For this assignment I chose the directors option because I had a clear idea for a reality TV dating show adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s dream. Reality TV provides a fantasy like world for viewers to escape to and observe people living their dream and finding love. I think this is appropriate for an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream because both the story and Reality TV dating shows have themes of love, manipulation and fantasy. My goal was to modernize the medium of the story without losing the key shakespearean aspects and bard-like tendencies.
Manipulation in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
One of the Central themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is manipulation, many characters such as Lysander and Titania are manipulated to love people who they truly don’t. Without this aspect of the story it would not have the depth or meaning that it holds now. Adapting the story through reality TV dating show highlights the theme of manipulation for a 21st century audience, continuing its legacy as a Bard text. While yes one could say the play is about the four lovers and their journey throughout the play, however, without the medling from Oberon and Robin Goodfellow the play would have been 3 acts shorter. Adapting the play to be a reality TV dating show provides a scenario in which there are four people who are trying to fall in love, but the producers may make it extremely difficult. While a central theme is manipulation, A Midsummer NIght’s Dream is still a love story and because of our human nature we love stories that have drama, emotion, and fantasy. That is exactly what the story provides; a fantasy world with Kings and Queens, fairies, and love potions used by higher powers to manipulate the characters into a more accommodating situation. This entire aspect of the story began when Oberon wanted to distract Titania by making her fall in love with someone so he could take the changeling boy for himself. Oberon who is a fairy King used his power for himself, but it came at the price of changing the four lovers’ lives. Ultimately manipulating people for his own personal gain. Similarly reality TV dating shows have drama, emotion and act as a fantasy world for viewers to distract themselves with. The producers and the network manipulate viewers into thinking that the contestants are really finding love and happiness, and people choose to be on the show with the goal of finding love but rarely achieve it. In the end it is all just a ploy to boost ratings and viewership, like Oberon, the producers manipulate characters and viewers for their own personal gain. This comparison of Midsummer Night’s Dream to a reality TV dating show allows a 21st century audience to understand manipulation as a theme in entertainment and draw connections to the story with a more familiar example. Someone who reads Midsummers Night’s Dream may not be immediately aware of the obvious manipulation that occurs throughout the story but when compared to Reality TV, something that most people are familiar with, the similarities between the two are obvious. Reality TV also manipulates the viewers as well, making them think that the contestants on the show are truly finding love and obtaining healthy relationships. The producers specifically include scenes where the contestants seem happy, which causes viewers to fantasize about made up relationships and an unrealistic way of life. This parallels in the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as there are several artificial relationships such as Lysander’s sudden love for Helena that are created through Oberon’s manipulative actions. Shakespeare often used love as a theme is his work, however A Midsummer Night’s Dream is his first play that explores artificial relationships that are not nearly as meaningful as natural affection. The fact that centuries later people still find this theme to be entertaining and meaningful demonstrates that Shakespeare was truly ahead of his time.
Cast
Hermia - Alexandra Daddario
Alexandra Daddario was an obvious choice to play Hermia because of her patriarchal defying roles in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Theif. In these movies not only does she go against the patriarchy and become one of the strongest half-bloods but we also see her ability to act under difficult circumstances.
Helena - Rachel McAdams
I believe Rachel McAdams would be a good choice for the role of Helena because of her role in Mean Girls, where she desperately chased Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) and harrased Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan). This is similar to Helena chasing Demitrius and sabotaging Hermia and Lysander’s plan to escape Athens.
Demitrius - Robert Pattenson
Robert Pattenson has experience playing roles where he has to fight for the girl that he wants. I believe this is a good characteristic for Demitrius as throughout the story he is chasing Hermia’s heart.
Lysander - Logan Lerman
Logan Lerman is most popularly known for his role in the Percy Jackson films. In these films he embarks on heroic journeys, and he has worked closely with Alexandra Daddario in these films. I think these abilities would be beneficial for the role of Lysander.
Puck - Kevin Hart
Puck is a mischievous and comedic character is the story and I believe Kevin Hart has a similar personality. He has also done several movies with Dwayne Johnson such as Jumanji and Central Intelligence and has a close relationship with him as well. Kevin Hart has the comedic skills and demeanor that the role of Puck needs to complete the story.
Oberon - Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has a powerful and commanding presence in every film he appears in such as Fast and Furious, San Andreas, and Hercules. These abilities and tendencies make him the perfect actor to play the role of Oberon as he is one of the most powerful characters in the story.
