the 30-minute shakespeare hamlet: this is an uncorrected proof THE 30-minute For author interviews, excerpts, and reviews, please contact: Eva Zimmerman, Publicity Director 510.292.8678 | [email protected] shakespeare Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited.

The 30-Minute Shakespeare is a new series of abridgements that tell the “story” of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare’s language intact. Specific stage directions and character suggestions give even inexperienced actors the tools to perform Shakespeare with confidence, understanding, and fun!

This edition of Hamlet includes the call for vengeance by the Ghost of Hamlet’s father; Hamlet’s use of the players to prove Claudius guilty; the murder of Polonius; Ophelia’s mad scene; the timeless “To be or not to be” speech; and the climactic swordfight and poisoning that hamlet bring the story to its riveting end. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Including stage directions Folger Shakespeare Library’s annual Student Shakespeare Festival. for all levels of experience newlin

Hamlet: The 30-Minute Shakespeare Edited by Nick Newlin April, 2011 Nick Newlin Trade paper, 72 pages, $7.95 978-1-935550-24-2 Nick Newliteachingn artist 30MinuteShakespeare.com Folger Shakespeare Library Distributed by Consortium the 30-minute shakespeare hamlet

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“Nick Newlin’s work as a teaching artist for Folger Education during the past thirteen years has provided students, regardless of their experience with Shakespeare or being on stage, a unique opportunity to tread the boards at the Folger Theatre. Working with students to edit Shakespeare’s plays for performance at the annual Folger Shakespeare Festivals has enabled students to gain new insights into the Bard’s plays, build their skills of compre- hension and critical reading, and just plain have fun working collaboratively with their peers. Folger Education promotes performance-based teaching of Shakespeare’s plays, providing students with an interactive approach to Shakespeare’s plays in which they participate in a close reading of the text through intellectual, physical, and vocal engagement. Newlin’s The 30-Minute Shakespeare series is an invaluable resource for teachers of Shakespeare, and for all who are interested in performing the plays.”

Robert Young, Ph.D. Director of Education Folger Shakespeare Library Hamlet: The 30-Minute Shakespeare The Tragicall Historie ISBN 978-1-935550-24-2 Adaptation, essays, and notes © 2010 by Nick Newlin of

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission HAMLET of the publisher. Prince of Denmarke There is no royalty for performing Hamlet: The 30-Minute Shakespeare in a classroom or on a stage; however permission must be obtained for all playscripts used by the actors. The publisher hereby grants unlimited photocopy permission for one series of performances to all acting groups that have purchased at least The 30-Minute Shakespeare five (5) copies of the paperback edition, or one (1) copy of the downloadable PDF edition available for $12.95 from www.30MinuteShakespeare.com.

Cover design by Sarah Juckniess Printed in the United States of America Written by William Shakespeare

Distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution www.cbsd.com

Abridged and Edited Nicolo Whimsey Press www.30MinuteShakespeare.com by Nick Newlin

Art Director: Sarah Juckniess Managing Editors: Katherine Little, Leah Gordon

Brandywine, MD To the students, ✴✴ table of contents faculty, and staff at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School Preface: No Experience Necessary...... vi in Washington, D.C.

Characters in the Play...... vIii for bringing life to Shakespeare Hamlet...... 1

Appendix 1: Dumbshow...... 34

Special thanks to Joanne Flynn, Bill Newlin, Eliza Newlin Appendix 2: To Be or Not To Be Speech Breakdown ...... 37 Carney, William and Louisa Newlin, Michael Tolaydo, Hilary Kacser, Sarah Juckniess, Katherine Little, Eva Zimmerman, Performing Shakespeare...... 39 Leah Gordon, Julie Schaper and all of Consortium, Leo Bowman and the students, faculty, and staff at Banneker Academic High Performance Notes: Hamlet...... 58 School, and Robert Young Ph.D., and the Folger Shakespeare Library, especially the wonderful Education Department. Set and Prop List...... 68

