its 10th year of presenting free Shakespeare plays, Coos Bay Shakespeare in the Park will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” two consecutive weekends in June -- June 21, 22, 28, 29 – beginning at 3 p.m. at Mingus Park, 725 N. 10th Street, Coos Bay.
“Midsummer Night's Dream” is a play about love. "The course of true love never did run smooth.” This beloved story reveals that although love can be as absurd, confounding, disorderly, and changeable as a dream (and that mingling with fairies never goes easily on mortal folk), true love triumphs in the end, bringing happiness and harmony.
Ordered upon pain of death to marry Demetrius, a man she does not love, Hermia flees into the forest with her true love Lysander, followed by her friend Helena, who secretly loves Demetrius, who is also pursuing the couple. The four Athenians quickly draw the attention of the forest’s Fairy king Oberon, himself embroiled in a lovers’ spat with his wife Titania. Oberon orders his servant Puck to “help,” and mistaken identity and magic mix hilariously, adding a band of local yokels putting together a theatrical performance for the Duke’s wedding to the general confusion.
The venue is outdoors and is lawn seating so audience members should provide their own chairs or blankets and dress appropriately for the weather. There is no charge but donations will be gratefully accepted to help cover costs of scenery, costumes, etc. The actors, director, and all those who are involved in the productions are volunteers and receive no compensation. The actors come from the community, people from all different walks of life, including experienced actors and those new to the craft. They represent a wide range of ages and come from several of the local Coos Bay/North Bend theater groups.
“Part of our mission statement is to be able to give opportunities for those interested in Shakespeare and to make inclusive theater available for our community, especially those who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend the theater,” said Kristin Hovenkotter Greco, president of the volunteer board of directors. “Our original thought was: this is something other communities have, our communities deserve it too. And we wanted to provide a place for people from the different theater groups to come together and do outdoor performing arts for our community, to collaborate on free cultural opportunities.”
In addition to bringing members of the various local theater groups together in this effort, the group has developed a partnership with Southwestern Oregon Community College, which sponsors the group by providing indoor rehearsal space, community education classes about Shakespeare, a theater production class, and SWOCC staff and students are involved in the plays.
In 2015 the group received a grant from Oregon State Parks’ Art in the Park program. The first presentation in 2016 was a compilation of scenes from several different plays performed by the different theater groups presented at Shore Acres State Park. All the actors from the original 2 scenes of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from this first ever performance are returning to reprise their roles as “the mechanicals” a decade later! The following year the play moved to Mingus Park, which has become home to the group, where they presented Henry V, followed in the ensuing years by Twelfth Night, As You Like It, in 2020 a live streamed production of King Lear, and have done a free Shakespeare show in Mingus Park every year since. Most of these productions can be viewed on their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0X2HV1pVSokfWK0mmdkamA?app=desktop.
Coos Bay Shakespeare in the Park is a 501(c)3 non-profit. In addition to individual donations, a number of area businesses and grants support their work. This year’s sponsors include The Coos County Cultural Coalition, the City of Coos Bay Public Works and Community Development Department, Banner Bank, 7 Devils Brewing Co., Elgin Orthodontics, and Roto Rooter.
For additional information, please visit www.coosbayshakespeare.com
