One of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is also arguably the easiest of the Shakespeare plays to understand, both for the audience and the actors performing the show!

The play revolves around the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors, and their interactions with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.  The story is a classic, silly farce, featuring two sets of couples: Hermia & Lysander and Helena & Demetrius.  Their romantic intrigues are confused and complicated still further by entering the forest where Oberon, the King of the Fairies and his Queen, Titania, preside.  Other visitors to the enchanted forest include Bottom the weaver and his friends Snug, Snout, Starveling, Quince and Flute, the amateur dramatists who want to rehearse their terrible but hilarious play.  Due to the mischievous fairy Puck, hilarious mistaken identities ensue!

THESEUS: Middle-aged (40-50’s) male ruler, commanding  presence and voice.

EGEUS: Fussy and self-important old man (60 or older). Father of Hermia.

LYSANDER & DEMETRIUS: Young attractive males, late teens to twenties, taller than Hermia.

PHILOSTRATE: Tall, dignified, possibly somewhat wry or sarcastic. Has one scene at beginning and another at the end of play. Most any age. Typically a man but could consider a woman.

PETER QUINCE:  An older (30’s-60’s) carpenter, earnest, industrious, organizer of the “Rude Mechanicals.”

SNUG: A middle-aged (30’s-50’s) joiner. Surly with a streak of good nature. Looks after Starveling.

NICK BOTTOM: Largish man 30’s to 50’s. Stupid and bumptious but loveable. A big baby. One of the great comedic roles of all time.

FRANCIS FLUTE: A callow youth (teens-20’s) whose voice is just breaking.

SNOUT: A happy-go-lucky type of indeterminate age. Could be played by a woman.

STARVELING: A wizened and deaf little old man (70 plus) or, possibly, woman.

HIPPOLYTA: Defeated Amazon queen who is happy to wed Theseus. Late 20’s-30’s.

HERMIA: Small, darker, vivacious, very quick and fiery. Late teens to 20’s.

HELENA: Fair, tall, somewhat quieter than Hermia. Late teens to 20’s.

OBERON: Fairy King. Graceful, beautiful speaking voice. Likely 30’s-40’s.

TITANIA: Fairy queen. Neat, sprightly, dynamic. 20’s-30’s.

PUCK: Small but wiry, dancer or gymnast a plus. Normally teens to 20’s but could be older if right actor. A major role requiring strong stage presence.

FAIRIES and ELVES: 4-6 girls or boys aged 9-12, mostly without spoken lines but have several dances and a song or two. Dance experience highly recommended.  These roles will be auditioned primarily through a dance audition.

SOLDIERS AND AMAZONS: Nonspeaking roles. Could use a few in palace scenes. May be able to double with Rude Mechanicals, etc. (ages 20’s-40’s)