A Midsummer Nights Dream: The Musical Web Series

Table of Content

Introduction:

Ancient Greek Classes:

Thematic Elements:

Cinematic Elements:

Conclusion

Kyle Green

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Mr. White
AP English 12
30 October 2015
Senior Project Research Paper
A Midsummer Nights Dream: A Musical Web Series
The most iconic musical web series to date has to be Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog.
Beyond that, YouTubers such as AV Byte, Todrick Halls, and Colleen Ballard create small videos
adapting stories into song for viewers to enjoy. They take stories or concepts, like Cinderella,
Beauty and the Beast, Sherlock--even Facebook, believe it or not--and put a contemporary,
modern spin and add music, costumes, and choreography for extra flare. It is, essentially, a
musical created for viewers to observe in episodic doses released on the internet. This is the sort
of project I set forth to create; adapt A Midsummer Nights Dream and churn it out for the
internet to see and behold, and in a way that makes it accessible for people who wouldnt touch
Shakespeare with a ten-foot pole.
Some backstory on this. When I was in the 7th grade, my friends and I put on a eightminute production of--you guessed it--A Midsummer Nights Dream: The Musical. We wore
brightly colored shirts, performed everything a capella, and had no props at our disposal in order
to help create the visual we wanted to portray.
And yet, we went home from the spring DTASC competition with a 4th place trophy in
tow.
To this day, it is probably one of the fondest memories I have of performing. Its what
really got me thinking that I could pursue theater as a career. Those eight-minutes are what

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pushed me to go to SSHS. It seems fitting, then, that I take this original, simplistic concept, and
end my year with a bang.
Behold! A Midsummer Nights Dream 2.0, adapted and directed by 1.0s Helena!
Of course, this will be no easy task. My experience in directing is minimal. My
experience in editing, even less so. And my experience in a recording studio? Nonexistent.
But heres how I plan to set this all into fruition:
Step 1: Write the script. Make it a jukebox musical in the same vein as our middle-school
show, featuring melodies reworked by The Persuasions, The Partridge Family, etc.
Step 2: Cast the show
Step 3: Start filming
Step 4: Record the music in my mentors studio (thanks Michael!)
Step 5: Edit the monster
Step 6: Upload the monster
Step 7: Profit

Which is all easier said than done, of course. I plan on keeping the original
Shakespearean speech, but the songs are going to be the modern spin. And the costumes should
be representative of the characters without being full Shakespearean garb.
So what are the potential problems I need to adapt to?

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Hopefully, they will only be technical ones, which are easy enough to fix. A faulty boom
mic here, sketchy footage there--an actor missing their mark, etc., etc. The only dilemmas I want
to focus on are from a creative standpoint--what parallels can I draw from Ancient Greece so that
they apply to today? What costumes, what issues and what relationships would change from the
original text? In order to get a better understanding on the characters, setting, and plot, I turned to
the Internet for help.

Ancient Greek Classes

For the project at hand, only the relevant classes and concepts were touched upon. As in
all historical civilizations, the Greeks had a defined, rather strict, class system. Most notably
were the rights--or lack thereof--designated to all women-folk. As is such the way of patriarchal
societies, women were held in low regard. A womans father had complete power over her life,
and could and would arrange a marriage for his daughter as he saw fit. While a woman could
gain substantial power and respect within her household, when regarded in law as well as
culture, they were considered inferior (Guisepi).
Even wealthy, upstanding, free women were designated to solely the role of breeder,
and were expected to produce male children for her husband. In fact, virgins and childless
women were considered defective in Athenian society, and that only after child-birth were they
fully-functioning members of the population (Thompson).
Women in Greek mythology, however, had a slightly higher status. The hierarchy was
very much there, but women could have the same potential and power their male counterparts
had (Lefkowitz). This is evidence enough in that the female monsters and beings had the ability
to tempt and sway the male characters, and if successful, would kill them for it (Guisepi).

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Thematic Elements
One of the main goals for this project was taking the raw, central themes and beliefs from
the original text and making it modern and relatable, without losing that timeless quality. The
project really wanted to emphasis the dreamlike, nonsensical mood the play initially created. In
order to do so, the motifs and elements that make Midsummers what it is needed to transfer over
to the web series adaptation.
According to research--and a fact known to the author of this paper but never fully
realized until work for the project began--was the importance in losing/finding ones identity.
Not only is this one of the best sources of comedy within the entire play, but it is also the
supreme source of conflict. It should also be noted that, without the fairies interference, none of
the characters would have changed, and all their problems would have remained intact (Hunt).
But, for the purpose of keeping the dreamy quality, it can be argued that the characters never
truly lost their initial characteristics; merely had them blurred, made hazy in such a way that they
were forced to adapt to the fairyland that they found themselves in (Kiernan).
Which is interesting, to say the least, given that the actors who will perform in this will
have to find ways to make their different identities of their characters stand out from the other, in
addition, to also maintain the core basis as well. It will be a challenge, but it is necessary in such
a project as this.
Not only is it essential for the lovers--Lysander and Demetrius both, bewitched by Puck
to enamor themselves with Helena--but their female counterparts as well; even Titania, as she
falls for Bottom, disguised as an ass (Shakespeare).
Perhaps not so subtly stated in this theme are the mechanicals (Marshall). The actors,
hired to perform a play at Theseus and Hippolytas wedding, quite literally take on roles that are

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not themselves--and yet, the performance is so awful, and they never lose their initial absurdity
throughout their performance. Motifs such as this make it evident that despite their experiences,
the characters all still remain their core selves (Kiernan).
Beyond this, there is an overall message that can be said about love as well. This is
something that the project needs to remember, so as to best convey the sincerity that this
adaptation demands. The universal truth that The course of love never did run smooth comes
from A Midsummer Nights Dream (Shakespeare). Quotes such as these support the idea that
even in the most passionate and pure of romances, it is bound to become tumultuous along the
way. Lysander falling for Helena, despite his devotion to Hermia, is evidence of this, as well as
Oberons hexing Titania despite his love for her.
With these themes and central ideas that make Midsummers what it is, the project then
had to figure out how to convey that cinematically.