Titania - Maryl Streep
I chose Maryl Streep to play the role of Titania because she is the most respected and powerful female character in the story. Despite the obvious patriarchy at the time the story was written she still defies Oberon and fights for what she believes is right. Maryl Streep demonstrates her abilities to play strong female roles in films such as Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice.
Theseus - Vin Diesel
I chose Vin Diesel for the role of Theseus because of the traits and abilities he demonstrated in the hit movie series Fast and Furious. In these movies, he is the leader of his team and demands respect from his peers. This is important for the role of Theseus because he is a King and well respected by his people.
Egeus - Stephen Lang
I chose this actor because in the story Egeus is a grumpy, controlling old man and Stephen Lang plays a similar role as a creepy and mean old man in the movie Don’t Breathe.
Peter Quince - Lucas Grabeel
Lucas Grabeel seems like a good fit because of his role in the Highschool Musical movie franchise. In the movie he is one of the stars of a highschool play and he is extremely controlling with his peers and the cast in general.
Nick Bottom - Ronald Wilkerson
Ronald Wilkerson is a good fit for the role of Nick Bottom because he is a very outspoken and energetic actor. He was a star in the popular show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Wilkerson plays an ameauter actor, with similar qualities as Nick Bottom.
Francis Flute - Will Poulter
I chose Will Poulter to play Francis Flute because in the play Francis Flute is treated poorly and made fun of by his peers. Similarly Will Poulter plays a role in the movie We’re the Millers where he is the butt of most jokes, and doesn’t get treated well at all.
Tom Snout - Dave Franco
Dave Franco is an excellent choice for the role of Tom Snout because he is in many popular movies such as Neighbors, Now You See Me, and 21 Jump Street however he does not have many star roles. He is a great actor and provides a lot to the movies that he is in but he doesn't need the spotlight to shine.
Robin Starveling - Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Mintz-Plasse is a good choice for the role of Robin Starveling because in the story Robin does not have a significant role. In Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s biggest movie, Superbad, he plays an incredibly funny character but the character is completely useless to the point of the story.
Snug - Jason Weaver
I chose Jason Weaver because he was the voice actor for Simba in The Lion King animated movie. These characters play similar roles as they both act as lions.
Philostrate - Angela Kinsey
I chose Angela Kinsey because of her role in the popular show The Office where part of her character is a party-planner for all of the parties that the office has. She demonstrated very good organizational skills and planned some exciting parties for the office.
Hippolyta - Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin is a great actress and I chose her for her powerful and commanding role as a high level CFO in The Office. This role clearly shows that she has to ability to demand respect from the people in scenes with her and knows how to act as a respected character such as Hippolyta.
Director’s Pitch
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a 16th century Shakespearean play that follows four lovers over what may be the strangest few days of their lives. Sweet, fair, and innocent Hermia has fallen for Lysander but her father, Egeus has other ideas. He believes Hermia is his property and he should get to decide who she marries, according to the law. When they go to see King Theseus with the hopes of resolving this issue Egeus requests that Hermia either marries Demitrius, or be put to death. Frightened, Hermia and Lysander make a plan to run away together that night to go and live with Lysander’s aunt. Demitius finds out about their secret plan and takes to the woods in search of Hermia, Helena follows after him. Meanwhile, the fairy King Oberon and the fairy queen Titania are quarrelling over a changeling boy that Titania has been taking care of. However Oberon wants the boy for himself so he creates a plan to put a love potion flower on Titania’s eyes that will make her fall in love with the first thing she sees, then he will convince her to give him the boy. Spoiler alert: Titania is not the only one who gets the love potion. Meanwhile a rag-tag group of ammeteur actors reherses the play of Pyramus and Thisbe to perform at King Theseus and his soon to be wife Hippolyta’s wedding.
Two young men, two young women, trying to find love and escape their normal lives. Hermia, is our first female contestant and a 24 year-old school teacher, she likes board games, going out with her friends, and listening to her father yell about the patriarchy. Helena, is our second female contestant, she is working as a receptionist at Doctor’s office. Helena likes animals, watching youtube makeup tutorials, and chasing guys that have no interest in her through the woods. Demitrius, our first male contestant, likes sports, cooking, and he’s got an eye on Hermia already. Lysander, our last contestant, likes writing poetry, nature, and he may have a leg up on Demitrius because he already has Hermia’s eye. There will be Judges or Producers similar to Oberon, Titania, and Puck that will have the ability to tamper with the lovers, potentially causing fights, confusion and the ultimate possibility to change the results of the competition entirely. One day during the competition the four lovers will go on an outing to a cupcake shop. There are 5 not very helpful workers at the shop who help the actors with their cupcake creation. These roles in the show will parallel the Rude Mechanicals in the story as the cupcake shop workers will provide entertainment and celebration for the four contestants similar to how the Rude Mechanicals performed the play for the lovers at the end of the story.
