Hewitt News

Congratulations to the cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Our upper school fall play — which was directed by Lee Collins with choreography by Linda van Kesteren and students from her Dance Composition course — brought Shakespeare’s magic and merriment to life on the Hewitt stage. 

To prepare for opening night, the cast and crew engaged in a rigorous rehearsal process that included studying text, inflection, and storytelling techniques with SoHo Shakespeare Company. They also worked with professional set, lighting, and sound designers from across New York City, including Samantha Schwartz ’18, who returned to her alma mater as the production’s costume designer. A highlight of the production was the unique opportunity for the student cast and crew to perform on stage alongside Head of Upper School and Assistant Head of School Elizabeth Stevens, who impressed the audience with her portrayal of Philostrate, the play’s “manager of mirth!”

Please scroll down for a gallery of photos from the production and enjoy the cast member reflections shared below. 

“One of the challenges I faced with my role was attempting to make Hermia more contemporary and feminist. It was important to me that my peers felt empowered by my character while watching the show. And, although the text was challenging at times, I did my best to use my acting to help make Shakespeare's language and meaning clear.”

“Ms. Stevens is such a beloved part of the Hewitt community so I was excited to hear she would join us. She was so dedicated to the show - she joked with us and joined us in getting ready, doing warm-up games, and dancing. It was heartwarming to see her totally immersed in the cast just like the students were, and I felt a new type of connection and appreciation for her as an amazing upper school head.” 

“Knowing that Puck was such a well-known character scared me a little bit, but our director, Ms. Collins, helped us with all of our lines and took time to make sure we felt good about our roles. From there, whenever I was on stage, I was Puck. I found myself jumping around as an imp and making character choices that were way out there. I'm also grateful for my scene partner, Oberon, who helped me get into character.” 

“Reading, understanding, and acting Shakespeare as teenagers in 2024 is hard! Alex Pepperman from SoHo Shakespeare Company taught us how to pick out and give extra emphasis to the most important words in each of our lines to help the audience understand the scene. Going into the show, I was worried that people would get lost in the text, and my favorite thing to hear from audience members was that they actually understood what we were saying!”