Midsummer for Haters is showing June 3-18, 2022! In this collaboration with Nemesis Theatre Company, Shakespeare’s beloved classic gets a new treatment by the people who can’t stand it, resulting in a kidnapped Amazon, mystified mortals, sadistic fairies, and mechanicals gone wild! Will any of them survive four nights in the magic forest?
We reached out to actor Alex McDonald Villarreal to find out more about him and his experience working on this unique production!
What do you hate about Midsummer?
When it's not taken seriously and it's treated like lofty candy.
What do you love about Shakespeare?
The human condition, and the raunchy humor.
What’s your favorite scene in this show? Why?
Bottom's Dream, because when they wake, the interpretation of the dream is always different every time I've seen it.
Do you relate to your character or to any character in the show? How similar / different are you?
I find ways to relate to many of the characters, but I would say I am mostly different from them.
How did you get into theatre?
In 4th grade, my friend played the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland Goes to Court, and I was a Card. He had the best parts in the show and I was like, oh that looks like fun! I asked for more drama classes so my mom put me in theatre camp. I kept up and then went to an Arts Magnet high school for theatre.
How is working with Nemesis different from working with other theatre companies?
The experience of defining the show as you grow into it is very natural and continues throughout the entire process.
Tell us about the experience of playing two different parts in two different Midsummers simultaneously.
Where is my mind?
How do you feel about not knowing which version of the show you're doing until Egeus says his first line?
👀😳🥲
Biography
Alex hails from Dallas, Texas, and has been a part of the Asheville theatre community since 2013. Alex's training includes studying abroad in Stratford-upon-Avon and London with the Royal Shakespeare Company, receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Acting from Texas State University - San Marcos, and working as an Acting Intern at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California. Notable credits include, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Puck in DREAM! and Longaville in Love's Labour's Lost with Austin Shakespeare, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream with The Barons Men, Romeo in R&J and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing with the Montford Park Players, and Antigonus in Sixteen Years Tried by Travis Lowe.
Midsummer for Haters is showing June 3-18, 2022 at The Magnetic Theatre in Asheville, NC. Grab your tickets here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=134503