By Dongyun Kwon
One of the Shakespeare’s plays will be performed in Healesville by a group of young people.
The MISFIT Project (TMP) is a creativity and empowerment organisation founded by young people for young people, which provides an inclusive, safe, creative community for those who have not felt like they have had somewhere to belong.
MISFIT Theatre, a theatre group attached to TMP, has prepared for the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies.
TMP youth mentor and facilitator Alana Michaud, the director of the production, said she is excited to put on a big cast show.
“It’s been a few years since TMP has put on a big cast show because the last few years they put on small radio plays. So this is the first one back for a while,” she said.
This is the second time for Ms Michaud to direct a theatre production.
The director said her focus for the show is creating a fun experience that is enjoyable for both audience and actors.
“These old plays written by Shakespeare, which often you learn in school and you find them boring. But the idea is to learn through this play and the process of putting on the show that there is so much in all of Shakespeare’s writing to work with, and it can be a really fun thing to do,” Ms Michaud said.
“We’ve put a little bit of a twist to this show, and we are going to have a 360 stage so it’s really immersive for the audience, the actors will walk past you as they enter and exit the stage.
“We have a lot of really fun lighting design, and we’re playing on the dream aspect of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with some kind of fun psychedelic lighting.”
MISFIT Theatre is an audition-based group open to diverse age groups.
21 Cast members from all across Melbourne were selected through auditions in June and July.
“At the beginning of the year, I started with my ideas for the show, but it was in June that we put out the call for auditions,” Ms Michaud said.
“From July, every Thursday till now, we have been rehearsing to do this production [in Croydon].
“We have a diverse group of people from different parts of Melbourne. We also have a lot of different experiences in our cast as well. We have some people who have done a lot of performing, and some people who this will be their first ever Shakespeare production.”
The production will be performed three times at The Memo, Healesville on Friday 22 November and on Saturday 23 November.
For more information, please visit the following website at yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Experience/Events/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream
