When musician and composer Tre’Von Griffith was presented with the opportunity to direct St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s TourCo production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, his first thought was, “What does my community want to say?”
“If I was going to do a version of this, I wanted to create a new space that was centered in Blackness and joy,” Griffith says. “The first theme that came to me was Afrofuturism—a place where we get to define exactly what it looks like for us in the future.”
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The production, which features a cast of six actors each playing multiple roles, puts a modern spin on the classic Shakespearean play. It will run from August 2-27 and make an impressive 24 stops at various parks across the St. Louis metro area, including several locations in Illinois.
To create his own version of the Midsummer world, Griffith composed original music for the show, complete with lyrics derived from the play’s text. This unique sonic background is meant to immerse audiences in the Afrofuturist concept while calling back to themes that might be familiar in their day-to-day lives. That’s a goal he shared with costume designer Brandin Vaughn, who Griffith asked to join the project after admiring his work for several years.
“[Griffith] sent me a vision board on what his concept was,” Vaughn says. “I went and started studying African cultures and African fabrics. I really wanted to incorporate that into modern day and contemporary styles.”
Vaughn, who owns his own clothing brand and storefront in St. Louis, combines elements of current fashion with references to futuristic styles in his costuming for the show. He says the most rewarding part of the experience has been collaborating with the rest of the production’s team.
“The fact that it’s all-Black cast, and that [the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival] actually moved on that opportunity to produce a production with all-Black talent? That’s the most incredible thing ever. It gives us the opportunity to show our vision of what Shakespeare is in the Black eye,” Vaughn says.
Both Vaughn and Griffith look forward to bringing the show to communities across the St. Louis area that may not have consistent access to the arts. Most of all, Griffith says, the production is “an ode to self-love”—and that’s something that everyone should be able to experience.
“A lot of people don’t get a chance to go to the theater growing up,” Vaughn says. “The fact that they’re bringing it to your front door is the most incredible thing to me. To let people know, especially in the Black community, that you can go into the theater world and be successful, and you can go into the fashion world and be successful. We’re bringing it right to your front door to prove that.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a free production. Find it at 24 area parks from August 2-27.
