Ellie Owen, Arts & Life Editor—
For director and producer Liam Lenzotti ‘24, working on A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been all about the joy of independent theater and being able to perform in the outdoors.
For the past year he had been planning a way to showcase a theater performance outdoors and this past weekend his plan finally came to fruition. Lenzotti was the director and producer of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and worked with Denison Independent Theatre Association (DITA) to put together the play at Ebaugh Pond.
Lenzotti claims he’s “not exactly a Shakespeare fanatic” despite coming up with the idea. Instead, he just thought that his peers would appreciate getting the chance to perform Shakespeare and he felt passionate about independent theater.
“When I came to this school I thought there would be a lot in terms of student-led theater,” Lenzotti said. “We’re trying to have a resurgence of DITA activities, because after COVID-19 it started to dip down a lot more and the presence hasn’t been quite what it was.”
Lenzotti’s desire for more student-led theater is what led him to directing and producing a show of his own, which he had never done before. He described the process as “very fulfilling.”
“I have a lot of great actors and great rehearsal assistants,” he added.
Learning Shakespeare’s dialogue has also been a fun challenge for the actors in this performance. They all mastered the impressive feat of memorizing their lines while adding flair to make the performance relatable for a modern audience.
“Some people are much more familiar with it,” Lenzotti said about the actors learning Shakespare’s dialogue. “Some people might need a little help with the text and finding the rhythm.”
Performing at Ebaugh Pond has been fun for the group as it’s allowed them to give “a bit of love to nature.”