Synopsis: Hermia and Lysander only have eyes for each other, but Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius is deeply in love with Helena, whose affection is painfully unrequited. The Duke Theseus declares that Hermia must obey her father or go off to the nunnery or else die. She and Lysander flee into a nearby wooded area, where they are followed by Helena and Demetrius. A troupe of artists – or ‘mechanicals’ – are rehearsing a play to be performed for Duke Theseus’ and Hippolyta’s impending wedding. The actors are not skillful, but earnest, and by a stroke of luck they gather the magical woods ruled by the king and queen of the fairies Titania and Oberon who argue over custody of an Indian boy, who, like Hippolyta, has been taken far from home. Oberon orders his chief mischief-maker Puck to find a magic flower to play a wild trick on the queen. The night proceeds, guided and misguided by love and magic. One of the actors from the troupe, Nick Bottom, has his head turned into a donkey by Puck’s tricks. Titania wakes and falls head over heels in love with Bottom the Donkey. In the meantime, the young lovers suffer the trials and pains of betrayal, but eventually learn the transformational power of magic and love. In the end, Oberon and Puck undo their magic, releasing Titania and returning Bottom to human form. They make the love birds Helena, Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander believe they’ve merely been dreaming. Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena are set to be married. Theseus and Hippolyta’s royal wedding party is treated to the mechanicals’ farcical production, a reminder that love – like putting on a play – is best suited for dreamers, poets, and fools.

The Argument: Is the feeling of this butterfly in my stomach a sign of love or a spell? Trying to figure out if this feeling is real or something else. Can you trust these feelings that you have?