People love reality dating shows because of the drama and emotions that the stars of the show go through, it melds fact and fantasy into something that's more like the real thing than you might expect. Viewers relate and live through the characters on the show, forming this kind of fantasy world or perfect world where people fall in love. This kind of ability to draw viewers in is exactly what the story of Midsummer Night’s Dream needs in order to continue its legacy as a Bard-text in the 21st century.
Dispositions /Motivations
Oberon’s character in a Midsummer Night’s Dream has a commanding personality, and when he enters a scene every character is aware of his power. This power comes with the role of Fairy King. He uses this power in the story to manipulate different characters for his own selfish reasons. An example of this would be his plan to make Titania to fall in love with someone else so he can take the changeling boy for himself. Puck is mischievous and provides comedic relief to a somewhat dramatic story. His role as Oberon’s second-hand man means he ends up doing Oberon’s dirty work and putting the love potions on Titania and Lysander's eyes. Titania has a strong female role in the play; defying Oberon time and time again despite the status quo of the time period. She still has a lot of power because she is the Queen of fairies but she is still easily manipulated by Oberon. She has an honest attitude and she is very pure. An example of this purity is her care-giving role to the changeling child, she is taking care of the child because he is the child of someone she was very close to. King Theseus is an honest and noble king, and respected by his people. At the beginning of the story Egeus comes to Theseus because he wants his daughter to marry Demitrius instead of Lysander, rather than enforcing the law and forcing Hermia to marry Demitrius he gives her time to think and possibly form a plan. This shows that he is fair and good King. Hermia is Egeus’s daughter but throughout the play she is at odds with her father. She is fierce and has a dark side that comes out in the latter half of the story when Lysander falls in love with Helena. She knows what she wants, even if that means defying the patriarchal laws. Demitrius claims to love Hermia despite his history with Helena. Rather than courting Hermia he became close with Egeus so Egeus wants Hermia to marry him. According to Athenian law he believes that Hermia should be forced to marry him, this shows that he has skewed morals and a strange concept of love. Helena is obsessively in love with Demitrius despite his efforts to get rid of her. She doesn’t have a strong personality at all, and even compares herself to a dog hoping to change Demitrius’s mind. She was childhood friends with Hermia but as they grew up they could not be more different. Lysander is a very romantic person, he always has the right thing to say to Hermia when she gets nervous about her impending death or their secret plan to escape Athens. He truly loves Hermia and wants to keep her safe, they have the perfect relationship until he gets manipulated by Oberon. Egeus is Hermia’s grumpy old father who would rather kill his daughter than let her marry Lysander. He is obsessed with control and asks Theseus to enforce the strict and sexist Athernian laws upon his daughter. Peter Quince is a carpenter and an amateur dramatic enthusiast extraordinaire. His role in the production of the Rude Mechanicals play “Pyramus and Thisbe” demonstrates his leadership and organization skills. Nick Bottom is a very dramatic person which aids him in his acting career, this is good because he loves the spotlight and always wants to be the star of the show. When Peter Quince was assigning roles for their play Nick Bottom wanted to play every part, even the lion. Francis Flute is the youngest in the group and doesn’t always get treated fairly by the rest of the group. He is casted as Thisbe in their play because he is the only one without a beard, although he will claim there's one coming in soon. Tom Snout, one of the simplest members of the group, he doesn’t need the spotlight like Nick Bottom and doesn’t have the leadership qualities of Peter Quince. He is casted as the “wall” in their play. Robin Starveling is a tailor who partnered up with the rude mechanicals to perform the play of Pyramus and Thisbe. His role is often described as one of the funnier roles in the story due to a specific scene during the performance after Theseus’s wedding. Members of the audience began to criticize his abilities, it was clear he was easily getting frustrated. Snug is another member of the rude mechanicals, but he can’t memorize lines so instead he is casted as the lion. While this may seem like a small part turns out to be a favorite in the performance. He doesn’t talk much and he is slightly shy for an actor, the play would not have been the same without him. Philostrate is Theseus’s party planner and event host. He criticized the Rude mechanicals play and urged Theseus not to watch it. Hippolyta is a former queen of the Amazon so she clearly holds a lot of power and respect. She easily criticizes the acting abilities of Robin Starveling, which is not something most women would do. She also marries Theseus at the end of the play.