September 29 – OctOber 24written by William Shakespearedirected by Marc Masterson

PLAY GUIDE

Actors Theatre’s production is part of Shakespeare for

a New Generation,a national initiative sponsored

by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation

with Arts Midwest.

AboUT ThE A MidsuMMer Night’s dreAM PLAY GUIDE

This play guide is a resource designed to enhance your theatre experience. Its goal is twofold: to nurture the teaching and learning of theatre arts and to encourage essential questions that lead to enduring understandings of the play’s meaning and relevance. Inside you will find:

• Contextual and historical information including a list of characters, plot synopsis and information about the playwright.

• Evocative, thought provoking articles on topics surrounding the play, which are to incite conversation and analysis.

• Bridgework activities connecting themes and ideas from the play to your curriculum.

• Oral discussion and writing prompts encouraging your students to draw connections between the play and their own lives. These prompts can easily be adapted to fit most writing objectives.

We encourage you to adapt and extend the material in any way that best fits the needs of your community of learners. Please feel free to make copies of this guide, or you may download it from our website: www.actorstheatre.org/education_guides.htm. We hope this material, combined with our pre-show workshop, will give you the tools to make your time at Actors Theatre a valuable learning experience.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream student matinees and study guides address specific EduCAtiOnAl OBjECtivEs:

• Students will identify or describe the use of elements of drama in dramatic works.

• Students will identify or explain how drama/theatre fulfills a variety of purposes.

• Students will identify a variety of creative dramatics.

Table of conTenTs3 Play Synopsis and Cast of Characters

4-5 A Change in Place

6 Shakespeare’s Biography

7 An Interview with Adrien-Alice Hansel

8 Midsummer Magic

9-11 Bridgework and Writing Portfolio

12 Other Reading and Works Cited

Actors Theatre EducationSteven Rahe, Education DirectorJacob Stoebel, Education CoordinatorJeffrey Mosser, Education FellowSarah Lunnie, Literary/Education AssociateRebecca Davis, Education InternCaitlin Puckett, Education Intern

Study guide compiled by Rosie Chevalier, Adrien-Alice Hansel, Brett Janecek, Whitney Miller-Brengle, Steven Rahe and Jacob Stoebel.

Yum Brands Inc. is honored to sponsor Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Student Matinee Series for the 2009-2010 season.

The crawford charITaBle foundaTIon supports Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2009-2010 education programs.

synopsisThe play begins as Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, prepare for their wedding ceremony, but are interrupted by Egeus with a demand. Egeus has selected demetrius to marry his daughter Hermia, but Hermia—who is madly in love with lysander— refuses. Theseus gives Hermia a simple choice: marry Demetrius, or be sentenced to death. Lysander and Hermia secretly plot to run away into the nearby forest of Athens to escape the law. They confide their plans in their friend Helena who loves Demetrius, even though Demetrius does not love her back. Still with me?

In the forests of Athens, there’s plenty of home-grown drama already happening. titania, the fairy queen, and Oberon, the fairy king are quarreling about the custody of a changeling boy. Titania has the boy and won’t give him up. Oberon sends his mischievous servant Puck in search of a flower that will make its victim fall instantly in love with the first person they see. The plot thickens!

Meanwhile, a group of rag tag actors called the Rude Mechanicals led by the pompous yet terrible performer Bottom to rehearse a play in the forest to be performed at the Duke’s wedding. As they rehearse, Puck schemes to play a cruel joke on Bottom and the rest of the group, replacing his head with the head of a donkey. Puck then uses a magical flower to make Lysander and Demetrius fall for Helena, while Oberon uses the same flower to make Titania fall for Bottom.

Will Hermia end up with Lysander or Demetrius? Will Helena win her true love? Will Titania and Oberon patch things up and get back together? Will the Rude Mechanicals put together a play that’s actually good? Will everyone’s hopes work out in time for a happy ending?

- Adrien-Alice Hansel

The seTTingThe Court of Athens and the surrounding forests, inhabited by fairies, spirits and other magical beings.

