90-Minute Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream

by Diane Timmerman, William Shakespeare

Wanting to produce a 90-Minute Shakespeare play? This ready-to-use adaptation of one of the Bard's most popular plays, respects the verse and retains all major characters and plotlines. The play has been shortened, but none of Shakespeare's words have been changed. For the Shakespeare purist who loves the language, but desires a shorter running time, these are the scripts to use. The production-tested adaptations are perfect for a variety of groups, including professional theaters using a 90-minute TYA (Theatre-For-Young-Audiences) contract, universities, high schools, and community theaters. Free from side-by-side translations or notes, the scripts are rehearsal ready. The most common comment from audiences who have viewed productions of these adaptations "What was cut? It seemed like that was the whole play." Romeo & Juliet is also available. Coming THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, KING LEAR and TWELFTH NIGHT. DIANE TIMMERMAN, a professional actor and director, is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Butler University where she has directed all five of her Shakespeare adaptations. Acting credits include roles at Chicago's Court Theatre, Dayton's Human Race Theatre Company, the Indiana Repertory and Phoenix Theatres of Indianapolis. Diane has appeared in numerous commercials and films, including The Package with Gene Hackman.

74 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

We used this for a college theater class, in order to take a Shakespeare play out to the community. We performed this version (with minimal changes, either to take out unnecessary lines or to put back lines that cleared up story details), and the children loved it. It works well if you are trying to convey the bard to people who have little background with him, but not really great for seasoned veterans.