JACOB KONST/ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Theater production senior Nat Cassidy rehearses his role as Hamlet with Lezlee Denninger (Gertrude), in preparation for the Feb. 29 opening of "Hamlet."

While most of us were secretly eating paste and making hideous crafts in first grade, UA drama senior Nat Cassidy was reading Shakespeare.

Cassidy, who describes himself as a slightly hyperactive child, said it was his exasperated first-grade teacher who helped spark his passion for stage acting and Shakespeare.

"I was a pain-in-the-ass to put it precisely," said Cassidy. " My first-grade teacher made me read 'Macbeth' to calm me down."

Cassidy's first grade teacher knew what she was doing.

When he was 18, Cassidy was chosen as a finalist in the National Shakespeare competition by the English Speaking Union. He performed a Shakespearean sonnet and a monologue from "Othello" at New York City's Lincoln Center.

Cassidy said he is drawn to the timelessness of Shakespearean dramas.

"Shakespeare is able to make a myriad of characters that we can all relate to," Cassidy said. "His plays most speak to the human condition."

Cassidy is currently preparing for the role of Hamlet in the UA production of the play, which will run March 3 - 28.

While he said that playing Hamlet can be mentally and physically draining, Cassidy said he's honored to have received the role.

"You get to play the entire spectrum of every emotion," said Cassidy. "It's the role everyone hopes for."

Cassidy said he relies on music to help him prepare for roles. But don't ask him what it is about Bruce Springsteen that helps him prepare for Hamlet.

"I don't know why, but it's working," said Cassidy, who named ska, opera and '80s synth-pop for helping him through his roles in the UA productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Neil Simon's "Rumors."

Last semester, Cassidy appeared as King Midas and Orpheus in an adaptation of Ovid's epic poem "Metamorphoses."

The play, which required actors to be in a large pool on stage, said the novelty of being in water during the performance quickly wore off.

"Some nights, the pool wasn't heated, and we would have to go out in freezing cold water," said Cassidy. "We were all getting ear infections and colds."

But Cassidy said that while some schools stick to doing more traditional plays, he appreciates the UA's ability to put on more experimental productions like "Metamorphoses."

"It's a good example of the cutting-edge work we do here," said Cassidy. "We do a lot of new, sort of experimental stuff here."

Cassidy said he admires actors like Ian McKellen and Christopher Guest for their abilities to take on versatile roles.

"It's nice to know that there are still actors in the limelight and not just celebrities - someone who is interested in the craft and not just the fame," Cassidy said.

But Cassidy said he looks less to Hollywood actors as role models than he did when he was younger.

"The older I get, the more actors start to become competition," Cassidy said.