The characTerstHE COuRt Of AtHEnsTheseus: Duke of Athens engaged to Hippoltya.Hippolyta: Queen of the Amazons and engaged to Theseus.Philostrate: Master of the revels to Theseus. Egeus: Father to Hermia. Demands his daughter marry Demetrius.

tHE lOvERsHermia: Daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander.Lysander: In love with Hermia.Demetrius: In love with Hermia.Helena: In love with Demetrius.

tHE fAiRy KingdOMTitania: Queen of the fairies.Oberon: King of the fairies.Puck: A mischievous servant to Oberon. Also known as Robin Goodfellow. Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed: Attendants to Titania.

tHE RudE MECHAniCAlsBottom: A weaver. Extremely arrogant and self centered.Quince: A carpenter. Manager of the Rude Mechanicals’ acting company.Flute: A bellows-mender, or a person who repairs bellows used to deliver air to a fire.Snout: A tinker, or a person who fixes pots and pans.Snug: A joiner, or a skilled carpenter.Starveling: A tailor.

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a change in place: reThinking a shakespeare classic

for a guy who’s been dead for hundreds of years, shakespeare seems to pop up in everyday life quite a bit. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was first performed in the mid-1590s but, via theatre, film and television, it has been adapted again and again. in recent years, Midsummer has been set in 1950s greece, at an English leisure park and in a junkyard, to name a few. it has inspired an opera, a ballet and even the plot for High School Musical 2. These adaptations beg the question: why keep revisiting this play? And why keep moving it?

While these reimaginings might seem like departures, transporting Shakespeare to different places and times is nothing new. Film and television adaptations have set and reset Shakespeare in numerous ways, whether it be Richard III in Nazi Germany, The Taming of the Shrew in high school in the 1999 film and current television series 10 Things I Hate About You, or Disney’s take on Hamlet amidst animated jungle cats in The Lion King.

While not as ubiquitous in the film world as other Shakespeare plays, Midsummer has seen many

richard mccabe is puck wearing a suit, tutu and fairy wings.

David O’brien acts as puck in a costume by motley.

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different interpretations on the stage. Sir Tyrone Guthrie was among the first to set the play in a time period between Shakespeare’s and his own when he abandoned traditional conventions and plopped it down in Victorian England in his 1938 production. One of the most famous productions is Peter Brook’s cerebral 1970 version which, residing in a white box full of trapezes and non-specific design choices, ushered in a new era of Shakespeare performance and propelled Midsummer to a heightened popularity. Since Brook’s production, Midsummer has enjoyed more changes of locale than most other Shakespeare plays. Director Tim Supple recently produced it in seven interweaving languages with an Indian and Sri Lankan cast; equal parts theatre, dance and martial arts display, this production was heavily influenced by the culture of the Indian subcontinent. This production of Midsummer at Actors Theatre will dabble in the turmoil and rebellion of the 1960s.

So, again, why set Midsummer during these times? What about this story makes sense in India, in London, in 1960s America?

Hopefully, the answer is not just that the costumes will be cool

(even though they will be). Resetting a play in a new

time and place tends to come, in the

best of circumstances, from a connection between the essence of the setting and the heart of the play. Midsummer is a great candidate for many reasons, not the least of which is its dreamy nature: Shakespeare dreamt in a mythical forest, but perhaps Peter Brook dreams in a white box of sub-consciousness, and Tim Supple dreams in the visceral vibrancy of Mumbai. What is it about the 1960s that might speak to the themes of Midsummer?

Children resisting parents, experimentation, the clash between generations: whether set in its original Athens or in a new locale, the themes of the play are timeless. The excitement comes from seeing what each new production will dream up next.

- Rosie Chevalier

tim Supple imagined his production of Midsummer in mumbai, India. Where would you set this play?

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William shakespeare: a brief biography

William shakespeare was born on April 26th, 1564 in the small town of stratford-upon-Avon.

While many of the details of his childhood are lost to history we know that his father was a glove maker as well as an alderman and bailiff (similar to a small town mayor). There is no record of his

education though we are fairly certain he received some schooling as evidenced by the many literary and biblical references found in his plays.

