Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The cast and artistic team of Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not pictured: Nicholas Fortenbach and Choreographer Brandon Couloute. Photo by Liss Couch-Edwards.

Hartford, CT, July 10, 2019 – Education @ Hartford Stage, in conjunction with the Greater Hartford Arts Council's Neighborhood Studios, has announced the cast for Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Three public performances will be at Hartford Stage Thursday, August 1, through Saturday, August 3, with all shows beginning at 7 p.m.

Breakdancing Shakespeare puts a modern twist on a classic Shakespearean play, blending it with the electricity and youthful passion of modern hip-hop. One of William Shakespeare’s most captivating works, A Midsummer Night’s Dream infuses love, rivalry, challenges to authority, and amateur theatrics — all kissed with the fireworks of hip-hop fairy magic. Here, four teens set off into the city, by night, on an adventure that will change their lives.

“This year we are excited to be revisiting A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was the very first Breakdancing Shakespeare I saw twelve years ago in 2007. That production won my heart, and I have been so looking forward to the day when I could direct it myself,” said Nina Pinchin, Associate Director of Education at Hartford Stage. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as the title suggests, is a perfectly magical summer evening and a true ensemble piece with room for almost any member of the cast to steal the show!”

The cast of Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream includes Isaiah Artis, 17, of East Hartford, as Oberon; Tyler Blue, 16, of Windsor, as Bottom; Nicholas Fortenbach, 14, of Tolland, as Hippolytus/Fairy; Skylin Foster, 14, of Vernon, as Puck; Maya Fountain, 15, of Manchester, as Titania; Gabriela Hernandez, 14, of Bloomfield, as Flute; Saige Hollis, 14, of Hartford, as Hermia; Cyana Lindsay, 15, of Windsor, as Duke Thesea/Fairy; Maddie Lynch, 16, of Weatogue, as Egeus/Fairy; Noah Pichay, 16, of South Windsor, as Demetrius; Shelby Smith, 15, of Farmington, as Helena; Jamare Snype, 18, of Hartford, as Snug; Anaya Tolton, 14, of Vernon, as Peasblossom; Mark Truscio, 15, of Simsbury, as Quince; and Travis Wroten, 17, of Bloomfield, as Lysander.

The script for Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is adapted by Scott Bartelson, Hartford Stage Management Associate. Pinchin will helm the production, assisted by former Breakdancing Shakespeare cast members Brandon Couloute as choreographer, Lili St. Amand as associate choreographer, and Alana Morgan as stage manager. General admission $10 tickets for Breakdancing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be purchased through the Hartford Stage Box Office at 860-527-5151 or online at http://www.hartfordstage.org/education/bds.

To learn more about Breakdancing Shakespeare, visit http://www.hartfordstage.org/education/bds or contact Robert Reader, Education Programs Manager, at 860-520-7263 or rreader@hartfordstage.org. To learn more about Neighborhood Studios, visit https://letsgoarts.org/NeighborhoodStudios.