Excerpts of an interview with Jefferson May, ‘The Duke’ in our current production of Measure for Measure, by NewYorkTheatreGuide.com. For the full interview, click here.
Did you go to training school, if so which one?
UCSD. (University of California, San Diego)
Your first stage performance?
The King of Tam in Mrs. McCarthy’s 1st Grade Class’s adaptation of B. Elkin’s The King’s Wish.
Career highlight to date?
My current gig.
What roles would you most like to play?
I like to be surprised.
What is the most annoying part about your job?
Being apart from my wife.
Briefly tell us how you became involved with Theatre for a New Audience’s production of Measure for Measure?
I received an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Briefly tell us about the character you play?
The Duke “of dark corners.” The sixth largest role in the canon. Contradictory, mysterious, elusive, confounding, slippery.
If you had not become a performer, what might you have done instead?
Archeology.
Who are your favorite actors/actresses?
The cast of Measure for Measure.
What are your future plans?
I never plan.
Questions by Alan Bird