Shakespeare’s acting and writing career began around 1594, when records show him to have been a member of the Lord Chamberlin’s men, a prominent London theatre troupe. With this company, Shakespeare became a principal writer and actor. All of his works were penned for this company of actors, which included Will Kempe, Richard Burbage and more. Shakespeare himself often performed in his own plays as well.

Shakespeare’s company performed mostly in outdoor theatres including The Curtain, The Rose, The Theatre and, most famously, The Globe. Here in these outdoor venues, all walks of society came to see Shakespeare’s plays.

The upper and middle classes paid for balcony seating high above the stage, while the working class stood on the ground

in front (thus earning them the name “groundlings”). The company became wildly popular with Shakespeare’s

wide repertoire of comedies, tragedies and histories. Upon the ascension of King James I to the English throne in 1603,

Shakespeare and his company rose in stature when the new king issued a royal license earning them the name The King’s Men.Sometime between 1610 and 1613, Shakespeare is thought to have retired from the stage and returned home to Stratford where

he died in 1616, leaving the world 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems. Four centuries

after he wrote them, the works of William Shakespeare continue to entertain and

intrigue audiences around the world.

- Jacob Stoebel

William Shakespeare

the Globe theatre

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What does a dramaturg do?“It’s more than just reading plays,” Adrien explains, and indeed her typical day is quite full. Among other things, some of Adrien’s key responsibilities include researching information on plays for the director and actors, creating audience newsletters, and selecting new plays for Actors Theatre’s Humana Festival of New American Plays, which not only means reading hundreds of works but also traveling all over the country to meet with playwrights and discover new pieces. In working with playwrights, Adrien says that one of her important literary duties is to be “on the play’s side,” meaning “understanding why the playwrights have written what they’ve written, and making sure the play says what the playwright wants it to say,” explains Adrien.

Preparing for A Midsummer Night’s DreamIn her initial meetings with director Marc Masterson (who is also Actors Theatre’s Artistic Director), Adrien discussed with him some of the major themes of the play, such as the heartache of adolescent love and the mature, adult relationships that ultimately develop. “We talked about why you need this crazy time (as a youth) and how do you change as a result, “ Adrien says. This idea, according to Adrien, impacted the decision to set the play in the 1960s: “What’s different about the youthful rebellion of the ‘60s is that the rebellion stuck. It changed the world.” Just as the young people reaching adulthood in the 1960s would be forever influenced by the culture, so too the woods of Athens affect the characters of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Everybody who goes into the woods is changed in some way when they come out, whether it’s the lovers or the mechanicals.” Along with meeting with Marc, reviewing the notes included in well-known Shakespeare collections (such as the Arden edition), and researching the culture and folk customs of Shakespeare’s time, Adrien

also reads theatrical reviews of famous past productions of Midsummer, as well as contemporary performances. Knowing what the critics have loved—and hated—about previous performances informs the choices Adrien, Marc and members of the design team make for Actors Theatre’s production of Midsummer. She provides this example: if previous productions that featured an overly comical portrayal of Puck received mostly negative reviews, then the director “is aware of some pitfalls in making that same choice with Puck.”Aside from all the research that goes into preparing for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Adrien also completes the important task of cutting the script.

What exactly goes into the script cutting process?According to Adrien, the first step of the cutting process is simply to read the play: “We start by reading the play out loud with punctuation.” Why is punctuation so important? As Adrien explains, punctuation can change the emphasis used on the words in the play—and therefore can change their meaning and what the actor communicates to the audience as well. Adrien and Marc also discuss cutting what she refers to as “antique” jokes and

references: lines that would have made perfect sense to Shakespeare’s original audiences, but no longer resonate with audiences 400 years later. “Sometimes, though, we’ll keep old jokes in—if they’re important to the plot, or we think an actor will have a good time with it.” When Adrien’s work is finished, the cuts she’s made will reduce the performance time, resulting in a play just over 2 hours long.

