So, there I was. Desperately preparing to chew for me and Meliss what I’d just bitten off. The Popcorn Hat Players (not yet under the umbrella of Gamut) had committed to producing a scenically minimal, small cast version of Midsummer… Say… seven actors and six cubes for levels to sit and stand on. I had some small experience playing in Shakespeare, but I’d never directed any of his work (or really anything outside of kid’s shows, a couple of Chekhov one acts, and some scene studies in college,) and so I had no idea or inclination of directing this one. As I’d stated earlier, my friend, previous director, and former tour-mate, Tommy Hensel, was about to complete a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of South Carolina in cooperation and residency at The Shakespeare Theater in Washington, DC. Melissa and I had been in touch with him, and he said he would be excited to come up and direct the show.

WELCOME BACK TO RESERVOIR PARK! We’re so glad to again gather with you under the open sky to share one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved stories. Because of the pandemic, we missed seeing you last year, and we are very pleased to once again bring you our yearly rite of Summer!

When I was a kid, there was a trend amongst all of us young’uns to tell very silly “Elephant Jokes” and one that always stuck with me was, “How do you eat an Elephant Sundae?” and the answer is “One bite at a time.” So, in the spirit of that silly little bit of 2nd Grade wisdom, I’m coming back with the next chapter of our Gamut history…. with some explanation about why it’s been so long in coming. I developed a bad case of “white page syndrome” that writers talk about. In other words, I just couldn’t start, and I know why.