Sample Program...... 69

Additional Resources...... 70 no experience necessary ✴ vii

✴✴ No Experience Necessary The 30-Minute Shakespeare gives students and teachers a chance to get up on their feet and act out a Shakespeare play in half an hour, using his language. The emphasis is on key scenes, with narrative I was not a big “actor type” in high school, so if you weren’t either, or bridges between scenes to keep the audience caught up on the action. if the young people you work with are not, then this book is for you. The stage directions are built into this script so that young actors do Whether or not you work with “actor types,” you can use this book to not have to stand in one place; they can move and tell the story with stage a lively and captivating thirty-minute version of a Shakespeare their actions as well as their words. And it can all be done in a class- play. No experience is necessary. room during class time! When I was about eleven years old, my parents took me to see That is where this book was born: not in a research library, a Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona, which was being performed graduate school lecture, a professional stage, or even an after-school as a Broadway musical. I didn’t comprehend every word I heard, but drama club. All of the play cuttings in The 30-Minute Shakespeare I was enthralled with the language, the characters, and the story, and were first rehearsed in a D.C. public high school English class, and I understood enough of it to follow along. From then on, I associated performed successfully at the Folger Shakespeare Library’s annual Sec- Shakespeare with fun. ondary School Shakespeare Festival. The players were not necessarily Of course Shakespeare is fun. The Elizabethan audiences knew “actor types.” For many of them, this was their first performance in it, which is one reason he was so popular. It didn’t matter that some a play. of the language eluded them. The characters were passionate and Something almost miraculous happens when students perform vibrant, and their conflicts were compelling. Young people study Shakespeare. They “get” it. By occupying the characters and speak- Shakespeare in high school, but more often than not they read his ing the words out loud, students gain a level of understanding and work like a text book and then get quizzed on academic elements of appreciation that is unachievable by simply reading the text. That is the play, such as plot, theme, and vocabulary. These are all very inter- the magic of a performance-based method of learning Shakespeare, esting, but not nearly as interesting as standing up and performing a and this book makes the formerly daunting task of staging a Shake- scene! It is through performance that the play comes alive and all its speare play possible for anybody. “academic” elements are revealed. There is nothing more satisfying With The 30-Minute Shakespeare book series I hope to help to a student or teacher than the feeling of “owning” a Shakespeare teachers and students produce a Shakespeare play in a short amount play, and that can only come from performing it. of time, thus jump-starting the process of discovering the beauty, But Shakespeare’s plays are often two or more hours long, magic, and fun of the Bard. Plot, theme, and language reveal them- making the performance of an entire play almost out of the ques- selves through the performance of these half-hour play cuttings, and tion. One can perform a single scene, which is certainly a good start, everybody involved receives the priceless gift of “owning” a piece of but what about the story? What about the changes a character goes Shakespeare. The result is an experience that is fun and engaging, through as the play progresses? When school groups perform one and one that we can all carry with us as we play out our own lives on scene unedited, or when they lump several plays together, the audi- the stages of the world. ence can get lost. This is why I have always preferred to tell the story Nick Newlin of the play. Brandywine, MD March 2010 Characters in the Play Scene 1. (Act I, Scene II)

The following is a list of the characters that appear in this cutting Elsinore. A room of state in the castle. of Hamlet. Twenty-five actors performed in the original production. This Sound Operator plays Sound Cue #1 (“Ominous music”). number can be increased to about thirty or decreased to about fifteen Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center. by having actors share or double roles.

For the full breakdown of characters, see Sample Program. NARRATOR King Claudius: King of Denmark; murders his brother Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is grieving over (Hamlet’s father) and marries his widow (Queen Gertrude) his father’s death. To make matters worse, his uncle Claudius has become king by marrying Hamlet’s Hamlet: Son of the late King Hamlet; nephew to King Claudius mother, Queen Gertrude. Then there is the matter of Queen Gertrude: Queen of Denmark; mother to Hamlet the ghost . . . . Polonius: Lord Chamberlain; father to Ophelia Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, HAMLET, POLONIUS, Ophelia: Daughter to Polonius; sister to Laertes LAERTES, Lords, and Attendants from stage right. KING CLAU- Laertes: Son to Polonius; brother to Ophelia DIUS stands stage center with Queen Gertrude to his right. Horatio: Friend to Hamlet; fellow student at Wittenberg Hamlet stands stage right; all others stand stage left. Ghost: Ghost of Hamlet’s father, the late King Hamlet KING CLAUDIUS Player King: Traveling actor performing The Murder of Gonzago Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death Player Queen: Traveling actor performing The Murder of Gonzago The memory be green, our hearts in grief, Poisoner: Traveling actor performing The Murder of Gonzago We with wisest sorrow think on him. Additional Player Together with our sometime sister, now our queen,

Osric: A courtier King Claudius holds out his hand to Queen Gertrude. She takes lords it, moving toward him. attendants Have we, with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marcellus: A guard marriage, Bernardo: A guard Taken to wife. Narrator 2 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 3

King Claudius looks to Queen Gertrude lovingly. Hamlet So excellent a king; that was, to this, (gestures stage looks away. left to indicate King Claudius) Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, Frailty, thy name is woman!— How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Why she, even she— O, God! A beast, that wants discourse of reason, HAMLET Would have mourn’d longer—married with my uncle, Not so, my lord; I am too much i’ the sun. (addresses audience) My father’s brother. QUEEN GERTRUDE O, most wicked speed, to post Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off, With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! Do not for ever with thy vailed lids But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue. Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die, Enter HORATIO from stage right. Passing through nature to eternity. HORATIO HAMLET Hail to your lordship! Ay, madam, it is common. HAMLET steps toward Horatio and happily gives him a two- KING CLAUDIUS handed handshake. ’Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, To give these mourning duties to your father: HAMLET But, you must know, your father lost a father; I am glad to see you well, Horatio. That father lost, lost his: but to persever In obstinate condolement, ’tis a fault against the dead. HORATIO Come away. My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.