- Whitney Miller-Brengle

an inTervieW WiTh

adrien-alice hanselliterature lovers, take note: it’s possible to make a career of finding and reading plays. Adrien-Alice Hansel does just that—and much more—as director of new Play development for Actors Theatre of louisville. she took time out of her busy schedule to discuss the role of the dramaturg in a theatre company as well as her work for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Advice for future dramaturgs out there:Interested in a dramaturgy career? The former physics major will tell you there’s no right or wrong way to go about this career path. “Be curious!” Adrien advises, “The more you know about the world, the better. Develop your analytical skills, see a lot of plays. It’s about being well-rounded.” Above all else, Adrien stresses, take advantage of internships (like the literary internships offered at Actors Theatre!) because “there’s no way to know if dramatugy’s for you without doing it. I love what I do. But if you don’t, it’s good to know that early in your career!”

Adrien-Alice Hansel

character in Midsummer), and an armistice in the fairy world. Dawn arrives and the unlikely events of the previous night melt away, leaving the humans mystified, changed, but happy.

Actors Theatre’s Artistic Director, Marc Masterson, will helm the Bingham Signature Shakespeare Series production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In considering where to set this production, Masterson was drawn to the tumult of the 1960s, and its mix of youthful energy and a world in flux. “I’m interested in the 1960s because it was a time of transformation,” says Masterson. “Teenagers and young adults were rebelling (as they always have), but the adult world had to listen. The Sixties were like the forest in the play: You enter in bobby socks or blazers, and end up muddy, disheveled—and changed. Changed in a way that’s true even after you return. The Sixties really did change everything that came after.”

And this power of transformation—through magic, imagination or maturity—is at the heart of Shakespeare’s play. The Rude Mechanicals, the amateur actors

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midsummer magicA Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of William shakespeare’s most playful romantic comedies, and looking at its twists of fate and heart, magic and circumstance (not to mention the three weddings that conclude the play), it’s not difficult to understand why. Midsummer’s story rings true with anyone who’s been befuddled by love, had their boyfriend stolen, looked back at an old crush and wondered what they were thinking, or discovered strange and delightful depths to their spouse after their wedding.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” Lysander tells Hermia, and he would know. Lysander loves Hermia; Hermia loves Lysander. But Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius, who used to love Helena, but now loves Hermia. And since fathers choose their sons-in-law in ancient Greece, Hermia and Lysander run to the woods rather than lose each other. Hermia tells her friend Helena, who, still besotted, spills the plan to her ex, Demetrius. Soon all four are lost in a forest inhabited by two bands of fairies—who are having love troubles of their own. Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, are locked in a custody battle, and Oberon decides to enchant his estranged beloved, casting a spell that will make her fall for whomever she next sees. (Still with me? Keep going.) Oberon enlists his mischievous sidekick Puck, who transforms an ungainly amateur actor into a half-donkey, leaving him for the sleeping Titania to find. Fairies and mortals continue to collide as Puck and Oberon use their magic to try to rearrange the young lovers’ affections, only to complicate matters even more. Before the end of the night, though, the course of love smoothes out a bit, in time for the Athenian duke’s wedding, a thrillingly inept performance (of a play about two lovers far more unlucky than any

who perform at the Duke’s wedding, show a ridiculous lack of imagination, and Shakespeare has great fun at the expense of their literal mindedness. Worried that a lion on stage would terrify their audience, the actor assures the court that he’s just in costume. At the other end of the spectrum, Puck is mischievous imagination incarnate, circling the globe at the speed of thought, making the world behave by dream logic, and loosing the chaos of unchecked passion. While the plot of Midsummer shows that too-strict reason needs to be tempered by a touch of irrationality, Puck reminds us of the danger of giving the dream world free reign, and that we can never truly master the spirit of imagination and rebellion.

Perhaps the staying power of Midsummer has something to do with the fact that love is still scary, that adolescent crushes still have to face the dangers of desire and betrayal before they mature—and that these ordeals are far more fun to watch than experience. The play is one part bachelor party and three parts poetic celebration: of the thrill and pain of transformation, and of the satisfactions of coming home to your grown-up self.

