Shakespeare invented the play within a play, which like a dream within a dream, incorporates subliminal messages and old kings suddenly realizing they have no pants on. Immerse yourself in multilayered theatrics with today's Groupon: for $15, you get one adult admission to an outdoor Shakespeare performance from the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company at the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park in Ellicott City (up to a $36 value). Children younger than 18 are admitted for free (limited to two free children per paying adult). This Groupon is valid for any one of the following performances:

• A Midsummer Night's Dream on Thursday, June 30 at 8 p.m.
• The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) on Friday, July 1 at 8 p.m.
• The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) on Saturday, July 2 at 8 p.m.
• A Midsummer Night's Dream on Sunday, July 3 at 6 p.m.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company reinvigorates classic theater tales with exquisite emotions and lively language, earning the attention of American Theatre magazine. The troupe's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream follows a wedding-bound quartet and a group of actors as they pass through the Fairyland realm and encounter love potions, woodland tricksters, and the mayhem of crisscrossed romancing. With The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), three of the company's most talented comedic actors will perform a two-hour revue of some of the bard's most popular plays and toothpaste jingles to regale Shakespeare zealots and novices alike.

Spectators can bring wine to sip and popcorn to munch while they gaze upon the stage set amid a 19th-century venue with an intimate atmosphere almost completely free from the ghosts of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Chairs are provided, so beholders should leave any lawn furniture or garden gnomes at home. Groupon customers must acquire their tickets at the ticket table no later than 30 minutes before the start of the show.