Theatrefolk Featured Play – Cobweb Dreams by Lindsay Price

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight.  Cobweb Dreams by Lindsay Price is a fun-filled fantasy, filled with friendship and fairies. A great play for high school and middle school students that runs parallel to the events of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Cobweb is not having a good time as part of Titania’s train. She dreams of a life where she plays pranks all day long and doesn’t have to be a stuffy, stuck-up fairy in waiting. If only it was a simple as crossing the brook to be part of Oberon’s train!

But life in the woods is not simple. The King and Queen fight tooth and nail, Cobweb fights to make her dreams come true, and her friends fight to keep her from being turned into a toadstool. A mortal with a donkey head has wandered into the grove and the flower fairies blame Cobweb. Oh will this midsummer night never end?

Let’s hear from the author!

1. Why did you write this play?
Adaptation is my favourite form of writing, and I’ve always been a little obsessed with the four lines that the fairies have in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What’s happening with the fairies, when the other stories are taking place?

2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences.
A fun-filled forest fantasy about friendship, self-image, and fairies.

3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play?
The different fairy groups were such fun to write because they each have distinct traits: The water fairies are bubbly, the flower fairies are snobby and the woodland fairies are down to earth tomboys. Creating the look for each will give you a wonderful visual landscape tot he piece.

4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?
This is a character driven fantasy piece so focus on those two elements. Make each fairy group unique physically and have fun with the costumes!

5. Why is this play great for student performers?
At the heart of it, the play is about friendships and figuring out who you really are. These are great themes for students to explore whether or not they’re in the context of a Shakespeare story!