Life imitates art when a down-on-her-luck TV star returns to her hometown stage and redefines her dreams in a funny and heartwarming spin on Shakespeare’s most magical romantic comedy.

Miranda Belmont is a regular on a popular TV series, but her acting career is not exactly moving forward. After she’s publicly humbled, her next steps are definitely backward: playing Helena in a community theater production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in her stifling hometown, directed by her parents, and sharing the stage with her high school boyfriend.

Backstage, it’s borderline Shakespearean drama. Between her ex, an intriguing costar making sweet overtures, and an unwelcome blast from the past, Miranda is caught in a real-life, nearly magical tangle of romantic confusion that threatens the production at every turn.

Opening night will bring them all down to earth—especially Miranda, who’s navigating her way, onstage and off, through all the chaos these mere mortals create. As she reconnects to her roots, the creative spark she’s been missing awakens Miranda to who she truly is.

Lara Stokes studied theater and creative writing at York University, where she was the recipient of the bpNichol Award and the Judith Eve Gewertz Award. Her work has appeared in The Danforth Review and the Ottawa Arts Review, among others. Born and raised in Northern Ontario, she now lives in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. For more information, visit www.larastokeswriter.com.