Lucinda Haigh as Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

With its first production of the whimsical Shakespeare fantasy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” opening in early October, Meadow Sky Productions aims to become the second existing Central Oregon theater company to pay its performers, after The Greenhouse Cabaret in Bend.

Meadow Sky’s founder, David Purkey, 25, has long performed and directed in Central Oregon. Since childhood, he’s wanted to tell stories “even before I knew what a dream was,” he said. “Before I knew what theater was, I have wanted to tell stories. … It’s definitely in my DNA, for sure.”

“All the stars aligned this spring for my wife (Anna) to look at me and say, ‘You know what? Go do this. Let’s found this company together,’ and Meadow Sky Productions was born.”

Purkey plans to pay the show’s 14 cast members a small percentage of the ticket sales take and has spent the months leading up to the production’s opening next week securing a venue, seeking sponsorships, writing program notes, directing rehearsals and all the other behind the scenes action required to stage the play, whose six performances will be staged Oct. 4-12 at High Desert Music Hall in Redmond.

Meadow Sky comes along at a time Purkey called a “super bloom” for theater in Central Oregon, boasting both long-established organizations and groups such as Cascades Theatrical Company, BEAT Children’s Theatre, Thoroughly Modern Productions and Guerrilla Shakespeare Company alongside some newer groups that have cropped up over the last few years, including Ponderosa Players, Ovation Performing Arts and Ellipse Theatre Community.

That fruitful theater scene means competition for the available performance spaces, though, and speaks to why “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be staged at High Desert Music Hall in Redmond.

“I looked for a performance venue in Bend, and like so many other theater companies (have found) there is not anything,” Purkey said. “The plethora of companies and super bloom of talent and art — there are welcoming venues, but they can only welcome so many people.”

Meadow Sky will be a full-time endeavor for Purkey, who also works flexible hours as a repair contractor for his father’s repair business. Along with all this, he is directing Ovation Performing Arts’ upcoming production of “Cinderella.”

“So I’m doing two shows,” he said. “Not only am I getting ‘Midsummer’ up, but I just auditioned 70 kids for ‘Cinderella’ … I’ve been blessed to work with so many of the different companies.”

Purkey’s vision for down the line might include collaborating or running a black box theater, or being part of Central Oregon Center for the Arts, should that effort come into existence. For now, the focus is on getting up and running with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Shakespeare is free

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is Meadow Sky’s first production for both practical and personal reasons, Purkey said. As to the practical, Shakespeare’s plays are in the public domain and hence free to put on, with no fees owed to a publisher.

“I wish I could say I’m a wealthy nepo baby with a trust fund, but I’m not,” Purkey said. “I have invested thousands and thousands of my own dollars into making this happen, and it’s one of the few places I was willing to spend less money because I knew it would still be quality, because of the play itself. Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights of all time.

Since “there’s no copyright … you can edit it slightly to really come across to a modern audience well,” he added.

Finally, “Midsummer” is also among the Bard’s shorter, more popular plays.

“My first foray out, I did not want to bite off more than I can chew,” Purkey said.

As to the personal, “’Midsummer’ is one of the first (Shakespeare) plays I read and understood. It was accessible,” Purkey said. “Even in the midst of big Middle English words and phrases, I was able to track the plot, even at a young age.”

This summer, he visited England and took in a performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” at The Globe, the historic theater where Shakespeare’s productions were first staged, and observed some of The Globe’s strategies in keeping Shakespeare accessible for modern audiences.

“I was able to track everything, largely due to how they included the audience,” Purkey said. “I was so inspired, and hopefully, successfully brought back some of their strategies.”

Purkey raved about his “powerhouse” assistant director Vreyah Palmantier, as well as the work of costumer Dora Novak. To a person, he said, the entire cast and crew putting on “Midsummer” has been united throughout the runup to its Oct. 4 opening.

“I am very fortunate to not deal with any egos or attitudes,” he said. “It’s a united cast. … I am very fortunate that every single person works their butt off and is also a very pleasant human being. I cannot say enough good things about them.”

Looking to the future

Along with telling stories, Purkey hopes to create a family-friendly theater environment that “empowers individuals and helps them grow as people grow in a healthy … way, in a safe place where they can experience more about who they are, and what they love and discover more about themselves.”

How “Midsummer” performs when it opens next week “will determine if we sail forward in calm waters or stormy seas,” as Purkey puts it.

“I’ve been bursting at the seams to tell stories all of my life, and this is an exciting dream come true,” he said. “Central Oregon is ready to bloom and blossom, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

What: Meadow Sky Productions presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

When: 7 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11; 2 and 7 p.m. Oct. 5 and 12

Where: High Desert Music Hall, 818 SW Forest Ave., Redmond

Cost: $25, plus service fee

Contact: meadowskyproductions.com