ADRIAN — Centuries ago, William Shakespeare staged his plays in London’s Globe Theatre, not far from the River Thames. Now, two longtime members of the Adrian theater community are producing one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays near the banks of the River Raisin.

John MacNaughton and Stephen Kiersey have known each other since high school and have worked together off and on for decades, frequently in shows at the Croswell Opera House. Both are now retired — MacNaughton from the Croswell, where he worked as creative director until 2020, and Kiersey from Grosse Ile Township Schools, where he taught English and drama.

The two often walk through Trestle Park, and every time they passed the bandshell not far from the Hunt Street entrance, they found themselves saying “Somebody ought to do Shakespeare there.”

“Somebody” turned out to be themselves, and now an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is scheduled for the first weekend in August.

Shakespeare in the Park is a tradition in many communities, including Livonia, which MacNaughton and Kiersey visited.

“It’s just delightful to see Shakespeare in the daylight like it was done originally, in a very uncluttered, unstuffy environment,” Kiersey said.

MacNaughton said the Trestle Park bandshell feels like an especially appropriate setting for staging Shakespeare in Adrian.

“It looks like the Globe Theatre,” he said. “That timberframe construction hearkens to the era.”

They chose “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for their first production in part because it’s not intimidating.

“It’s a comedy, it’s easily accessible, people can enjoy it,” MacNaughton said.
“You don’t have to know Shakespeare.”

Set in ancient Athens, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” revolves around the wedding between two mythic figures, Theseus and Hippolyta. There are several interwoven plots. One is a conflict between four Athenian lovers; another involves a group of six amateur actors rehearsing a play that they will perform at Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding.  Over the course of the play, the human characters find themselves manipulated by a cast of fairies for reasons of their own. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently produced plays, and has inspired many adaptations.

The play has “something for everyone,” Kiersey said, with three different love stories, lots of comedy, and even some stage combat.

Putting on a play in a park comes with its challenges, even for two people with long resumes in the performing arts.

“We both know how to do theater, but we’re used to doing theater in a building,” Kiersey said.

The challenges include finding space for dressing rooms — they’ll be using tents behind the bandshell — and securing a trailer where costumes and props can be locked up overnight.

The actors know they won’t have all the amenities they’re used to when performing indoors — but “that’s OK,” Kiersey said. “That’s part of the fun of it.”

They’ve set a fundraising goal of $20,000 for the production. Donations may be made through the Lenaweee Community Foundation by going to lenaweecommunityfoundation.com and clicking on “Donate Now.” There will be a dropdown menu to select which of the funds underneath the LCF to contribute to, and the Adrian Shakespeare Company is one of those funds. Checks may also be mailed to the Lenawee Community Foundation, 1440 W. Maumee St., Adrian.

The cast includes Nate Adams, Amelia Bowman, Katie Buckley, Peter Crist, Eric Diehl, Jessica Dougherty, Evan Garcia, Mark Hyre, Toni Isom, Justin Kohlruss, AJ Landingham, Scott Leake, Kyler Mattoon, Carolyn Mohler, Maria Portaro-Mohler, Max Ruff, Mark Schersten, Macy Schmidt, Aaron Treadway and Nick Trevino.

Elizabeth Ohlgren is the stage manager, Rosemary Olsaver the costumer, Doug Miller the scenic artist, Jessica Briggs the choreographer, and Mark DiPietro the fight choreographer.

MacNaughton and Kiersey don’t know what kind of attendance to expect.

“We might have 30 people show up, we might have 300 people show up,” Kiersey said.

MacNaughton and Kiersey hope that performing Shakespeare in the park will become an annual tradition in Adrian just like it is in many other towns.

Performances will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2 and Saturday, Aug. 3, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4. 

Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. Picnics are welcome. The event is free and tickets are not required. Trestle Park is at 302 W. Hunt St., just north and west of downtown Adrian.