Introduction

I had a dream past the wit of the man to say what the dream was...... I don’t like my director why do we have to get an assignment on the character we are going to act in the play. I thought I saw the last of those things when I left school.... Oh well I better get on with it the play is called A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the character I’m acting is Hermia.

Character's Role

Hermia is the daughter of Egeus a citizen of Athens. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius who he believes is a worthy gentleman. Hermia however hates Demetrius and loves Lysander who Egeus thinks is useless and has bewitched Hermia into liking him with songs, presents etc. Sadly in Athens there is a law that states whoever the parents chooses to wed their child will have to agree or the poor person will get executed or become a nun and sing hymns. Theseus the duke then told Hermia that she had four days to decide who she would wed. Lysander soon after tells Hermia to leave Athens and go to his Aunt’s place to live. Hermia agrees to this and they decide to meet in the woods tommorrow night, as they leave they meet Helena, Hermia’s friend and telling her of their departure. Helena who loves Demetrius goes and tells him of Hermia’s departure hoping he’ll have thanks and love her again. The couple rendezvous in the woods and set off but after hours of wandering they figure they’re lost and lie down to rest and that’s where Lysander suggests they sleep together but Hermia disagrees by telling him to lie further away. This is when  fairies step in and do some meddling with love potions and instead of Demetrius and Lysander both fighting for Hermia they both call for Helena’s love which makes both girls baffled. In the end the fairies manage to fix their mistakes and Hermia finally gets to be with Lysander and not get in trouble because Demetrius now loves Helena instead. Overall Hermia seems like a person who sticks to her beliefs and is loyal and of course pretty because two men were fighting for her.

Character's Relationships

Hermia’s relationship with Lysander is in good hands but the force of Egeus, Demetrius and the marriage law of Athens threatens to drive them apart. In this case Demetrius is Hermia’s suitor but since she loves Lysander and hates Demetrius so she downright refuses. How Hermia started her relationship with Lysander is not known but according to Egeus he bewitched her with by giving her love’s tokens. So to escape the force of separation the couple ran away into the woods followed closely by Demetrius and Helena, where all four of them get enchanted and switch loves but in the end all that is well ends well. Hermia’s relationship with Egeus is rocking on a boat and she probably hates him for forcing her to marry Demetrius and Egeus probably thinks Hermia is disobedient as well as stubborn.

Costumes

My costume aka Hermia’s will be costumes of the 1660’s because the first play was performed back then and our play is trying to be as authentic as possible minus the lice. So my costume will be some dress that is long and brown or another dark colour with probably an apron type thing at the front. I will also have to wear a wig with pinned up hair as that was the style back then. I have to wear the wig because I’m a girl with short hair.

Movement

Hermia appears in scene 1.1, 2.2, 3.2 and 5.1. In 1.1 Hermia enters with Egeus who has come to complain about her so she must have entered dignified and proud to show her view is right and that she is not scared. Just before Hermia exits she has worked out a solution to her problem with Lysander so she must have walked away with a spring to her step. In 2.2 Lysander and Hermia have spent the day wandering in the woods and are tired so they must have entered in a slow place, when she exits Lysander has disappeared so she must have ran off to find him. In 3.2 Hermia’s movement would have been ordinary. In 5.1 Hermia has just woken up from her so called dream and must have taken staggering steps as the Duke told her to follow him.

Use of Voice

Hermia uses many different vocal emotions in this play and they are..........

* Proud, determined and clear when she is arguing with Egeus about marrying Lysander

* Soft and feminine and maybe a tinge of sadness in some parts when she is talking to Lysander

* Strong, angry and loud in the part where she thinks Helena has stolen Lysander’s love for her

Conclusion and Thoughts

Overall I believe Hermia is an excellent character to play with a very unique personality and I can’t wait for opening night so I can change my normal personality and have fun with someone else’s.

So Mr Director so here is my assignment I hope you enjoy it!

So here's the blog's end and now Thisbe says "Adieu, Adieu, Adieu..."