Exit ALL, except for HAMLET, stage left. HAMLET (looks upward) My father!—Methinks I see my father. HAMLET (moves downstage center) O, that this too too solid flesh would melt HORATIO Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Where, my lord? (haltingly, taken aback) How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! HAMLET That it should come to this! In my mind’s eye, Horatio. But two months dead: 4 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 5

HORATIO HORATIO My lord (pauses), I think I saw him yesternight. My duty to your honor.

HAMLET Exit Horatio stage right. The king my father! For God’s love, let me hear. HAMLET My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well; Enter marcellus, bernardo, and Ghost to reenact Horatio’s Foul deeds will rise, tale. Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.

HORATIO Exit hamlet stage right. Two nights together with those gentlemen, Marcellus and Bernardo, on our watch, In the dead vast and middle of the night, were thus encounter’d. A figure like your father, Armed at point exactly, Appears before us, and with solemn march Goes slow and stately by us: It lifted up its head, like as it would speak; But even then the morning cock crew loud, And at the sound it shrunk in haste away, And vanish’d from our sight.

HAMLET ’Tis very strange. I will watch to-night; Perchance ’twill walk again.

HORATIO I warrant it will.

HAMLET So, fare you well: Upon the platform, ’twixt eleven and twelve, I’ll visit you. hamlet ✴ 7

HAMLET Then I will follow it.

HORATIO Do not, my lord. ✴✴ Scene 2. (Act I, Scene IV) HAMLET A platform before the castle. My fate cries out, Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center. I’ll follow thee. Exit Ghost and HAMLET stage left. NARRATOR On the watchmen’s platform, the ghost of the HORATIO former king, Hamlet’s father, appears to give Hamlet Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. disturbing news. Exit Horatio stage left. Exit Narrator stage left.

Enter HAMLET and HORATIO from stage right.

HAMLET The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold.

HORATIO Look, my lord, it comes!

Enter Ghost from stage left.

HAMLET Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, King, father: O, answer me!

Ghost beckons HAMLET.

HORATIO It beckons you to go away with it. hamlet ✴ 9

The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.

HAMLET O my prophetic soul! My uncle! ✴✴ Scene 3. (Act I, Scene V) GHOST Another part of the platform. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, Enter GHOST and HAMLET from stage left. Won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen: HAMLET Sleeping within my orchard, Where wilt thou lead me? Speak; I’ll go no further. Thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, GHOST And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment; I am thy father’s spirit, Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night, Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch’d: And for the day confined to fast in fires, O, horrible! Most horrible! Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me. Are burnt and purged away. List, list, O, list! If thou didst ever thy dear father love— Exit Ghost stage right.

HAMLET HAMLET O God! Remember thee! Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat GHOST In this distracted globe. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. O most pernicious woman! Smiling, damned villain! HAMLET Murder! Enter HORATIO from stage left.

GHOST HAMLET Now, Hamlet, hear: Give me one poor request, Horatio. Sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. HORATIO What is’t, my lord? I will. 10 ✴ hamlet

HAMLET Never make known what you have seen to-night.

HORATIO My lord, I will not. ✴✴ Scene 4. (Act II, Scene II) GHOST (offstage) Swear. A room in the castle. Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center. HORATIO O day and night, but this is wondrous strange! NARRATOR A traveling acting troupe arrives at Elsinore; Hamlet GHOST (offstage) decides to have the players act out his father’s Swear. murder. (emphatically) The play’s the thing.

HAMLET Exit narrator stage right. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit! (BOTH swear) Let us go in together; Enter Hamlet from stage left. And still your fingers on your lips, I pray. The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, HAMLET (gestures toward center stage) That ever I was born to set it right! I’ll have the players Play something like the murder of my father Exit Hamlet and Horatio stage left. Before mine uncle: (sits on throne) I’ll observe his looks; Stagehands set throne center stage; set chair stage left of throne. If he but blench, I know my course. (pauses; looks out at audience) The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king. hamlet ✴ 13

And, with them, words of so sweet breath composed As made the things more rich: their perfume lost, Take these again; for to the noble mind Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. There, my lord. (gives letters to Hamlet) ✴✴ Scene 5. (Act III, Scene I) HAMLET steps in close to Ophelia and turns toward her. A room in the castle. HAMLET Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center. I did love you once.

