This year’s fall production is Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Set in Denmark in the late Middle Ages, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father in order to seize the throne and marry Hamlet’s mother, the queen. The play begins with the wedding of Claudius and Queen Gertrude after Hamlet’s father has been killed. Hamlet then sees his father’s ghost and decides to avenge his death by murdering Claudius. Slowly, Hamlet begins a descent into madness, ruining his relationship with his mother, his friends, and even his lover, Ophelia. The play is a true Shakespearean tragedy, and if you know anything about Shakespeare, you know how it ends…
The rehearsal process for a Shakespearean play is a little bit different than a modern one. Since the text is so dense, it is extremely important that the actors know what they are saying. To guide us through this process is director Sydney Smith, who has stepped in to spearhead this undertaking. She directed the Shakespeare play As You Like it at the Santa Fe Playhouse and participated in a production of Richard III, so her experience with Shakespeare has helped her to shape our production. Sydney has never directed Hamlet before, but views that as an opportunity to “discover Hamlet firsthand” with the students. Shakespeare is all about the dramatic language and the relationships between characters, and as she says, “I love drama!”
The change in leadership has inevitably led to a change in the way the play has run. Rehearsals usually begin in mid-October, but this year it started at the end of October, leaving the actors with a little less time to pull the show together. As seasoned actor Margot Accola explained, at the beginning of the process, the director starts to block the show, staging where all actors will be at what time. As time goes on and blocking is solidified, the acting and fine details are the focus of rehearsals. Once the production moves into the theater, the week before the show, everything must be fitted to the new space. The final week of rehearsal consists of full runs with costumes, lights, and props, ensuring that any situation can be handled before the actual show. When asked how this process is different from past productions, Margot said, “It’s definitely a very different process than my past years, and it will be interesting to see how it comes together in comparison.” First time participant Avi Mirchandani offered, “Being in a Friends Seminary production for the first time has been very fun and a great experience, even with the work and nerves that come with it.” For those who would like to attend, the show will be this weekend: Friday, December 12 at 5PM, Saturday, December 13 at 7PM, and Sunday, December 14 at 2PM.
