James Maynard Theatrical Designs

Although the director wanted a more traditional MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM, I did manage to sell him on a unique way to stage the play. The GLOBE stage was built with a sub-basement level underneath. Set Designer Greg Wurtz and I went out and bought the biggest cattle tank we could find, about 12 feet in diameter and positioned it directly under the trap doors in the center of the stage. For those of you not from a farm state, a cattle tank is a large steel tub about 2 feet deep which ranchers place out on their land for the cows and horses to drink from. The tank was filled with water to make a "Pond" around which the action of THE DREAM would take place.

My concept for the costuming of the show was simple: Each of the actors playing the 4 mismatched lovers and the 2 principle fairies were fitted with flesh colored bathing suits. Their respective costumes were constructed of semi-sheer diaphanous material so that initially everyone seemed to be nude under their garments. Since THE DREAM takes place in ancient Greece this seemed to be right.

For the lovers the colored gowns and robes were constructed in pieces. As they spend their overnight ordeal lost in the wood, various pieces of clothing are lost and picked up again by someone else and so on until by the plays end the lovers who were now correctly paired also were color coordinated. This is an Over-Thought process, I know...but I was young! And...it Worked!