An abstract and brief chronicle of The Midsummer Players

The Midsummer Players of Charlottesville, Virginia, began as a passing fancy in the mind of a law student. One day in the spring of 1985, Tim Keehan suddenly realized, as he stared at the McIntire Amphitheater stage at the University of Virginia, that he had never seen a play there. He enlisted the directorial aid of Father Joseph Brown, and the Players began their first production, Julius Caesar, on a budget from their own pockets. Their makeshift togas were, in fact, bed sheets stapled together. The cast was comprised of an equal number of students, faculty, and townspeople, most of whom had never acted before. After all, the troupe was created to give people with little or no theatrical experience, or no time during the acadmic year, such an opportunity. Against all odds (including a rained-out opening night), Caesar was received with great enthusiasm.

The next year, Chris Cleary, wanting to continue this endeavor, directed The Winter's Tale in the gardens of Pavilions VII and IX. In the blistering heat of the summer of 1987, Andrea Rowland directed A Midsummer Night's Dream in Pavilion IX under the branches of the McGuffey Ash. The Players returned to the Amphitheater in 1988 with Much Ado about Nothing. With an expanded budget they were able to afford elaborate costumes designed by Nina Dorrance, Jay Minnix's handmade masks and props, and lights designed by Damon Schnack. The next year, Twelfth Night moved the Players to Darden Court in the School of Engineering, which was their home until their final show.

Shakespeare, free under the stars. Even at the Globe, you had to pay for the cheapest seats. And in our own time, when theater tickets are more expensive every season, it is important that Shakespeare's imagination be available to everyone. What the Midsummer Players gave Charlottesville audiences on summer nights for ten years since 1985 was an offering by the community for the community.