AS YOU LIKE IT with Midsommer Flight

Last week, as the result of a rained-out dress rehearsal, we received a last-minute query to photograph Midsommer Flight’s As You Like It, which opened the following day (Friday, June 26). In this edition of The All Worlds Traveller, I’m pleased to show off the photographs from that production.

Reunions

Your humble narrator as Oberon in *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, costumed by Rachel Sypniewski in 2003.

We photographed Midsommer Flight once before, in 2022, for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Since that time, I’ve had the pleasure to work with director Beth Wolf on two other shows—Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s The Book of Will and City Lit Theatre Company’s Scaramouche. Additionally, a number of the cast and crew are friends old and new. To name just a few: Close friend and collaborator Jen Mohr plays Audrey in the show; in 2019, Rosalind actor Stephanie Mattos was part of the Birch House Immersive residency where Distant Era was born; costumer Rachel Sypniewski costumed yours truly as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2003 a whole lifetime ago. The roots run deep.

Light

The dress rehearsal for As You Like It took place in the Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens. The last time we photographed A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Midsommer Flight, we were in Lincoln Park, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was directly overhead, creating stark shadows. This time, for As You Like It, we had a shaded performance area with dappled light and occasional cloud cover where all the light was diffuse, even, and glorious.

For the past several years, I’ve been used to either shooting flash or photographing theatre indoors in minimal light, contending with flickering LEDs and projections, shooting at high ISOs, learning to milk every bit of light and information I can get from a frame. Shooting in the park with abundant diffuse light and no extra tech felt like a whole new experience. Here’s what that looked like:

Photography

Normally with theatre photography I’m shooting in small storefront spaces, shooting as close as I can get to the performance, with a combination of zoom and wide-angle lenses. For As You Like It, I used my 70–200 mm lens wide open, staying back from the action and zooming in close, allowing for the lens compression to isolate the subject from the background and create a beautiful, blurry bokeh behind them, which helps eliminate the distractions of a public park in the middle of the city. I rarely get to use this lens, which is challenging to use indoors; it’s also large and heavy. The last time I used it to photograph a show was Midsommer Flight’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2022.

With the quality of light we had during the performance, I was able to shoot at fast shutter speeds and low ISOs. One of the things I remember from the last time I saw it live (in 2005, incidentally featuring Distant Era MVP Elizabeth MacDougald and this production’s intimacy director Courtney Abbott) was that wrestling was a significant element of the plot. At shutter speeds of 1/800, we managed to catch some big wrestling action.

Cast, Staff, and Thanks

While I’m sorry that rain shook up Midsommer Flight’s schedule last week, I was grateful that it allowed an opportunity to spend a beautiful day in the park among friends.

We also took some outdoor character portraits before the play began, which I hope to show on the Traveller in the coming weeks.

Thanks to director Beth Wolf and the cast and staff of Midsommer Flight’s As You Like It for being so awesome to work with and to watch! Wishing you the greatest success in your run!

As You Like It runs through August 2, 2026 in Chicago’s parks. Check out the dates and locations and make a reservation with Midsommer Flight.

Cast and Staff

Here’s the cast and staff as listed on Midsommer Flight’s website.

Cast

Brandon Beach* (Silvius, he/him), Triniti Cruz (Phebe, she/her), Ian Voltaire Deanes (Oliver, he/him), Barry Irving* (Duke Frederick/Duke Senior, he/him), Connor O. Locklin (Charles et al., he/him), Stephanie Mattos* (Rosalind, she/her), Riley Samuel Merritt (Amiens et al., he/him), Jennifer Mohr (Audrey, she/her), Jack Morsovillo* (Jaques, he/him), Ebby Offord* (Celia, she/they), Thomas Russell (Orlando, he/they), Chase Wheaton-Werle (Touchstone, he/him), Robert Wood Frank (U/S Silvius/Touchstone, he/him), Alexander P. Garza (U/S Duke Frederick/Duke Senior, he/him), MJ Handsome (U/S Rosalind/Celia, she/they), Jerome Michael Jones (U/S Orlando/Oliver, he/him), Matt Keeley (U/S Amiens/Charles et al, he/him), Siyi Wang (U/S Audrey/Phebe, she/her)

Staff

Beth Wolf* (Director), Hailey Piorek* (Stage Manager), Joshua Pennington (Assistant Director), Chloe Stueber (Assistant Stage Manager), Courtney Abbott (Intimacy Director), Jeremiah Barr (Scenic and Props Designer), Bryson David Hoff (Vocal Coach), Becca Holloway (Casting Director), Jack Morsovillo* (Music Director), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Designer), Will Wilhelm (Text Coach)

*denotes Midsommer Flight ensemble member

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Steven Townshend is a fine art/portrait photographer and writer with a background in theatre, written narrative, and award-winning game design. As a young artist, Steven toured the US and Canada performing in Shakespeare companies while journaling their moments on paper and film. In his transition from stage to page, Steven continued to work as a theatre photographer, capturing dramatic scenes while incorporating elements of costume, makeup, and theatrical lighting in his work. Drawn to stories set in other times and places, Steven creates works through which fellow dreamers and time travelers might examine their own humanity or find familiar comfort in the reflections of the people and places of a distant era.