NARRATOR OPHELIA (takes a step toward Hamlet) Hamlet and Ophelia, the daughter of King Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so. Claudius’s chief officer Polonius, have recently confessed their affection for each other. But when HAMLET (turns away suddenly) Ophelia’s father, bound by the king to spy on You should not have believed me; I loved you not. Hamlet, orders Ophelia to return Hamlet’s love letters, the prince’s vicious and unhinged reaction Hamlet returns the letters to Ophelia. upsets her greatly. OPHELIA (hurt) Exit Narrator stage right. I was the more deceived. Enter Hamlet from stage right. HAMLET (points at Ophelia; yells) Enter OPHELIA from stage left, holding letters. Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? Or, if thou wilt needs marry, OPHELIA marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what My lord, I have remembrances of yours, monsters you make of them. (points again) To a That I have longed long to re-deliver; nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell. I pray you, now receive them. Hamlet begins to exit stage right. HAMLET No, not I; OPHELIA I never gave you aught. O heavenly powers, restore him! HAMLET turns around and comes back toward Ophelia. OPHELIA My honor’d lord, you know right well you did; 14 ✴ hamlet

HAMLET God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another. Go to, I’ll no more on’t; it hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages. To a nunnery, go. ✴✴ Scene 6. (Act III, Scene II) Exit Hamlet stage right. A hall in the castle. OPHELIA O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown! Enter HAMLET and HORATIO from stage right. I see that noble and most sovereign reason, Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; HAMLET O, woe is me, to have seen what I have seen, Horatio, there is a play to-night before the king; see what I see! One scene of it comes near the circumstance Which I have told thee of my father’s death: Exit Ophelia stage left. Give him heedful note; For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, And after we will both our judgments join In censure of his seeming.

HORATIO Well, my lord.

HAMLET They are coming to the play; I must be idle: Get you a place.

Sound Operator plays Sound Cue #2 (“Danish march with flourish”).

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, POLONIUS, and OPHELIA from stage left. Both Polonius and Ophelia carry chairs.

QUEEN GERTRUDE Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me. 16 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 17

HAMLET OPHELIA No, good mother, here’s metal more attractive. The king rises.

Hamlet sits on the floor byOp helia’s chair and nestles his head HAMLET in her lap; she is stiff and uncomfortable, not knowing what to What, frighted with false fire! make of this change in Hamlet’s behavior. QUEEN GERTRUDE Sound Operator plays Sound Cue #3 (“Dumbshow music”). How fares my lord? The players begin their show. Enter a king and a queen very lovingly; the queen embracing him, and he her. She bows to KING CLAUDIUS him. He takes her up, and declines his head upon her neck: he Give me some light: away! lies down upon a bank of flowers: she, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his crown, kisses it, and ALL pours poison in the king’s ears, and exit. The queen returns; Lights, lights, lights! finds the king dead, and mourns in anguish. The poisoner, comes in again, seeming to lament with her. The dead body Exit All but HAMLET and HORATIO. Polonius and Ophelia stays dead. The poisoner woos the queen with gifts: she seems remove their own chairs. loath and unwilling awhile, but in the end accepts his love. HAMLET (animated) Exit Players. O good Horatio, I’ll take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound. Didst perceive? OPHELIA (to Hamlet) What means this, my lord? HORATIO Very well, my lord. HAMLET It means mischief. HAMLET Upon the show of the poisoning? KING CLAUDIUS (agitated) What do you call the play? HORATIO I did very well note him. HAMLET (stands) The Mouse-trap. (dramatically) HAMLET I will come to my mother by and by. King Claudius is visibly upset; he stands. Leave me, friend.

Exit Horatio stage left. 18 ✴ hamlet

’Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. Soft! Now to my mother.

Exit HAMLET stage right. ✴✴ Scene 7. (Act III, Scene IV)

The Queen’s closet.

Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center.

NARRATOR Hamlet confronts his mother, resulting in a bloody deed involving Ophelia’s father, Lord Polonius; the Ghost returns.

Exit Narrator stage left.

Enter QUEEN Gertrude and POLONIUS from stage right.

POLONIUS He will come straight. Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with. I’ll sconce me even here. (gestures toward stage right pillar)

HAMLET (from offstage right) Mother, mother, mother!

QUEEN GERTRUDE Withdraw, I hear him coming.

POLONIUS hides behind stage right pillar.

