When Shadows and Dreams first took to the stage for its summer Shakespeare production in Queen’s Park, Kerri Norris’s little girl was a wee toddler who used to take naps during intermission in a suitcase stuffed with towels.
Now that little girl is 10, and Aeron will be onstage with the rest of her family for the company’s 10th anniversary production at the bandshell this July: a remount of its first outing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Shadows and Dreams Theatre Company was formed a decade ago after two theatrical couples decided it was getting difficult to juggle their acting and directing work with the demands of raising small children. So the couples – Norris and her husband, Stephen Elcheshen, along with Patricia and Nigel Brooke – joined forces to form their own company and present family-friendly theatre at Queen’s Park.
For their 10th anniversary show, they’ll be welcoming back some alumni from the original show and also reusing some of their costumes – with a steampunk remake.
The production, as with all Shadows and Dreams’ work, is created on a minimal budget. Norris makes all the costumes – her living room is, at the moment, filled with foam she’s using to create steampunk hats, and she’s busily repurposing as many of the original costumes as she can find. (Yes, there will be steampunk fairies.)
“It’s pretty incredible what she can do with almost no money,” says Patricia Brooke.
They also get help from other family members: Norris’s dad lends a hand by helping to create set pieces and props out of found, salvaged and repurposed materials, and Brooke’s mother-in-law keeps them all in snacks and is in charge of “wrangling” the kids at rehearsals and shows.
The shows are free, so they don’t earn money from the productions (beyond the honorarium provided by the city’s parks and recreation department). But for both couples, it’s been worth all the effort to be able to do what they love outdoors in the park.
They’ve watched a loyal audience develop over the years – alongside those who just happen to wander by and find them in the park will be those who came specifically to see their productions.
“We’ve had people come even if it’s raining to see the show,” Norris notes.
Of course, producing outdoor theatre is an entirely different game than producing a show indoors, in a controlled environment.
They’ve faced everything from the expected noise hazards – planes and sirens – to unexpected ones like karaoke from the picnic shelter up the hill. They’ve had passersby accidentally wander into the show, and kids and dogs run up on stage to join the fun.
Knowing that, Norris notes, they approach an outdoor show rather differently than an indoor one: outside, subtlety takes a backseat to “big, loud, funny, faster,” with lots of audience interaction, plenty of anachronisms and a few inside jokes thrown in for their own amusement.
“We’re really all about having fun,” Brooke says.
Both actors, being mothers themselves, also encourage people to bring their kids out. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – what with fairies and all manner of magical creatures – is a kid-friendly production just for the spectacle, and the environment allows kids to run around or lie down on a picnic blanket under the tree while the show’s going on.
“It’s a great way to get introduced to theatre, so they don’t have to sit in a seat,” Norris notes.
Plus, they’ll be able to see other young folks onstage – including Aeron and her seven-year-old sister Cayleigh, plus the three Brooke kids: Jack, 12, Sam, 10, and Katie, 6.
All performances take place rain or shine – if there’s an audience, there’s a show.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on July 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31 at 2 p.m., with 6:30 p.m. shows on the Saturdays (July 16, 23 and 30). For more information, call 604-515-0704 or see www.shadowsanddreams.org.
