In a time of raging hormones, flying gossip, ever-changing relationship statuses, and stressful schedules, William Shakespeare is able to voice the thoughts and feelings of nearly everyone in high school, ”Lord, what fools these mortals be!” His comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” portrays four young lovers, two men named Lysander and Demetrius and two women named Hermia and Helena, who are all vying for love- the two men for the fair Hermia, Helena for Demetrius, and Hermia for Lysander. Already this play seems to parallel high school fairly well, and then the faeries get involved with their love magic.

Now not everyone is really able to comprehend Shakespeare, sometimes it’s doubtful even he understood what he was writing. In any case, this spring the Cannon Falls Theater department is bringing to the stage “I Midsummer Night’s Midterm”, in which four students try to cram for their midterm exam on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” the night before, and the play is brought to life before their very eyes. They explore the love rectangle of Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, with their input on the craziness that is love, as well as picking apart the more difficult to grasp lines of the play to get to Shakespeare’s true intentions.

The cast has begun read-throughs of the script this week, although if any students are interested in being involved with the production, the auditions are next Thursday and Friday, March 19, and 20. If being up on stage isn’t really someone’s forte, then they’re always encouraged to come in and help with the behind the scenes work on costumes, props, set design and building, and the other technical elements of the production. Show dates are set for May 7-9, and if anyone has any questions, they are free to email director Tania Legvold at [email protected]. Until then, it’s time to face the realities of high school and the drama which, as Shakespeare would agree,”is the silliest stuff that I ever heard.”