Slideshow: Students Perform Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream

On Saturday, March 3, the St. Genesius Players treated Thomas Aquinas College students, faculty, and families to a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The performance marked the first ever in St. Cecilia Hall, the College’s newly completed lecture and concert building, made possible through a generous donation from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation of Los Angeles.

“St. Cecilia’s is such an amazing venue, and the cast was thrilled to perform in it,” says Joe Daly (’19), who co-directed the play with Juliet Atchley (’18). “The acoustics carry the voices of the actors up to the highest row, and the industrial lighting ensures that nobody misses anything happening on-stage. The dressing rooms are brilliant as well. There is one on either side of the stage, each fitted with a wall of mirrors, serious lighting, and monitors which show a live-stream of the performance. Our off-stage actors could watch the show and be ready for their cues without going out into the audience and breaking the illusion.”

It was, thanks to the inspired efforts of the staff and crew, a triumphant debut. “We are so proud of the cast, who put in so much work and truly knocked the performance out of the park,” adds Mr. Daly. “We’re also deeply grateful to the legion of people working behind the scenes, including a few of our cast members, who poured their time, talents, and resources into making this a visually and artistically beautiful production.”

Cast