—Adrien-Alice Hansel

preliminary set designs for A Midsummer Night’s Dream

midsummer magic

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discussion QuesTionspre-shoW QuesTions

1 Have students participate in a Shakespeare brainstorming session. Questions might include: What do you know about A Midsummer Night’s Dream? What do you think it’s about? The play is one of Shakespeare’s comedies — what do you think a Shakespearean comedy is like? Do you like Shakespeare? Why or why not?

2 “The course of true love never did run smooth,” Lysander laments in the opening act of Midsummer. He’s not the only one who finds that love can be difficult, even painful at times. Can you think of examples, either from your own life or other stories, of a difficult or frustrating experience with love?

3 Many stories feature characters with magical powers, from ancient faerie tales to Harry Potter. Some people think that children and teens shouldn’t read these stories because magic is not real. Why might they think that? What do you think?

posT-shoW QuesTions

1 Why do you think the director chose to set the play in the 1960s? If you were directing a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where and when would you set the story? Why?

2 In Act 2, Scene 1, a fairy meets Puck in the woods and addresses him by some of his many names: Puck, Robin Goodfellow, Hobgoblin. Is Puck simply a trickster or mischievous spirit, or do you think he has any redeeming qualities? Are there times in the play when he might mean well, despite the outcomes of his actions?

bridgeWork aT your desk

Character Collage: Choose one character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Create a character collage of images from magazines and/or your own artwork that reflects how you see this character. Add to the collage quotes from the play about your character (spoken either by your character or someone else). Share with the class.

lover diagram: Confused by all of the love relationships in this play and how they change? Map it out! Create a diagram of the four lovers (Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius) as well as Oberon, Titania and Bottom. Using pictures and arrows, map out who loves whom at the beginning of the play, in the middle (following Puck’s mischief) and at the end.

on your feeT

tableau show: Tell the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream using only tableau. A tableau or stage picture is when actors tell a story without movement or sound. In small groups pick the five most important moments of the play and create tableaus for each moment. Present them to the class.

Punctuation Walks (borrowed from Kim Rubenstein.) Most contemporary plays use stage directions to tell the actors when to perform an action onstage. Shakespeare hardly used stage directions at all. Instead, he used punctuation and descriptive language to inform the actor’s movement and to make the language more exciting. Consider the following passage from A Midsummer Night’s Dream where Hermia chastises Demetrius because she believes he has killed Lysander.

Out, dog! out, cur! thou drivest me past the bounds Of maiden’s patience. Hast thou slain him, then? Henceforth be never number’ d among men! O, once tell true, tell true, even for my sake! Durst thou have look’ d upon him being awake, And hast thou kill’ d him sleeping? O

brave touch! Could not a worm, an adder, do so much? An adder did it; for with doubler tongueThan thine, thou serpent, never adder stung.

(II, 2. 66-74)

Use punctuation walks to bring Shakespeare’s words to life. Walk in a straight line while saying the above speech. Take one step for each syllable. When you come to a period or question mark,

stop and turn around. For commas, turn without stopping. As you approach an exclamation mark, run and jump at the end of the sentence. Remember to do all of this as you are speaking the speech.

After you master the speech with the “punctuation walks” discuss how Shakespeare’s punctuation makes his language alive and exciting.

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cross-curricular connecTions language arTs Translate Puck’s final speech into contemporary English. Define any words you don’t know, and use modern slang and colloquialisms where they fit. Considering all that has happened in the play up to this point, why do you think Shakespeare chose to end Midsummer with Puck addressing the audience? Do you think Puck is being sincere or playful in his speech?

