WILMINGTON — A local theatre group is ready to bring a show to you.
Wilmington’s Bare Boards Theatre Company will present its own production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in a very unique way.
The actors — including Matt Purkey, Abby Jones, Matt Spradlin, Rachel Beck, Keni Brown, Ryan Oates, Kevin Wall, Mark Lunsford, Cole Haugh, and the theatre’s founder, Bryan Wallingford — recorded their dialogue via Zoom.
The footage will then be entered into two halves and uploaded to their website — bareboardstheatre.com — for the public to see on Saturday.
One of the main reasons for this endeavor was it gave the group a chance to perform and hang out during the stay at home order.
“It was mainly a project for us because we all wanted to get together to see one another, and this gave us a creative outlet,” said Wallingford.
The reason for choosing Shakespeare’s famous comedy is not only because it’s in the public domain (like all of the Bard’s plays), but it gives the actors multiple parts to play and it was something many people are familiar with.
It also gives the unique group a chance to further practice the company’s intention of doing shows in unique ways; after all, to quote Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage.”
Outside of the troupe getting to perform again, Wallingford said this is a great way for locals to find some relief during this time.
“We turn to the arts during times of struggle, and we’re doing what we can,” said Wallingford, adding his appreciation to those working on the front lines of the pandemic.
Time will tell if they do another production like this one. But if people enjoy it, Wallingford and the others would like to hear about it.
“This was a very cool and fun project,” he said.
