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November 14, 2014
DOCNYC 2014: Still Dreaming

summerStill Dreaming celebrates the timelessness of art with a cast whose time is limited. The documentary chronicles the attempts of two young Broadway directors to stage a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a nursing home. But it’s not just any nursing home, it’s the Lillian Booth Actors Home, where all of the residents are former performers or somehow connected to the stage life.

The performers have been out of the spotlight for so long that the early rehearsals have the innocent enthusiasm of a school play or community theater production, but once their feet are wet again, most of the performers can draw from deep reservoirs of talent and experience. However, as rehearsals progress, their limitations begin to show – some of the home’s residents can no longer read, some have limited mobility, and many have memory problems. There are a few game first-time performers mixed in to fill out the cast and they butt heads with some old pros viewing the play as the last chance they have to make art.

Depending on how you look at it, the choice of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is either inspired, or slightly cruel, as the play’s constant confusion between dreams and waking states is sometimes baffling for a room of people who are often living in the past, or at their worst, suffering from delusions. As one of the directors says in a moment of exasperation, “It feels like we have nine different realities in this room.”

Despite all these obstacles, the directors and cast persevere in putting on the play; while we never see most of it, we can see that it fulfilled its real purpose, revitalizing the home’s residents and giving them another chance to do what they love. For every moment when a cast member falters, there is another moment when someone sings in perfect pitch, or delivers a line with stunning gravity, and their talent shines through like no time has passed at all.

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Written by: Joe Blessing
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