A comedy years in the making is coming to the Macey Center Stage this weekend. The Shakespeare classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be on show the evenings of Sept. 23 and 24, with a Sunday matinee Sept. 25, performed by the Socorro Community Theater and presented by New Mexico Tech’s Performing Arts Series.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the comedic tale of four young Athenians trying to navigate love. The four run away into the forest, only to encounter Puck the fairy who manipulates their romances and causes mischief.

Haley Hanson portrays the
Fairy Queen in the play.
Courtesy photos

Audiences can expect “a hilarious good time and lots of amusement,” said director Eileen Comstock.

The production actually began almost two years ago but was canceled shortly before the performance due to COVID.

“This spring, people got talking and said, you know it’d really be nice to revive that “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that people worked so hard on and put so much into it and then had to cancel it before the date of performance,” said Comstock.

Auditions were held for parts that were not covered, and cast members were given the opportunity to choose if they wanted to stay in their previous role or audition for a new role. Some stuck with the roles they had already worked on, while others decided to audition for a new part.

The play will be presented as a blackbox performance, with the audience seated in Macey’s backstage area, and the performers facing the audience, their backs to the auditorium.

The weekend will also include not-to-be-missed festivities. Friday evening, an optional Medieval Feast and Fancy will be conducted at 6 p.m. prior to the 7:30 p.m. performance. Costumes are encouraged for the hearty medieval meal.

The Saturday evening performance will be preceded by a free mini-Renaissance Fair on the southeast side of Macey Center from 4 to 7 p.m. The festival will include food trucks, stick horse jousting, a pie eating contest, face painting, costumes, demos and workshops.

Prior to the 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, will be an Enchanted Brunch from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Socorro’s Brewster Bird is among the local cast members.

All weekend long, there will also be a silent art auction to raise funds for college scholarships. The Association of University Women (AAUW) Socorro Chapter will be conducting the art auction to raise money for the six $1,000 scholarships the chapter awards every year. Three scholarships are for Socorro County high school students who plan to attend college. Three of the scholarships are for New Mexico Tech students.

“We are very fortunate that we have such a good crew, which was recruited by one of our cast members,” said Comstock. “We have a cast member who is a high school student and she recruited fellow high school students who are performing most of the backstage crew work. Big thanks to all of the high school students involved, and I think the cast is a really good cast. I’m excited to see the show.”

The Socorro Community Theater made its debut with another Shakespeare play, “Macbeth,” in the spring of 1994.

The local cast includes: David Cox, Johanne Hansen, Isabel Morris, John Leeper, Minnie Mao, Jason Malone, Santiago Montoya, Katya Makhnina, Steven Cox, Haley Hanson, Freya Hansen, Jay Blanchard, Warren Marts, John  Stokes, Paige Avery, Aick, Brewster Bird and last but not least, Tatyana Makhnina as the mischievous Puck.

Tickets for the performances and meals can be purchased online at nmt.edu/pas/index.php.