Enter HAMLET from stage left. 20 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 21

HAMLET HAMLET Now, mother, what’s the matter? Almost as bad as kill a king, and marry with his brother. QUEEN GERTRUDE Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. QUEEN GERTRUDE As kill a king! HAMLET Mother, you have my father much offended. HAMLET Ay Lady, ’twas my word. QUEEN GERTRUDE Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. Hamlet turns the body over and discovers it is Polonius; he is shocked and dismayed. HAMLET Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. I took thee for thy better: LORD POLONIUS makes a coughing and rustling sound. Enter Ghost from stage right. HAMLET (draws sword) GHOST How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! Do not forget: this visitation Hamlet findsPolo nius behind the pillar and stabs him with Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. his sword. But, look, amazement on thy mother sits: (points to Queen Gertrude) LORD POLONIUS (still hidden) Speak to her, Hamlet. O! HAMLET (addresses Queen Gertrude; points to Ghost) Polonius falls and dies, ending with his face away from Hamlet. Do you see nothing there?

QUEEN GERTRUDE QUEEN GERTRUDE O me, what hast thou done? Nothing at all.

HAMLET HAMLET is in disbelief that she does not see. He goes to her side Is it the king? and turns her toward Ghost.

QUEEN GERTRUDE HAMLET O, what a rash and bloody deed is this! Why, look you there! My father! 22 ✴ hamlet

Exit Ghost stage right.

QUEEN GERTRUDE This the very coinage of your brain:

HAMLET (protesting) ✴✴ Scene 8. (Act IV, Scene V) It is not madness (kneels beside Queen Gertrude) Elsinore. A room in the castle. Confess yourself to heaven; avoid what is to come. Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center. QUEEN GERTRUDE (disconsolate) O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. NARRATOR Tragic events have had their effect on Ophelia. HAMLET O, throw away the worser part of it, Exit Narrator stage left. And live the purer with the other half. Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE and KING CLAUDIUS from stage right. Exit HAMLET stage left.Quee n Gertrude looks after him in hor- KING CLAUDIUS sits in throne and QUEEN GERTRUDE sits in chair. ror and dismay, then exits rapidly stage left. Enter OPHELIA from stage right. Queen Gertrude goes to greet her, but Ophelia sweeps right by.

OPHELIA Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark?

QUEEN GERTRUDE How now, Ophelia!

OPHELIA (singing) He is dead and gone, lady, He is dead and gone; At his head a grass-green turf, At his heels a stone.

KING CLAUDIUS tries to approach Ophelia, but she dances away. 24 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 25

KING CLAUDIUS All from her father’s death. Poor Ophelia How do you, pretty lady? Divided from herself and her fair judgment.

OPHELIA (singing) A noise sounds from offstage. To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day, LAERTES King All in the morning betime, Enter , armed, from stage left. He moves behind Claudius And I a maid at your window, and puts a sword to the king’s throat.

Ophelia comes too close to the standing king; he sits. LAERTES Where is this king? O thou vile king, To be your Valentine. Where is my father?

Ophelia dances in front of the king, then spins off. KING CLAUDIUS Dead. KING CLAUDIUS (moves close to Queen Gertrude) How long hath she been thus? LAERTES How came he dead? I’ll not be juggled with: Queen Gertrude indicates she does not know the answer. To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father. OPHELIA I cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay Laertes threatens King Claudius with his sword. him i’ the cold ground. My brother shall know of it. KING CLAUDIUS (stands) Ophelia sits in the chair and summons an invisible horse-drawn I am guiltless of your father’s death, carriage. And am most sensible in grief for it. Come, my coach! LAERTES Ophelia begins to exit, skipping like a horse. How now! What noise is that?

Good night, ladies; good night, sweet ladies; good Re-enter OPHELIA from stage right, disheveled and with hair night, good night. a mess.

Exit Ophelia stage right. O heat, dry up my brains! By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight. KING CLAUDIUS O rose of May! O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! 26 ✴ hamlet

Laertes goes to hold Ophelia’s hand. She takes his hand, spins around, and then lets go.

OPHELIA (singing) And will he not come again? And will he not come again? ✴✴ Scene 9. (Act V, Scene II. Additional No, no, he is dead: Material from Act III, Scene I.) Go to thy death-bed: He never will come again. A hall in the castle.

Exit Ophelia stage right. Enter Narrator from stage rear, coming downstage center.

LAERTES NARRATOR Do you see this, O God? Hamlet and Laertes duel. Poison is involved. I do not predict a happy ending. KING CLAUDIUS Where the offense is let the great axe fall. Exit Narrator stage left. I pray you, go with me. Enter HAMLET and HORATIO from stage right. Exit ALL stage right. HAMLET Stagehands set throne near chair stage left. There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will,—

HORATIO That is most certain.

HAMLET Is’t not perfect conscience, To quit him with this arm?

HORATIO Peace! Who comes here?

