Arts & Entertainment

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Opens at Tam High

Lara Garay of Marin School of the Arts is playing multiple roles in Stage Academy Marin's production this week.

Talented high school actors from all over Marin, including 10 from Mill Valley, are coming together to tackle the Shakespeare favorite A Midsummer Night's Dream, which opens Thursday night at Tam High at 7:30 p.m. The program is a production of Stage Academy Marin, which puts on one production each summer and rotates sites around Marin.

The troupe’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in the 1930s at the height of Hollywood glamour, when studio executives ruled and actors dreamed of making it big. Director Julianna Rees’ vision recasts the Athenian aristocracy as studio execs and pits them against stagehands, the working class mechanicals in the original work.

Novato’s Lara Garay, who attends of the  in Novato, says it’s pretty much a dream to perform in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the third time in her budding career.

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"It’s probably my favorite Shakespeare play," said Novato resident Lara Garay, who plays Titania and Hippolyta in the production by Stage Academy Marin's teen summer program. "I love the whole dynamic of having four different dimensions and worlds where the stories intertwine. It’s very fun."

In the show, the fairies work their magic at the foot of the legendary sign in the Hollywood hills. Rees said the iconic location epitomizes the edgy, enchanting element that characterized 1930s Hollywood. It represents both a place of beautiful promise as well as one that contains a dark underbelly that threatens to destroy. This creates the perfect backdrop for the Bard’s classic romance, a play that revolves around the blurring of fantasy and reality.

Find out what's happening in Mill Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Set designer Emily Greene created an elegant set that is not only visually interesting but also plays an integral part in the show. It is engineered so actors can climb on and jump from its elements, making the many physically demanding scenes in this play come alive.

The play features 10 teen actors from Mill Valley, including: Perrin Albert, Julia Atkin, Ben Beecroft, Conner Crockett, Jon Demegillo, Sami Emory, Morgan Hill, Gabe Marino, Steven Roderiguez and Ivy Ryan.

The 411: A Midsummer Night's Dream kicks off Thursday, July 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Tam High’s Caldwell Theater, 700 Miller Ave., with shows on July 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee Sunday, July 24 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12. Additional information is available on Stage Academy Marin's website.


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