PUCK: If we shadows have offended Think but this, and all is mended That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream. Gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.

hisTory/social sTudies A Midsummer Night’s Dream is believed to have been written between 1594 and 1596. What was going on in England during this time? Around the world? Create a timeline of major events and important figures and discuss how they might have influenced Shakespeare’s writing.

geography Though Shakespeare lived and wrote in Elizabethan England, several of his plays—including A Midsummer Night’s Dream—are set in ancient Greece and Rome. Why do you think he chose these settings for so many of his stories? What about the cultures and time periods might have inspired him? Cite specific examples in Midsummer of ancient Greek references.

a midsummer nighT’s dream vocabulary

Changeling: a child exchanged for another child by fairies

Cheek by jowl: side by side

Con: memorize, learn by heart

A dear expense: worth the trouble

fates: The three sisters (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who draw and cut thread of human life

favors: tokens of love, gifts

furies: vengeful goddesses of Greek mythology

give me your hands: applaud

gleek: jest, scoff

Hempen homespuns: clothes made from rough, hemp fabric (worn by the Rude Mechanicals)

lingers: postpones

lob: country bumpkin

lodestars: guiding stars

Make all split: cause a stir, bring the house down

Moused: torn, bitten

Phoebe: Greek god believed to be the moon

Puppet: here, Helen is calling Hermia a short, dwarfish woman

spotted: morally stained, sinful

tear a cat: rant

translated: transformed, changed

turns to a crow: seems black by comparison

Waggish: playful, mischievous

Wanting: lacking

Wood: mad

“your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex”: your actions cause me to behave in an unladylike way

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midsummer WriTing porTfolio

personal A Midsummer Night’s Dream is all about mistaken identity and people turning out to be different than we expect. Write about an experience from your life where someone behaved differently than you had expected, either for better or worse. How did you respond? What did you learn?

liTerary Choose two love relationships in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream to compare and contrast. How do these relationships change throughout the play? What is Shakespeare trying to communicate through these characters? Why do you think he included them in his play? Use text from the play to support your argument.

TransiTiveWrite a review of Actors Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Describe what it was like to watch the play, but be sure to write about more than just the story told by the play. Think about how the play tells its story. Make the experience of watching the play come alive for your reader by writing about several of the play’s elements, including costumes, lights, props, and music, as well as how the actors performed in their roles and how the director realized the vision of the play. Let the audience decide for themselves if the play is worth seeing.

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if you liked a midsummer nighT’s dream, check ouT…

Work ciTed“Archive Catalogue.” Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Performance Database. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust ©. N.d. Web. 6 July 2009. < http://calm.shakespeare.org.uk. >

“Exploring Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” RSC. Royal Shakespeare Company. n.d. Web. 6 July 2009. < http://www.rsc.org.uk. >

Hansel, Adrien-Alice. Personal interview. 10 July 2009.

Harris, Jonathan Gil. “Puck/Robin Goodfellow.” Fools and Jesters in Literature, Art, and History. Ed. By Vicki K. Janik. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Hurwitt, Robert. “Supple Reimagines ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’.” San Francisco Chronicle 4 May 2008: N-26. Print.

“RSC Pictures and Exhibitions.” Royal Shakespeare Company. 24 July 2009 <http://www.rsc.org.uk/picturesandexhibitions/jsp/index.jsp>.Wells, Stanley and Sarah Stanton, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare On Stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

booksThe Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd Edition; a complete collection of William Shakespeare’s works

The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

Shakespeare, A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, And More, by Charles Boyce

Shakespeare After All, by Marjorie Garber

Shakespeare Our Contemporary, by Jan Kott

Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion, by David Crystal and Ben Crystal

Shakespearean Sallies, Sullies, and Slanders: Insults for All Occasions, by Ann McGovern

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, by Stephen Greenblatt

film A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) dir. Michael HoffmanShakespeare in Love (1998) dir. John MaddenDead Poets Society (1989) dir. Peter Weir

on The Webwww.rsc.org.uk, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s website

NEW VOICESyOuNg playWrIghtS fEStIVal

deadline December 31

New VoicesTeN-miNuTe Play coNTesTThe clock is ticking. If you are a young person who fancies yourself a playwright, now is your time to act, or better yet, write! The deadline to enter the New Voices Ten-Minute Play Contest is drawing near. As the clock strikes 12 midnight on December 31, the reading will begin to determine which eight ten-minute plays will be fully produced and performed onstage at Actors Theatre in April. Playwrights must live in our region and be 18 or younger. For more information about the New Voices Ten-Minute Play Contest and the New Voices Young Playwright’s Festival, please visit ActorsTheatre.org.