, St. Louis' HotCity Theatre, Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, and Maples Repertory.

A Midsummer Night's Dream co-Director Lynne Innerst joined the faculty at Temple University in 2006, bringing with her experiences as a professional actor, acting coach, and teacher spanning twenty years. She is a Master Teacher and founding member of The Fitzmaurice Voice Group. She has trained teachers on the faculties of ART at Harvard, Yale, New York University, and Juilliard, among others, and is especially proud of the fact that many of the young actors she has trained on both the graduate and undergraduate levels are now working professionals. Innerst has worked as an actress in film, television, regional repertory theatre and voice overs. Her professional film and television credits include work with directors Sally Field in The Christmas Tree, Lloyd Richards in The Piano Lesson, and David Frankel in The Pennsylvania Miners Story.

ABOUT MAUCKINGBIRD THEATRE COMPANY

Founded by Artistic Director Peter Reynolds and Managing Director Lindsay Mauck, Mauckingbird Theatre Company is committed to producing professional gay-themed theatre, while also exploring classic literature and musical genres and providing affordable productions of infrequently produced works. Past productions include the critically acclaimed all-male versions of Shakespeare's R & J (2008) and The Misanthrope (2008), the lesbian adaptation of Hedda Gabler (2009), the dark crime drama Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story (2009), and TRU and The Threshing Floor (2010), a repertory of two one-man shows about influential gay writers Truman Capote and James Baldwin.

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