Act One, Scene One
Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is preparing the city for a large festival to his wedding with Hippolyta. Egeus, a nobleman, comes into the room with his daughter Hermia, the man Hermia loves is Lysander, and the man Egeus wants her to marry is Demetrius. He begs Theseus for the ancient Athenian right to either make his daughter marry Demetrius or have the power to kill her.
Theseus offers Hermia two options: she has to marry Demetrius or join a nunnery. He then leaves the room with the other men, leaving Hermia and Lysander behind on stage. Lysander quickly convinces Hermia to sneak into the woods the next night so that they may get married at his aunt's house outside of Athens. She agrees to the plan.
Helena arrives and regrets the fact that Demetrius only loves Hermia, even though Helena loves him far more than Hermia ever could. Lysander tells her to not worry since he and Hermia are sneaking away that night. Helena, while she is alone, says that she will tell Demetrius about Hermia's plans because that might make him start to love her again.
Act One, Scene Two
A couple of actors gather and Peter Quince hands out several parts to a play they want to perform for the Theseus' wedding. The play is based on Pyramus and Thisbe, and is meant to be a comedy and a tragedy at the same time. One of the actors, Nick Bottom, is afraid that if the make the lion in the play too real, it might frighten the ladies and get them all killed. They finally all agree to meet in the woods outside of the city the next night to rehearse their parts.
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