The Westmoreland Sanctuary, a 640-acre nature preserve located between New Castle, Mount Kisco and Bedford, will host four performances of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to take advantage of the forest setting. The production director and the sanctuary's new executive director came up with the idea to hold an interactive production of the play within the sanctuary. They have recruited both local and New York City actors to immerse the audience in the play as it is performed across different locations within the forest backdrop. The performances will be preceded by opportunities for picnicking on the grounds and followed by marshmallow roasts around a campfire to encourage a family-friendly experience of Shakespeare in nature.

1. Production will
utilize beauty of
outdoor preserve
By Grant Rindner
grindner@lohud.com
Shakespeare in the
Park has been a New York
City summer staple for
decades, and a new incar-
nation is being brought to
Westmoreland Sanctuary,
which is staging four per-
formances of "A Midsum-
mer Night's Dream."
The 640-acre sanctu-
ary, which was estab-
lished in 1957 and boasts
its own lake, nature mu-
seum and abundant wild-
life, will serve as the back-
drop for the production.
Westmoreland includes
areas of New Castle,
Mount Kisco and Bed-
ford.
"Westmoreland has
been seen as the hidden
gem of Bedford, but my
na s
~. ,
Denise Simon, right, director of UA Midsummer Night's Dream," and cast members
rehearse a scene at the Westmoreland Sanctuary in Bedford. SUBMITIED BY MICHELE MILLER
mission is to make it a lit-
tle less hidden," said Mi-
chele Miller, the new ex-
ecutive director of the
sanctuary and the one
who came up with the
"Shakespeare in the Sanc-
tuary" concept.
Miller believes that by
Night's Dream,'" said
Miller.
"When I stand in (the
sanctuary) now, I literally
just think of it as this
show," Simon added.
"This particular space is
so perfect, there is almost
an amphitheater built into
the space naturally.":
"AMidsummer Night's
Dream" takes place in an
enchanted, fairy-filled
forest near Athens and
tells the story of the wed-
ding between Theseus,
the duke of Athens, and
Hippolyta, an Amazon
queen.
In order to take advan-
----- -,-...,tage of the setting and
make the play more fam-
ily friendly, Simon cut it
down to 60 minutes. "Our
troupe is going to lead (the
audience) to different lo-
cations within the action
. Ioilln ~cnM •ESE>AY,JULY 10, 2013
·Westmoreland to host Shakespeare'sDream'
"drawing on the beauty of
the preserve," an interac-
tive production can be
staged that will be partic-
ularly appealing to fam-
ilies.
To make the produc-
tion a reality, Miller hired
Denise Simon, an acting
coach and director from
~~ •••• ~----~--------~-------- .South Salem. The two
shared a similar vision for
the production, Miller
said, and both agreed in-
stantly on which Shake-
speare play to stage.
"If you're going to
think of Shakespeare
done outdoors in a forest,
it has to be 'A Midsummer
A GANNETT C
IF YOU GO
What: Shakespeare in the
Sanctuary: "A Midsummer
Night's Dream."
Where: Westmoreland
Sanctuary, 260 Chestnut
Ridge Road
When: 6:30 p.m. July 26
and 27, 2 p.rn. July 27, 1
p.m. July 28
Tickets: $20 ($17.50 for
Westmoreland members)
available at .
westmorelandsanctuary.org
or by calling 914-666-8448.
of the play," Miller ex-
plained. "They will be
immersed in the play a
little more than usual."
Casting for the per-
formance was opened up
both to local and New
York City actors, Simon
said. Of the 30 people
cast in the production, 28
of them are local. The
cast includes profes-
sional and amateur chil-
dren and adults, Miller
said.
In addition to the per-
formances, the'grounds
of the sanctuary will be
open 90 minutes before
the show for families to
come and picnic. Each of
the evening perfor-
mances will conclude
with a marshmallow
roast around a campfire.
"Everybody I've spo-
ken to has been incredi-
bly enthusiastic," Miller
said.
"One of my goals is to
bring the arts to nature,"
she added.