For the last month, the young actors of the ADK Shakes Company have worked long, long days and long, long nights, squeezed in a few hours sleep and the occasional yoga class as they studied their parts for today’s Schroon Lake premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Today’s performance features one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Its plot centers around the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. Throw in the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, who are manipulated by fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set, and you’ve got a Shakespeare classic

Schroon Laker caught up with actor Collin McConnell (who's playing Demetrius) and asked about today’s performance.

"Are you kidding? I'm so excited! At this moment, the company is really ready for a good night's sleep. We've been working incredibly hard. On Monday, we began an intensive verse-speaking master class with Professor Leslie Reidel of the University of Delaware's Professional Theatre Training Program, which ran through yesterday afternoon. Our rehearsals for Midsummer began yesterday afternoon, and though we still have work to do, we can't wait to share this play with our audience tomorrow!

Up until this point the actors, who have been staying at various homes in Schroon Lake,  have largely worked solo on the play, spending their time studying their many long lines. That’s in between a long list of performances already under their belts at various locations throughout the Adirondacks. McConnell says today’s performance is a chance for the audience to experience the play in a different light than they might be accustomed to.

"The best thing about coming is that our audience gets this amazing treat of seeing the very first time we run through the play. I don't mean just our first performance ... this will be truly the first time the actors run through the play in its entirety, and it is the most amazing opportunity to discover the play together".

ADK Shakes is known for their “raw” performances – it’s all about the words and less about the technical aspects of set design, lighting, props or costumes.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 2pm @ The BoatHouse.