A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Journey to Freedom
In the original
playbill for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play was
summarized as “sundry times publicly acted.” By the same token then,
tonight’s production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Journey to Freedom
should be sundry times and
emotions publicly acted, illustrated, played,
and, hopefully, enjoyed.
The show, which will invoke nearly every
performance medium, is the brainchild of Kevin
Ramessar and his jazz
ensemble, The Ramessar Quintessence. In addition to the
ensemble
performing an interesting mix of unique covers, old standards, and original
compositions, the evening will also feature veteran stage actor Ted
Follows reading from
Shakespeare’s celebrated text, as well as narrative
drawings by visual artist James Tughan.
And for Ramessar the evening’s
program is a natural extension of the Quintessence itself.
“I’ve been
involved with various groups since age five, and have been writing music for
almost as long as I’ve played an instrument,” Ramessar says. “So the
Quintessence is a
dream in progress. It is a wonderful arena to develop
new music, to voice some of the things
which have been in my heart for long
time, and to engage other artists and music lovers
through various
musical and cultural traditions.”
Although Ramessar also notes that
putting together an evening of this kind is not simply
an ‘anything
goes’ affair. He stresses the importance of all the elements being
complementary
to one another, as well as finding the right balance of
variety without overdoing things.
“I love the richness of musical
diversity, but I think that it is possible that a mix of styles can
overshadow the message of the music,” Ramessar notes. “I found that, in
planning this
concert, some difficult streamlining became necessary in
order to preserve this thread of a
Journey and Midsummer Night’s
Dream.”
That said, Ramessar clearly enjoys watching the collaborative
process
work its way from one medium to another.
“Having Ted Follows read
selections of prose and poetry adds so much,” says Ramessar. “It
engages
the listener and participant in a unique way, and yet draws us in to the
same
story told by music and narrative drawings.”
As for the theme
itself, Ramessar says it was ultimately inspired from a personal experience,
but one he hopes the audience will easily relate to.
“The theme of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream: Journey to Freedom is about the reality of being
on a journey, experiencing brokenness, and someone intervening in the
journey to bring
restoration and wholeness,” Ramessar muses. “It’s a
deeply personal story, and in a
way, an act of faith for me since I’m still
walking the road. And yet it’s an invitation for everyone
to explore
their own journey through verse, art, and music.”
And if past shows are
anything to go by, Ramessar feels the performers will have little
difficulty in reaching Thursday’s audience.“It’s amazing how much people
love to
experience this kind of sensual experience,” says Ramessar.
“We’ve really tried to create a
feast for the ears and the eyes, and
ultimately, for the soul. People who have attended
previous concerts
have felt drawn to something, and those who have heard about
Thursday’s
event are really intrigued by it — they’re eager to experience this. Some
find it
hard to understand the combined metaphors in music, visual art,
and literature, but we’ve worked
to achieve harmony between these
various expressions, so that the theme of the night will be clear.”
A
Midsummer Night Dream: Journey to Freedom runs tonight at 9 pm at
Kitchener’s
Victoria Park Pavilion. Tickets are $20 and are available
from MusicPlus, Wordsworth Books,
or at the door, with further details
available at www.kevinramessar.com.