As a Director, how would you cast and direct the roles of Oberon and Titania to communicate your ideas about the individuals and their relationship?

Essay by amydocherty87High School, 12th gradeA, March 2004

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Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the fairies respectively. They have fallen out over a 'changeling child'. A 'changeling' being a human baby that has been stolen into the fairy world and a weak fairy child was left in its place (protected from discovery by a fairy glamour spell that would render the image of the original baby over it). Oberon wants the child to become a soldier and Titania wants it to be her prince and rule with her. Their arguments cause changes to the mortal world, such as the weather changing suddenly to thunder storms as a result of their feuding. Oberon and Titania are two of the most important roles in the play and therefore their general presence onstage should show this. If I were to direct and cast the roles of Oberon and Titania in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' I would ensure that I cast them correctly so that their voices, gestures, stage movements and other such attributes all come together to create a believable and effective fairy King and Queen.

Shakespeare created the character of Titania as a "whimsical" fairy queen. The only similarities that she would share with a typical fairy queen would be that she believes that her quarrels with her husband Oberon have created havoc in the mortal world, and thus the wind, rain and sun have all been affected by the mishaps. Another resemblance Titania would share with a typical fairy queen is the fact that she has a number of women followers who devote themselves to her service. Due to the fact that Shakespeare presents the character of Titania as a "light-hearted" fairy queen, the actress playing the role would have to portray some degree of comedy while still retaining her status of being a...