1. I believe the main role of the play-within-a-play was a comical interlude, but I think it did have some relevance to the main story. The rehearsals of the play helped show the upcoming of the wedding which gave the audience the idea that the wedding would be the denouement. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe was a similar story regarding forbidden love and reflected on the story as a whole with an ironic and comical approach.
2. The lighting definitely helped present the story by making each setting unique and identifiable. When characters were in Athens the lighting was bright and colorless. When characters were in the forest the lighting was dark with some added bright colors to give it a magical feel. The Athens set had things you would find in a wealthy home such as large paintings and silky drapes covering the oversized windows. The set of the forest included large trees with roots that spread across the forest floor, and the shadows of shrubs and bushes. The costumes were very distinctive in each setting. In Athens the characters were dressed in semi-formal and somewhat casual attire. While in the forest the costumes of the fairies were very unique and resembled plants. Then there were the Mechanicals which by their costumes you could tell that they were not very wealthy.
3. The biggest notion of love triumphing against great odds in this story is Hermia and Lysander being together in the end despite her dad's wanting for her to marry Demetrius. Then there is Helena who is madly in love with Demetrius although he wants to marry Hermia. But with a little love potion from Puck, he becomes just as madly in love and the two become a couple. Another notion of love triumphing is the story enacted during the play-within-a-play about Pyramus being deeply in love with Thisbe although separated by a wall. In the end they both take their lives so they could be together in death.
4. Puck is considered the protagonist in this story because when everything is going wrong and the wrong people are falling in love with each other, he is the character who steps in to restore order and save the day, while Bottom is only a pawn in a plan put together by Puck and the King. Puck keeps the mood of the play light, even after getting scolded