Texas State professor Kate Glasheen stars in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ May 4 - 29

Austin Shakespeare’s free Shakespeare in Zilker Park will return May 4 - 29 with a production of the bard’s famous romantic comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Kate Glasheen — starring in the role of Titania, Queen of the Fairies — is in her sixth year as a professor at Texas State University, specializing in vocal health and production, text analysis and voiceover.

“I’m playing Titania,” Glasheen said. “She and her husband, Oberon, they’re fighting and because of their fight, there’s a lot of chaos in nature, though the humans involved don’t know why. In my first scene, Titania comes in, trying to make up, saying, ‘We are the cause of all these chaotic problems. We need to do something.’”

What follows is a fantastical journey of mistaken identities and the folly of pursuing that ever-elusive idea of a “perfect” love.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play that has delighted audiences for centuries with its colorful outdoor plot about young lovers bewitched by meddlesome fairies. A family favorite, the play has often been labeled as Shakespeare’s “perfect comedy.”

“I think despite the historical distance and social conventions of the time,” Glasheen said. “What the characters go through here are universal experiences. This is really a romantic comedy, and while there’s magic all over the place, it’s really about the need to love and be loved and to find our person in this world.”

The Austin Shakespeare production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be held in the Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater, an open-air venue perfectly suited for an enchanted forest.

“It’s on the Hillside, which is a perfect setting or ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’” Glasheen said. “Being outside lends itself to this show in a lovely way.”

In addition to the outdoor venue, audiences can look forward to dazzling costumes designed by Aaron Kubacak. “The costume design for ‘Midsummer’ embraces whimsy, and incorporates lush jewel-tone fabrics, botanical elements and magical fairies with headdresses that light up,” Kubacak said. “Its contemporary style has delightful hits of steampunk and gender play.”

Glasheen also said that viewers can expect a great deal of physical comedy from the players. “The actors who are playing Bottom and Puck are doing some really athletic and exciting things,” Glasheen said.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will run from May 4 - 29, Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m., with a preview performance on May 4. This free production from Austin Shakespeare will be held at the Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater, 2206 William Barton Dr., Austin. This professional production is made possible in collaboration with the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department. For more information, visit the website at austinshakespeare.org.