Little & Fierce: Playing Hermia in Midsummer
A beautiful moment with actor Jose Donado as Lysander convinces Hermia to run away with him.
Seven years ago, under the tutelage of one incredible Shakespeare teacher by the name of Armin Shimerman, I worked on the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was then I realized it was a role that I was meant to play.
A photo snapped from the Shakespeare class where I first worked on Hermia
The first time I remember hearing Hermia described as “And though she be but little, she is fierce” I knew that it was written for me. Measuring in just below five foot two, with a voice that could probably shatter glass if I gave it a shot, I fell hard for this role. I loved it. I even adopted the quote as my own personal slogan and got an iPhone case with the quote on it in a fancypants cursive writing. It was me. I am Hermia.
So when my friend, actor and director Natalie Reiko, approached me to play Hermia in her reading this past weekend, I was ecstatic! I worked with Natalie in Women of Shakespeare a couple of years ago when I played Viola to her Sebastian in scenes from Twelfth Night. I have considered her like a sister ever since. And the cherry on top? I got to play the role opposite our friend Michelle Grey in the role of Helena. [Insert fire emoji here.] Dream casting!
A screencap from the same rage-filled scene I worked on in class seven years earlier. Clockwise from top left: the amazing Michelle Grey, Jose Donado, Evan Lipkin, and myself.
Natalie’s vision for the play was a total remix. Deconstructing the original text, she reassembled the play into five chapters where she told the story from the perspective of the different groups within the tale starting with the mechanicals, shifting to the royals, the fairies, and back to the mechanicals to end with the whole ensemble enjoying the play within the play. This retelling introduced a temporal feeling to the story, where the story only becomes truly clear as you see it played out multiple times, getting faster and tighter each time. It was a beautifully crafted new concept and I look forward to seeing how Natalie develops it further.
“Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy best
To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast.“
I’m so glad I had this opportunity to explore the role with the Infinite Jest Theatre Company and I hope to get another chance to play Hermia in the near future. Now that I am fully vaccinated and we’re working towards returning to the stage, I look forward to seeing what’s next. Aside from Hermia, the role of Titania calls to me; I have been obsessed with her since I first read the play in Mrs. Isler’s English class in grade 8. I believe I will play Titania someday, and I look forward to that day. Until then, my heart is full, and I’m so grateful that I had this chance—in the middle of a freaking pandemic—to play Hermia.
While the world is slowly awakening from its own mystifying dream, I am happy I had this time to dream together (but distanced) with friends. I’m also excited we got to do it on Zoom because it meant that my mother could watch from Canada. She has only seen me do live theatre once when I was playing Jackie Kennedy in The Tragedy of JFK, so while many may be tired of working remotely, I’m excited I could connect with her in a new way.
The whole ensemble after curtain.