Last weekend, the DeBaun Center for Performing Arts presented The Hamlet Project, a one of a kind workshop production directed by Dr. Bethany Reeves and performed and hosted by a multitude of Stevens students. The Hamlet Project was performed twice at the DeBaun auditorium; once at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 7th and the second time at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 8th. Admission for the event cost $2 for students and $5 for anyone else, but was well worth it for a production that students here at Stevens devoted time on and worked hard to make it a success. The Hamlet Project is the DeBaun Center’s third Shakespeare workshop production and the first to focus in on a single play.
The attendance at The Hamlet Project was good, students and even some older adults gathered to watch the show. Several elements of this production of Hamlet stood out from the original. There was a more modern element to the costume design, since not all characters strictly abided by costume design for the play. For example, the ghost of King Hamlet wore a suit and tie, still fit for a king, but perhaps not during Shakespeare’s time. What did stay constant was the Shakespearean language, and the plot of Hamlet, except with a small twist: the opening scene cut right to the frozen moment just before Prince Hamlet and Laertes engaged in a fatal duel near the ending of Hamlet. After Hamlet told Horatio to spread the truth of why the royal family is dead, the play flashed back through Horatio’s memory and the audience is taken back to the beginning of the story.
The most noticeable change in the play, however, was Prince Hamlet being portrayed by several actors. In total, nine people played as Hamlet, including one female, sometimes appearing as Hamlet twice in different scenes. The people who took the role of Hamlet included: Colin Gilech, Mike Marnell, Katie Ricculli, Ben LaGue, Declan Candela, Gregory Gwyn, Zane Schacht, Bayindir Citak, and Michael Paulauski. Anyone playing Hamlet at the moment would be wearing a black and blue striped jerkin, to help eliminate confusion and keep with the costume design utilized for The Hamlet Project. This exchange of actors as Hamlet throughout the performance gave some kick to the play, showing the audience how several actors portrayed Hamlet.
Audience members, including sophomore Molly Dugan, took this key difference well, commenting “I really like how there are a bunch of Hamlets and that’s an interesting take on the play.” Other characters in the play were performed by numerous people as well, such as King Claudius (played by Will Renninger and DeVon Lineman) and Ophelia (played by Bethany Reeves and Molly Molino). Ophelia was originally to be portrayed in the first section of the play by student Claire Griffin, but Reeves stepped in to play for her due to a last minute change.
Despite this late change to the performance, The Hamlet Project went swimmingly.
In addition, some students played as more than one character, such as Mike Marnell (Hamlet, Lead in troupe of traveling players), Katie Ricculli (Hamlet, Queen in troupe of traveling players), Christian Benitez (Guildenstern, Osricke), Zane Schacht (Hamlet, Chief gravedigger), Michael Paulauski (Hamlet, Polonius), and Devon Kelly (Villain in troupe of traveling players, Marcellus, a Norwegian Army Captain, a Sailor, a Priest).
Characters that were exclusively played by one person included Queen Gertrude (Elizabeth Lamb), Ghost of King Hamlet (Jackson Kelly), Horatio (Trevor Batchelder), Laertes (Matthew Kelly), and a Gentlewoman (Kellie Vertetis).
Overall, The Hamlet Project was a success that got the audience involved in the storyline – from the opening of the prince’s famous opening phrase of a soliloquy, “To be, or not to be,” to the laughter from the audience accompanying the play within a play that Prince Hamlet used to determine his stepfather, Claudius’, guilt in the death of King Hamlet.
Of course, since the play was performed in Shakespearean English, it would be advised to see The Hamlet Project already knowing the story of Hamlet or being familiar with the Shakespearean dialect.
Students were still satisfied with other elements of the play, such as the innate physical presentations of certain actors participating in The Hamlet Project. Upon asking about how he felt about the performance, student Jacob Vanderbilt stated that “Trevor is beautiful.”
Everyone in the play ‘broke a leg’ and put a lot of effort into their performance for this famous play.
As the play ended, the audience applauded loudly and after finishing the play, the student actors emerged from DeBaun Auditorium satisfied with its outcome.
Director and performer Bethany Reeves was very pleased with how The Hamlet Project turned out and commented that “I’m extremely proud of all of the work the students did on the play, they really jumped in and went for it!”
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