Enter OSRIC from stage right. 28 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 29

OSRIC HAMLET Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark. Give me your pardon, sir: I’ve done you wrong; I here proclaim was madness. HAMLET I humbly thank you, sir. LAERTES I stand aloof; and will no reconcilement. OSRIC My lord, his majesty bade me signify to you that he KING CLAUDIUS has laid a great wager on your head: Here is newly Give them the foils, young Osric. come to court Laertes. The king, sir, hath laid, that in a dozen passes between yourself and him, he shall LAERTES not exceed you three hits. This is too heavy, let me see another.

HAMLET A Lord gives the poisoned sword to Osric to give to Laertes. Let the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and Hamlet and Laertes prepare to duel. the king hold his purpose, I will win for him. KING CLAUDIUS OSRIC The king shall drink to Hamlet’s better breath; The king and queen and all are coming down. Come, begin.

HORATIO LAERTES You will lose this wager, my lord. Come, my lord.

Hamlet and Laertes begin to duel. HAMLET There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. HAMLET The readiness is all. One. Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, LAERTES, OSRIC, and assorted Lords. TheL ords bear a table and bottles of wine. LAERTES No. KING CLAUDIUS Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me. HAMLET Judgment. KING CLAUDIUS puts LAERTES’S hand into HAMLET’s. OSRIC A hit, a very palpable hit. 30 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 31

LAERTES LAERTES Well; again. Have at you now!

KING CLAUDIUS LAERTES wounds HAMLET; in scuffling, they change rapiers, and Stay; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; HAMLET wounds LAERTES. Here’s to thy health. QUEEN GERTRUDE falls. HAMLET HORATIO I’ll play this bout first; set it by awhile. Come. They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord? Hamlet and Laertes resume the duel. OSRIC Another hit; what say you? How is’t, Laertes?

LAERTES LAERTES A touch, a touch, I do confess. I am justly kill’d with mine own treachery.

QUEEN GERTRUDE HAMLET The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. How does the queen?

HAMLET KING CLAUDIUS Good madam! She swounds to see them bleed.

KING CLAUDIUS QUEEN GERTRUDE Gertrude, do not drink. No, no, the drink, the drink,—O my dear Hamlet,— The drink, the drink! I am poison’d. QUEEN GERTRUDE I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me. Queen Gertrude dies.

KING CLAUDIUS (aside) HAMLET It is the poison’d cup: it is too late. O villany! Let the door be lock’d: Treachery! Seek it out. Queen Gertrude offers her drink toH amlet. LAERTES HAMLET It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, thou art slain; I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by. 32 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 33

The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, envenom’d: O, I die, Horatio; Thy mother’s poison’d: The king’s to blame. The potent poison quite o’er-crows my spirit: The rest is silence. HAMLET The point!—Envenom’d too! Hamlet dies. Then, venom, to thy work. HORATIO Hamlet stabs KING CLAUDIUS. Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! KING CLAUDIUS O, yet defend me, friends; I am but hurt. All gather onstage and begin to speak.

HAMLET ALL Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, To be, or not to be: that is the question: Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer Follow my mother. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, KING CLAUDIUS dies. And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end LAERTES The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks He is justly served; That flesh is heir to,’tis a consummation Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet: Devoutly to be wish’d.To die, to sleep; Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; Nor thine on me. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Laertes dies. Must give us pause: there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life; HAMLET Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee. And thus the native hue of resolution I am dead, Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu! Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, Horatio, I am dead; And enterprises of great pitch and moment Thou livest; report me and my cause aright With this regard their currents turn awry, To the unsatisfied. And lose the name of action! If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart In this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, All hold hands and take a bow. Exeunt. To tell my story. appendix 1: DumbShow ✴ 35