Cinematic Elements
To perform on the stage is one thing. There, exaggerated faces are acceptable. Broad,
sweeping gestures are encouraged. When it comes to film, the art of it all is in subtlety, a feat
which has never been taken before now for the author. Research needed to be poured into what
angles were visually pleasing, how to edit videos, and most importantly, how to film in such a
way that the dreamlike quality of Midsummers stayed preserved.
First and foremost, the project needed to avoid amateur mistakes, including but not
limited to (Grabowicz).:
1. Too much exposure so that the film subjects are washed out/a dark blur
2. Humming/talking during a shoot
3. Excessive panning during shoots

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This is helpful, given that filming is so much more than just hitting record. Its as much
of an art as acting is.
That being said, looking into different filming techniques helped determine what sort of
lighting/color schemes would be used.
For Egeus and the others who stay in Athens, a hard light would be used, with high
contrast. Meaning, everything within the human world--and a character as strict and
unreasonable as Egeus--would be receiving glaring, harsh light, with a sharp contrast between
the shadows and lights (Golda). By contrast, the fairy world would be enveloped in soft light,
with the fairies utilising a lot of backlight so that they would look almost like they were glowing,
wrapped in ethereal light (Goldberg). In addition, lowering saturation on Athens--such as was
done in The Wizard of Oz--creates a more muted sort of setting. On the flipside, a high saturation
with bold colors and vivid hues in the forest creates a wild, fantasy-like setting (Kidd). Then by
the end, the happy medium is met, representing how the lovers came back changed by their
experiences for the better.

Conclusion
It is amazing that, while researching this, it put into perspective how many things I
already knew to be true, but then explaining the why of it. I know close-ups work better than
full-body shots, as the expressions are the most important. I know that continuity is essential for
an enjoyable experience as an audience member. But how am I going to apply everything Ive
learned? Simple.
Im taking all the societal values I know to be true in ancient Athenian society and
applying it to how I direct my actors. For instance, Hippolyta is the queen-to-be, an Amazonian
warrior who is praised for her strength rather than chastised--and Titania, queen of the fairies as

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well are a few of my mythological females. Titania has power and magic and is as intelligent and
respected as her husband and counterpart, Oberon (Lefkowitz).
Based on my thematic and historical research, the characters entering the forest
represents them leaving their society. Therefore, they should challenge the Greek ideals held for
them at home, and in addition to the fairies meddling, I want there to be a divide between the
lovers as they are in Athens, and as they are in the forest. This gives me a very solid idea about
how I want my characters played, where before, having only done an 8 minute skit, I didt really
have that good of a grasp on the characters, setting, and what truly mad Midsummers magical.
Hermia, constrained and held back by her fathers societal expectations of her, should be
different between her in the fairy realm--free to speak, free to love, free to challenge those who
oppose her. Meek Helena, who before would just take all the spite Demetrius gave her, is now
defiant and stands up for herself. Demetrius becomes sincere. Lysander becomes brave. The
girls, moreso than the boys, have the best brought out in them, traits they might otherwise have
ignored in their society.
The themes in Midsummers will be the essential influence in how I film my footage. By
utilizing websites such as nofearshakespeare, I can create a script that retains Shakespeares
original messages and charm, but with my own modern spin.
Filming shouldnt take more than a month to finish, all on weekends when everyone is at
optimal availability, and an additional month to edit together.

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Works Cited Page

Golda, Gregory J. "Film Terminology." Film Terminology. Pennsylvania State University, n.d.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Goldberg, Michael. "How to Read a Film." How to Read a Film. University of Washington, 14
Sept. 2000. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Grabowicz, Paul, Ellen Seidler, and Pamela Reynolds. "Video Techniques - Berkeley Advanced
Media Institute." Berkeley Advanced Media Institute. Berkley University of California,
29 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Guisepi, Robert A. "Economy And Society In Classical Greece." A History of Ancient Greece.
World History Center, 1998. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Hunt, Maurice. "Individuation in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"" South Central Review 3.2
(1986): 1-13. The John Hopkins University Press. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Kidd, Vriginia V. "Production Techniques." Production Techniques. California State University,
Sacramento, Apr. 1998. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Kiernan, V. G. Shakespeare, Poet and Citizen. London: Verso, 1993. Print.
Lefkowitz, Mary R.. Women in Greek Myth. The American Scholar 54.2 (1985): 207219.
Web

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Marshall, David. "Exchanging Visions: Reading A Midsummer Night's Dream." Elh 49.3 (1982):
543. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cambridge: Cambridge
UP, 1984. Print.
Thompson, James C. "What Athenian Men Said About Women." Women in the Ancient World.
N.p., July 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.