The San Quentin Shakespeare troupe took the Bard’s classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and put a new spin on it, to the enjoyment of all.
In the Protestant Chapel on June 15, the small group of prisoners and volunteers from the Marin Shakespeare Company put on a play for a mixture of guests, press and inmates.
To most, this play is usually produced by professional theaters and high schools, but on the 15th, it was acted by 10 inmates, their teacher and two female guests. They had few props and no costumes to speak of yet the group was able to put on a full-scale production.
Despite various trials and tribulations, lock-downs, loss of people, and scheduling difficulties galore, the play leapt off the stage as the performers brought the fairy tale to life, throwing their own unique spins into each act.
For the characters, little things set them apart from any other production done in the past. Like the troupes of old, improvisation was key to making the production a hit. There was a slurpy cup, modern glasses, a wholly different theme to the fairy queen’s courting of a mortal turned ass, and there were in-house jokes and a brief Michael Jackson dance-off after intermission.
The laughter only died down long enough for the guests to hear the tom foolery being performed before them and within seconds it would begin again. Clapping broke out more than once during the production, and few, if any, left their seats during the story being played out. One person stated he had seen the play over a dozen times and had never seen it done in the fashion of the SQ troupe; he loved it.
Some prisoners in the cast play had never seen the production, and thus were able to put their own take on the character giving it a unique, if not hilarious, personality. From a booming-voiced king being annoyed by a hyperactive Puck, to a character called Bottom who was held captive by an enchanted Fairy Queen and her henchmen, the story weaved and bobbed all over the place to only slightly resemble the original script.
All were smiling at the end of the play, and the audience gave the players a standing ovation.
(Editor’s Note: The author of this article was a member of the cast.)
