Dr. Stephen Bennett examines the complex relationships in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM—and tells us what the prairie vole has in common with Shakespeare's comedy. Today we’ll hear Steve introduce Joe Dowling’s DREAM, performed at CST during our 2018-2019 season.

Steve Bennett earned his PhD at New York University. After a nearly 20-year career teaching literature and writing at the college level, he is now a special education teacher at Pickard Elementary, a Chicago Public School in the Pilsen neighborhood. He’s also taught at Roosevelt University in Chicago, New York University, and the University of Utah.

To learn more about the cast, crew, and creative team behind A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM—or to see videos and photos of this production—visit https://www.chicagoshakes.com/midsummer.

Have a question about something you heard in this episode? Want to tell us about your favorite moments at CST? Email us at [email protected] or call us at 312-667-5631 and we’ll respond in a future episode. And don’t forget to subscribe to get all of the latest updates from ASIDES.

This episode was produced by Sara B.T. Thiel, Margaret McCall, Forrest Williams, and Aaron Roberts, with editing by Aaron Roberts, and additional support from Joe Disbrow and Krissi McEachern. You can find our episode transcriptions at www.chicagoshakes.com/asides.

As you enjoy this episode, we hope you’ll consider making a gift to support other programs like this through our Brave New World Campaign. Together, we can serve artists, audiences, students, and our community in this time of great need. Please visit www.chicagoshakes.com/BraveNewWorld.