Shakespeare Festival

Saturday, July 12th we ventured to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington for a matinee performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (abridged version). As you can tell, the costume budget was pretty small, and they performed on the set for a different play, but the acting was very good and the entire experience entertaining. The Sanford family was also there as well as a few other families we recognized.

Ewing Manor was donated to Illinois State University in 1969, and has since become the home of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. The house provides plenty of interesting architectural features.

The open air theatre is on the grounds of the manor and approximates the style of the house.

The Sanfords are ready for the show to begin.

The rest of the crowd is ready for the show to begin.

The set is ready for the show to begin.

The show has begun! This play includes a play within the play, and in this scene the actors of the play within the play claim their characters and their lines. The hats help you identify which play is going on at the moment.

Back to the real play where Shakespeare resorts to spells and magic potions to carry out the plot.

More confused behavior until all is set right by applying a reversing potion, and everyone lives happily ever after (or something like that).

The backyard view of the manor. Maybe we could build something like that someday....

Eric Ross using his sons as an arm rest while the Sanfords look on. Like I said, a pretty entertaining experience even if I thought the play itself was a bit contrived.