…simple yet spirited, imaginative take on one of the
most beloved comedies is intent on smashing the stodginess of reality. Director Tim Ocel’s lively
rendering accentuates the endless possibilities of Midsummer Eve…Ocel and crew have brought fresh
energy to the familiar setting…SSC’s new version not only uses the space in inventive ways but
imaginatively suggests a willingness to dream. That openness to possibilities, so inherent in the
play, makes the production all the more enchanting. more...
…a madcap version…Staged at a rollicking comic clip…a vivid re-imagining …
Director Tim Ocel, a veteran of innovative SSC comedies, makes Dream both
accessible to people who haven’t seen a lot of Shakespeare and exciting fun for people who have. …under
Ocel’s direction, the complications remain fluid and risingly funny… Ocel and scenic designer Dipu
Gupta have some amusing surprises for the audience…and makes effective use of both the stage’s intimacy
and the redwood glen’s sense of size and power. more...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 2001
…Ocel’s version of A
Midsummer Night's Dream blends ancient myth with modern aesthetics, and
18th-and 19th-century set elements with
other worldly costumes and distinctly 21st century sensibilities. By doing so Ocel skillfully
captures the play’s own blend of multiple realities and layers of mythic history. Balance is the
theme behind Ocel’s vision…reconciling the differences and conflicts between the natural world of
magic and love and the man-made world of law and war. … Ocel’s imaginative manipulation of Nature’s
destructive and creative forces steals the show. more...