FFXIV: A Stage Reborn – Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Sunday before last, I got an unexpected ping from an RP pal telling me that there was a group of folks attending an A Stage Reborn production in game. Would I like to come?
Yes, please!
I’d heard of the folks at A Stage Reborn, even when their production consisted of paying homage to FFIX through an in-game production of I Want to be Your Canary. But this, to my delight, was a full on rendition of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. With, of course, some modifications.
I hopped on Amon and quickly joined up with their group where I found a line already forming, even 45 mins before the play started. There’s limited seating in game to see the performance live in the group’s FC house. But you can always catch the show live (and see previous recordings) at their Twitch channel as well.
They ran a tight ship with a number of social rules, which was to be expected when herding a large number of folks in a small location in a MMO. Thankfully, people were polite and did follow the rules. Once the show started, the house was locked down and no one was permitted inside.
The performance and set was really amazing! From what I could gather, they had both text and emotes set through macros, and everything was timed so perfectly. They also had some really neat special effects, such as people vanishing off stage and the clever use of Dancer/Blue Mage skills.
The first half of the play was mostly building up the foundation of the story. The second half was when things got really fun. They did a fantastic job of getting the comedy aspect of the play across, with a few modifications that made it relevant to the FF community. We even had a play within a play homage to FFIX, including the infamous Zidane/Blank fight scene!
All in all, it was an astounding and creative effort and it came off pretty flawlessly. I was very impressed, and a good time was had by folks in my group (even though Amon was the only non-Lala).
Should I get another chance to attend an event by this group, I’d absolutely jump to go. Thanks to everyone for a fun time!