Plant Theater Company’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” opened on Nov. 14, with shows running until Nov. 16. Two weeks were taken off of schedule because of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Despite this disruption, the cast and crew hit the gas to catch up for lost time. 

Sophomore Max McClung, who plays lead Lysander, was left in worry after the hurricanes interfered with rehearsals. “I didn’t know if the show was going to happen, because we had lost two weeks of rehearsal,” McClung said. “No one knew what was going to happen.” Due to flooding from Milton, the auditorium needed to be re-carpeted. As a result, rehearsals took place in other locations, such as the chorus room and the lawn.

Junior Kellen Burr, who plays the other lead Demetrius, faced other setbacks. “Memorization of the lines was very rushed because I wasn’t able to focus as long on my lines throughout the hurricanes,” Burr said. However, Burr believes getting past these issues was simply done. “Overcoming [these challenges] was easy when you have such a supportive teacher as GH [Jaime Giangrande-Holcom].”

Plant theater teacher and “Midsummer” director, Giangrande-Holcom, envisioned a 1920s Louisiana bayou to set the classic Shakespearean comedy. The play follows lovers Hermia and Lysander, who seek to escape Hermia’s loveless arranged marriage with Demetrius; to complicate matters, Hermia’s best friend Helena is in love with Demetrius and would do anything to win his affection. When meddling fairies Oberon, Titania, and Puck get involved, they skew the lovers’ emotions and must rectify their mistakes before the play’s conclusion. 

“It’s been an exciting new challenge,” McClung said of his experience as Lysander. “Stage combat is very interesting, and also the intimacy on stage; it was a challenge, and I’ve grown as an actor because of it.” The stage combat occurs between Lysander and Demetrius, as a result of the fairies’ input. Similarly, intimacy is a central part of the story, as Lysander and Hermia share a strong, loving relationship that must prevail during the play’s conflict. Contrarily, Burr finds enjoyment in playing Demetrius through another facet. “It’s very fun to be on stage and perform a show that’s very interesting and very fun, in my opinion, with your friends.”

Despite schedule push-backs and memorization scrambling, teamwork and leadership were able to steer the play into successful shows on their set dates.