Meridian performs their take on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” April 3-5 (Photo courtesy of Chrissy Henderson)

For the fourth year in a row, Meridian’s theater department has maintained a Cappies nomination streak, receiving eight Cappie nominations for their spring performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish”.

The production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was nominated for best play. The Rude Mechanicals was nominated for best ensemble, which is made up of senior Aggie Linforth, junior Jack Kruel, senior Sebastian Robertson, sophomore Katarina Villasmil, senior Alex Fulgham, and freshman Marshall Vogel-Rogers.

 Senior Hugo Ratheau was nominated for best lead actor in a male role for playing Demetrius, Jack Kruel was nominated for best supporting actor in a male role for his take on Bottom, and Alex Fulgham was nominated for best comic actor in a male role for playing Snug.

Senior Eudora Neal was nominated for best comic actor in a female role for playing Helena. She has been in almost every Meridian production, and will be attending Shenandoah University, double majoring in Theater and Psychology in the fall.

“My favorite part of the show was getting to do scenes with my friends, especially with the other seniors who I have been acting with for four years,” Neal commented.

Marshall Vogel-Rogers was included in the ensemble nomination and also received the best featured actor in a male role for playing Flute. Despite being a freshman, he has been in three Meridian shows: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish”, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, and “Pippin”. He strives to improve his performance through choir and theater outside of performing.

“A feeling that never gets old is a reaction from the audience. Whether it’s applause, laughter, or even crying, I love to engage a crowd. Increasing the quality of my performance will hopefully create a more captivating performance for the audience,” Vogel-Rogers said.

A unique Cappie nomination was given to the creative team, consisting of juniors Sol Modell and Aiden Harper, and sophomore Duke Crespin for their musicianship. Their role was to create a soundtrack and other musical additions for the play.

“Developing the music for Midsummer-ish was a very involved process in the weeks leading up to the show. Towards the beginning of rehearsals, Duke, Sol, and I met to workshop our ideas and iterate through a ton of different styles, progressions, and structures,” Harper explained.

The director of the Meridian Theater program, Shawn Northrip, has worked in the schools for 15 years and has led approximately 30 high school productions, plays and musicals. He is loved by each and every cast member and student.  

“I try really hard to make sure the one thing that we all remember 10 years from now is that we had a good time together,” Northrip commented. “We’re not going to remember our lines, but we will hopefully remember our laughs.”