Living a dream: Local actor performs Shakespeare in France

All actors have their dream role — but few get the opportunity to perform them by age 21, in the picturesque countryside of southern France.

Local actor Zoey Davis, who graduated from Lakeland Union High School and has been in productions at Nicolet College in Rhinelander and the Campanile Center in Minocqua, accomplished just that in June, after she was cast in an overseas production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Davis was introduced to the idea of participating in a foreign summer production by her classmates at the Stella Addler Studio of Acting, which she is enrolled in online while also pursuing a liberal arts degree at UW-Stevens Point online.

“I heard there was a wealth of possibilities for plays over there [Europe] in the summer,” Davis said. “I found this small theater company called Pants on Fire Theatre and they were doing an on-site workshop and production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ That was my dream show, so I thought maybe I’ll send in a tape and see what happens.”

Davis submitted a video audition and waited a month before hearing back from the theater company. The news was terrific: she was cast as the mischievous fairy Puck — her dream role in her dream play.

Despite her relatively young age, the opportunity was a long time coming for Davis, who first read “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” when she was about nine years old.

“I read it when I was really, really young — like half of it went over my head,” Davis said. “I remember loving Puck because he comes in and out and is always on the periphery but plays these tricks that bring out the most human moments in the show. This trickery he causes makes these two human people fall in love with the wrong people, and then back in love with the right people. You get to see the beauty of the transitory nature of the human experience.”

Zoey Davis practices movement with her castmate Raymi Ortusté-Quiroga in France.
(Contributed photograph)

For Davis, who started taking classes at Minocqua Dance when she was “two or three,” the role was also an outlet for her other artistic abilities.

“Physicality-wise, it was really fun as a dancer because Puck is such a big, but also fairy-esque mover,” she said. “There were so many weird ways I got to move: we were jumping around and swinging from the entryways, popping out of shrubs. It was great.”

When approaching the role, Davis first wanted to explore the way her character moved.

“He’s a character that’s not human, so it felt good to first get the physical,” she said.

After memorizing words, Davis likes to “action” the script.

“If my line is ‘give me back my shoes.’ I would have that line and next to it I might write ‘stab.’ So then if I say that line with a ‘stabbing’ intention, that’s going to change the whole purpose of the line,” she explained.

Davis completed that before traveling to France and the process proved valuable when approaching the performative prose of Shakespeare.

“It helped me clarify the poetry and what I was actually saying,” she said.

Bonjour France

The actors were expected to arrive in France “off-book,” with their lines memorized so they could focus deeply on their characters during the two short weeks they had to prepare together. 

The cast featured actors of all ages from the U.S., Great Britain, Ireland, Whales, France and Bolivia. Faced with an international cast and crew, Davis adapted favorably to cultural differences in approaching theater.

“Something I noticed right away was how important the text was. How can we make the essence of every single word as big and expressive, but still as true as possible?” Davis said. “That helps you paint a picture in your head of what you’re saying and if you have that imagination attached to it, the audience is going to see it immediately.”

The actors were also given time with two specialist coaches: one for movement and one for voice.

“It was really helpful because I did ballet growing up so I’ve always stood with an unnatural posture. [The voice coach] helped me find my natural alignment and that helped my voice drop to its natural resonance,” Davis said.

The two weeks leading up the play weren’t entirely consumed by work; Davis fondly remembers developing a tight-knit community with her castmates over shared meals and sightseeing the gorgeous French countryside.

Even when it came to showtime, the venues were worthy of sightseeing themselves. The troupe performed outside the 15th-century Château de l’Astorguié in Parisot and the 16th-century cloister of the Madeleine Church in Albi.

With the backdrop of stunning medieval architecture, the outdoor performances were lit by sunset and accented by the honeyed air of a summer evening, creating a magical stage for the performances.

“The space was so big, it was almost like the audience created a sense of intimacy so you had to rely on them or it would get lost,” Davis said, “The audience was so involved, too. They were very vocal. You make an instant connection.”

‘You have but slumbered here’

Each night, the troupe was tasked with packing up the set, props and costumes and transporting them in a van back to their living space — still glowing and jubilant off the joy of a successful performance. This process would mirror the end of the show, too, when Davis and other castmates packed up their belongings and headed home, desperate to fill the void many actors feel after a fulfilling production has developed deep and meaningful friendships.

“I feel so sad after something’s done. That’s the worst part,” Davis said. “It helps to practice gratitude for the experiences you had because that is a special and rare experience, to do theater. As an actor you get to really confront yourself and the people around you and you get really close. To lessen the sadness, it’s helpful to stay creative in any way possible.”

And Davis has kept herself active in the creative space. She is a talented guitarist and sometimes plays gigs at Cafe Sonder in Minocqua and the Warehouse Art Center in Eagle River.

As far as acting goes, Davis moved on to her next production only days after returning to America. She was cast in a collection of sketches at the historic Hilgermann Center in Rhinelander on Aug. 7-9. Davis is also excited to audition for future productions at Nicolet Theater.

“Nicolet is really fun because you have people from different areas — Rhinelander area people, and people from Minocqua — and there is a nice mix of ages,” she said. “It’s a lovely stage, too.”

“Zoey brings an infectious joy and depth of emotion to each role,” said Vicki Fleming, Nicolet community theater director and Davis’ former high school drama coach. “She is particularly good at the nuance and detail of character, and clearly lifts up every production in which she is involved.”

After Davis earns her degree from UW-Stevens Point, she plans on fully committing to her passion by enrolling in an acting studio, possibly in New York, next year.

That passion for storytelling, Davis said, was likely sparked by her parents: a public librarian and a high school library media specialist.

“When I was little they read out loud to me all the time and I think that’s where a love of story became so huge for me,” Davis said. “I think wanting to bring stories to life, theater was the perfect opportunity for that.”

As for her new “dream role,” Davis said she’s always been interested in playing a part in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” but also indicated that she finds great satisfaction in simply being part of any production.

“Anything really,” she said about which role she’d like to take on next. “Anything that is going be a challenge but also an opportunity to grow — I think that’s the most exciting thing with any role: it’s always a gift.”

Michael Strasburg may be reached at [email protected].