Quick Bright Things -- Dacha's black box take on A Midsummer Night's Dream

​In this fast-paced comedy, Shakespeare's bumbling sweethearts and self-starting clowns are tossed to the mercy of the fairies, who we re-imagined as the echoes and shadows that inhabit the theater. A playful retelling of this classic text! 
​Click Here to watch a stream of Quick Bright Things
H e r e ' s   a   p e e k   a t   w h a t   t h e   s h o w   w a s   l i k e : 
Quick Bright Things was directed by Kate Drummond in December 2017 at the Ballard Underground.
It was the second show in Dacha's second season (followingThe Seagull), and our first production in a traditional theatre space. This show was the start of the company coming into it's own, and we're excited to share the magic with all of you!​

CAST:

A T H E N I A N S
Theseus: Dave Cuomo
Hippolyta: Jana Gueck
Egeus: Patrick Hogan

F A I R I E S
Puck: Mike Lion
Titania: Yena Han
Oberon: Haley Forrester
Peaseblossom: Emily Huntingford
Moth: Delaney Cerna
Cobweb: Mahmood Mossa
Mustardseed: Alie Orme
L O V E R S
Hermia: Emily DenBleyker
Lysander: Dylan Zucati
Demetrius: Josh Padilla
Helena: Beth Pollack
​
M E C H A N I C A L S
Quince: Kate Moen
Bottom: Tara Pozo
Flute: Henry Brinkerhoff
Snug: Natasha Collier
Snout: Thom Mellert
Starveling: Steph Couturier

CREW:

DIRECTOR: Kate Drummond
ASST. DIRECTOR: Jaime Riggs
CHOREOGRAPHY: Molly Levy
DRAMATURGY: Ian Bond
SCENIC: Elizabeth Schiffler
COSTUMES: Fantasia Rose
PROPS: Rebecca Logue
ASST. PROPS: Jeff Horal
LIGHTING: Zane Suarez
SOUND: Kerkira Stockton
STAGE MANAGEMENT: Orianna O’Neill
ASST. STAGE MANAGEMENT: Kate Chiappe, Gen Zoufal
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: Grace Gehman
PRODUCTION CONSULTANT: Natasha Collier
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Dylan Zucati
FIGHT DIRECTOR: Thom Mellert
D I R E C T O R ' S   N O T E :​
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an old friend we all make when we are young and think Shakespeare is pretty poetry for people in silly ruffs holding skulls. I was drawn to Midsummer precisely because this play is so universal. We have all fallen in and out of love, strived to do our best at something, and found joy in things as they fall apart.

Midsummer takes these shared experiences and casts them into a place we all wish we could go - the woods, where magic and impulse reign, and rules are thrown away. So much of what makes Midsummer so engaging to me is also what makes it theatrical — it is a play full of observing and transforming and performing — and that’s why you aren’t seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream tonight. You’re seeing Quick Bright Things, our adaptation set here, in a black-box theater.

Sometimes, being true to the text doesn’t mean delivering it verbatim. Sometimes, it means discovering new ways to deliver the intention of the text, to make sure that you are always in on the joke. As this play has taken shape, I have found it mine own and not mine own - our brilliant cast and crew have brought this story to life, and I am so excited for you to share it with them. I hope you will approach Quick Bright Things with fresh eyes, ready for this wildly funny and heartfelt play to surprise you.

Enjoy more photos from the show:

photos by Tom Ciaburri