Interview #4 With the Cast of "Midsummer Night's Dream"

  We’re just five days away from the first performance of First Stage Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream! 

   We’ve been running a series of interviews with the members of the cast, which includes First Stage veterans - and first-time performers, like Daniel Ferguson.

   He plays the part of Oberon, a creature of magic and great power - and husband to Titania, the Queen of the fairies.  

   Here’s Daniel:

Q: What is A Midsummer Night’s Dream about?

Daniel: A Midsummer Night's Dream features young lovers who fall comically in and out of love in a ridiculously brief period of time (over the course of a single, enchanted midsummer night). The play (c. 1595) was written around the same time Shakespeare whipped up his famous play about two "star-cross'd" lovers, Romeo and Juliet. In “Dream,” a group of craftsmen (the "Mechanicals") bumble their way through a ridiculous performance of “Pyramus and Thisbe” (a story taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses). The Mechanicals' play is widely considered to be Shakespeare's light-hearted and silly mock-up of Romeo and Juliet.

Q: Why did you want to be part of this show?

Daniel: My good friend, who is also in the play, convinced me, on the day before, to go with her to the audition. This is my first-ever play, outside of school plays, that I have been in. And, I hope, many more are to come.

Q: Was it difficult to learn the dialogue?

Daniel:  No, I don’t think so. I am Blessed to go to a Christian school (Mountain State Christian School) and we have Bible Versus to memorize weekly, so I’m used to the dialogue in those times.

Q: What’s your favorite part of the show?

Daniel: My favorite part of the show is the beginning of the second half, where I am wondering if Titania, my wife, is awake, and what she fell in love with (because of a magic spell). My right hand man, Puck, tells me that he put a donkey head on a "Rude Mechanical," Bottom the Weaver. And she fell in love with him. Now, no more spoilers. 

Q: Why would you recommend this show to our readers?

Daniel: I would recommend this because it a hilarious play, with a fantastic crew, who have put tons of effort into doing this play, along with the brilliant directors. Great cast + great people = fun for everyone.

   Thanks, Daniel!

   A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be presented at the Cabell County Public Library at 455 9th Street (3rd Floor) on April 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 18 and 19 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 each. To reserve tickets call 304-416-KIDS.