Vivienne Abbey and Alexandra Krohn discuss sharing the role of the Changeling Child in A Midsummer’s Night Dream

Vivienne Abbey (left) and Alexandra Krohn pose in front of the Tom Patterson Theatre where they each perform the role of the Changeling Child in Midsummer's Night Dream

Two dancers from Stratford Dance Co. have been cast as the Changeling Child in this year’s Stratford Festival production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. This is not an understudy casting. Vivienne Abbey and Alexandra Krohn are taking turns portraying this central character of the play and are having a magical time of it.

This is the debut role for both, but they come from artistic stock. Abbey’s father is the director and festival staple Graham Abbey and Krohn’s parents are actors, and her father Aaron Krohn is cast in the production as Flute. As a shared role for the character, they each have their own identity; Vivienne is known as Rose Petal and Alexandra is known as Daisy.

“I think it’s nice that we get to share it. The director made it more interesting for us because the Changeling Child is sometimes not in the scene or doesn’t have any lines, but he made it so that we have two lines and we’re actually in a lot of scenes. We’re basically always with the fairies when they come on, except when the couples are there,” said Alexandra.

Performing Shakespeare is perhaps a lofty pursuit, daunting even, for any actor, but these two have acquired a great understanding of the story and the central conflict between the fairies caused by the mortal child, with one faction wanting to protect them and the other wanting nothing but mischief.

With only two lines throughout the entire play, Vivienne and Alexandra rely on their dance skills to express their storytelling and emotions.

“We’re a playful personality, a child that doesn’t want to grow up and just wants to have fun and isn’t thinking about all this conflict even though we are aware. We’re just laughing and having fun,” said Vivienne.

“There’s one scene where the Changeling Child has snuck away and they see Puck and then they have a whole little game together. Our lines are talking to Puck who we think is just a friend,” added Alexandra. “You have to use your face to keep it interesting.”

Preparing to go on stage involves a little bit of exercise of hand flapping, leg shaking and counting down which, when demonstrated, makes them giggle. Essentially, they do what they can to relax and get ready to enjoy the performance. They even have a special handshake. While only one will be on stage for a performance, the other will still come and be present for support as true teammates.

The cast have been very welcoming to the young performers and have made the experience one to remember with great opportunity to learn.

“It’s fun getting to know people so I’m friends with everyone. It’s nice because I find they are all really great actors and it’s nice to be in a room with talented people. I always learned something from them,” Alexandra said.

“It’s very cool to see professional actors that have been with the company ever since they were our age to see them perform. It’s just so interesting to watch, to look at their facial expressions and how they do that, and knowing that we might be able to do that someday,” added Vivienne.

Even though the performers come to the table experienced in dance, there was a lot of new choreography and techniques to learn. Curtain call will see the Changeling Child perform a tap dance for the audience.

They both agree on which scene is their favourite. Not surprisingly, it is the firefly scene with Puck where they really get to play around with movement and personality.

“We’re with a very experienced actor (Mike Nadajewski) and it’s so funny, and just makes it so much more enjoyable.” Vivienne said.

“I also really like it because it’s fun to be with him as a really good actor. We play around and have fun. It’s not improvised, it has choreography but it’s not like the choreography couldn’t change a tiny bit each time,” added Alexandra.

They also agree that this experience has reinforced their love and ambition for dance and acting. When giving advice to another prospective performer, it would be to just have fun.

“Just have the most fun you can have because these times don’t last forever and you can learn from experienced actors, and if you watch and listen, it’s really magical. If anyone wanted to try this, I think it’s an amazing idea and an amazing thing to do in your life. It’s life changing, it’s beautiful,” concluded Vivienne.

“And if you’re ever nervous, remember that you’re not going to mess up, you know what you’re doing and just have fun on stage. There’s so many people around you who know exactly what they’re doing and have been there for so long. It’s really just magical,” Alexandra said.