In our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream we allow the audience to experience a dream world where magic and mystery hide around every corner. We are taken along on this wild ride by Bottom the Weaver who, in dreaming the dream, becomes the architect of the world. All sound is heard through Bottom’s dreaming mind. Through this device, we explore the nature of dreaming. Bottom has created a world out of balance, constantly pushing toward some form of resolution and harmony. This manifests itself through the characters of the fairy kind and queen, whose feud has caused the seasons to change, among other things.

As this world is Bottom’s subconscious, sounds from his waking life emerge in new and mysterious ways. Common sounds from his waking life workshop such as sawing, hammering, small metal works, and bellows are reinvented in the dream and in the hands of the faeries as music. Live musicians, in the form of faeries, will accompany the pre- composed passages further integrating Bottom’s subconscious “score” with the action on stage. Oberon and Titania’s feud manifests itself in the form of two competing musical ideas. While at first, these are in strong contrast to one another they will eventually come together as one in harmony as the various states of dissonance are resolved.


Below, are excerpts from the original score.