10 Poisoner takes poison bottle out of pocket and shows it to audience with slow, evil, swooping gestures.

11 Poisoner unscrews poison bottle. ✴✴ Appendix 1: DumbShow 12 Poisoner pours poison in king’s ear. 13 King dies; poisoner looks out villainously at audience. Please make this big and exaggerated, both physically and facially, and hold your poses for a second. 14 Poisoner sneaks off looking around, tip-toeing, trying not to get caught. 1 Player King and Queen enter stately, gracefully, and arm in arm. 15 Queen starts walking onstage gracefully, arms out, then stiffens and freezes when she sees the body, turns to audi- 2 Player Queen reaches her hand out, and King kisses it. ence with look of horror, hands on either side of face: “Oh no!” 3 Player Queen lays her head on King’s chest. 16 Queen runs off stage in a panic, arms and hands up to her 4 King is contented and gives a big yawn with arms sides and shaking. outstretched. 17 Queen re-enters, weeping, face in hands, with face directly 5 Queen makes a graceful wave toward ground as if to say, toward audience. Poisoner has his hand on Queen’s “Why don’t you lie down here?” shoulder. 6 Queen looks toward audience and places her hands over 18 Queen throws self on ground, with weeping head on King’s her heart, and gives King a loving, sleepy-lidded smile chest, facing audience. Poisoner has his hands on the toward audience. Queen’s shoulders. 7 Queen exits backward with small, slow steps, all the while 19 Queen looks toward audience with her hand on her heart gazing fondly at sleeping King, and all the while with her and a big weeping face. hand over her heart. 20 Poisoner, still touching Queen’s shoulders, looks out at 8 Poisoner sneaks on stage, tip-toeing and looking around. audience with villainous, scheming face. 9 Poisoner spies crown, stops, freezes, and very slowly takes 21 When sound operator sees Queen and Poisoner facing King’s crown off his head and kisses it. Returns it gently, audience, he stops the music. slowly, and nervously to King’s head. 22 As soon as music stops, all royal audience applauds. 36 ✴ hamlet

23 The threep layers quickly stand up, with King in center, holding hands, lifting hands over heads, and bow toroyal audience, then exit quickly.

24 In audience, King Claudius is visibly upset and starts to respond. ✴✴ Appendix 2: To Be or Not to Be speech breakdown

All start to gather onstage.

actor 1 To be, or not to be: that is the question:

actor 2 Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

actor 3 Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?

All To die: to sleep; No more;

actor 4 and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to,

actor 5 ’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. 38 ✴ hamlet

All To die, to sleep;

actor 6 To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; ✴✴ performing shakespeare actor 7 For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Background: How The 30-MINUTE Shakespeare Was Born All In 1981 I performed a “Shakespeare Juggling” piece called “To Juggle Must give us pause: or Not To Juggle” at the first Folger Library Secondary School Shake-

actor 8 speare Festival. The audience consisted of about 200 Washington, there’s the respect D.C. area high school students who had just performed thirty-minute That makes calamity of so long life; versions of Shakespeare plays for each other and were jubilant over the experience. I was dressed in a jester’s outfit, and my job was to enter- All tain them. I juggled and jested and played with Shakespeare’s words, Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; notably Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, to very enthusiastic response. I was struck by how much my “Shakespeare Juggling” reso- actor 9 nated with a group who had just performed Shakespeare themselves. And thus the native hue of resolution “Getting” Shakespeare is a heady feeling, especially for adolescents, Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, and I am continually delighted at how much joy and satisfaction young people derive from performing Shakespeare. Simply reading All and studying this great playwright does not even come close to And enterprises of great pitch and moment inspiring the kind of enthusiasm that comes from performance. With this regard their currents turn awry, Surprisingly, many of these students were not “actor types.” A And lose the name of action! good percentage of the students performing Shakespeare that day all hold hands, lifting arms in air, and take a big bow to were part of an English class which had rehearsed the plays during thunderous applause. class time. Fifteen years later, when I first started directing plays in D.C. public schools as a Teaching Artist with the Folger Shakespeare Library, I entered a ninth grade English class as a guest and spent two or three days a week for two or three months preparing stu- dents for the Folger’s annual Secondary School Shakespeare Festival. I have conducted this annual residency with the Folger ever since. 40 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 41

Every year for seven action-packed days, eight groups of students Additionally, short vocal exercises are an essential part of the between grades seven and twelve tread the boards onstage at the preparation process. The following is a very simple and effective Folger’s Elizabethan Theatre, a grand recreation of a sixteenth- vocal warm-up: Beginning with the number two, have the whole century venue with a three-tiered gallery, carved oak columns, and a group count to twenty using increments of two (i.e., “Two, four, six sky-painted canopy. . . .”). Increase the volume slightly with each number, reaching top As noted on the Folger website (www.folger.edu), “The festival volume with “twenty,” and then decrease the volume while counting is a celebration of the Bard, not a competition. Festival commen- back down, so that the students are practically whispering when they tators—drawn from the professional theater and Shakespeare edu- arrive again at “two.” This exercise teaches dynamics and allows them cation communities—recognize exceptional performances, student to get loud as a group without any individual pressure. Frequently directors, and good spirit amongst the students with selected awards during a rehearsal period, if a student is mumbling inaudibly, I will at the end of each day. They are also available to share feedback with refer back to this exercise as a reminder that we can and often do belt the students.” it out! My annual Folger Teaching Artist engagement, directing a “Stomping Words” is a game that is very helpful at getting a handle Shakespeare play in a public high school English class, is the most on Shakespeare’s rhythm. Choose a passage in iambic pentameter and challenging and the most rewarding thing I do all year. I hope this have the group members walk around the room in a circle, stomping book can bring you the same rewards. their feet on the second beat of each line:

Two house-holds, both a-like in dig-nity Getting Started: In fair Ve-rona Where we lay our scene Games Do the same thing with a prose passage, and have the students How can you get an English class (or any other group of young discuss their experience with it, including points at which there is an people, or even adults) to start the seemingly daunting task of per- extra beat, etc., and what, if anything, it might signify. forming a Shakespeare play? You have already successfully completed I end every vocal warm-up with a group reading of one of the the critical first step, which is buying this book. You hold in your speeches from the play, emphasizing diction and projection, bouncing hand a performance-ready, thirty-minute cutting of a Shakespeare off consonants, and encouraging the group members to listen to each play, with stage directions to get the actors moving about the stage other so that they can speak the lines together in unison. For variety purposefully. But it’s a good idea to warm the group up with some I will throw in some classic “tongue twisters” too, such as, “The sixth theater games. sheik’s sixth sheep is sick.” One good initial exercise is called “Positive/Negative Salutations.” The Folger Shakespeare Library’s website (http://www.folger.edu) Students stand in two lines facing each other (four or five students in and their book series Shakespeare Set Free, edited by Peggy O’Brien, each line) and, reading from index cards, greet each other, first with a are two great resources for getting started with a performance- “Positive” salutation in Shakespeare’s language (using actual phrases based teaching of Shakespeare in the classroom. The Folger website from the plays), followed by a “negative” greeting. has numerous helpful resources and activities, many submitted by 42 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 43

teachers, for helping a class actively participate in the process of get- and further reading. There is a wealth of scholarship embedded in ting to know a Shakespeare play. For more simple theater games, these wonderful books, and I make it a point to read them cover to Viola Spolin’s Theatre Games for the Classroom is very helpful, as is cover before embarking on a play-directing project. At the very least, one I use frequently, Theatre Games for Young Performers. it is a good idea for any adult who intends to direct a Shakespeare play with a group of students to go through the explanatory notes that appear on the pages facing the text. These explanatory notes are Hats and Props an indispensable “translation tool.” Introducing a few hats and props early in the process is a good way The best way to get students to understand what Shakespeare’s words mean is to ask them what they think they mean. Students have to get the action going. Hats, in particular, provide a nice avenue for their own associations with the words and with how they sound giving young actors a non-verbal way of getting into character. In and feel. The best ideas on how to perform Shakespeare often come the opening weeks, when students are still holding onto their scripts, directly from the students, not from anybody else’s notion. If a student a hat can give an actor a way to “feel” like a character. Young actors has an idea or feeling about a word or passage, and it resonates with are natural masters at injecting their own personality into what they her emotionally, physically, or spiritually, then Shakespeare’s words wear, and even small choices made with how a hat is worn (jauntily, can be a vehicle for her feelings. That can result in some powerful shadily, cockily, mysteriously) provide a starting point for discussion performances! of specific characters, their traits, and their relationships with other I make it my job as director to read the explanatory notes in the characters. All such discussions always lead back to one thing: the Folger text, but I make it clear to the students that almost “anything text. “Mining the text” is consistently the best strategy for uncovering goes” when trying to understand Shakespeare. There are no wrong the mystery of Shakespeare’s language. That is where all the answers interpretations. Students have their own experiences, with some lie: in the words themselves. shared and some uniquely their own. If someone has an association with the phrase “canker-blossom,” or if the words make that student What Do the Words Mean? or his character feel or act a certain way, then that is the “right” way to decipher it. It is essential that young actors know what they are saying when they I encourage the students to refer to the Folger text’s explanatory recite Shakespeare. If not, they might as well be scat singing, riffing notes and to keep a pocket dictionary handy. Young actors must attach on sounds and rhythm but not conveying a specific meaning. The real some meaning to every word or line they recite. If I feel an actor is question is: What do the words mean? The answer is multifaceted, glossing over a word, I will stop him and ask him what he is saying. If and can be found in more than one place. The New Folger Library he doesn’t know, we will figure it out together as a group. paperback editions of the plays themselves (edited by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, Washington Square Press) are a great resource for Process Vs. Product understanding Shakespeare’s words and passages and “translating” The process of learning Shakespeare by performing one of his plays them into modern English. These editions also contain chapters on is more important than whether everybody remembers his lines or Shakespeare’s language, his life, his theater, a “Modern Perspective,” 44 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 45

whether somebody misses a cue or an entrance. But my Teaching to an outside group, and this goal motivates them to do a good job. Artist residencies have always had the end goal of a public perfor- In that respect, “product” is important. Another wonderful bonus mance for about 200 other students, so naturally the performance to performing a play is that it is a unifying group effort. Students starts to take precedence over the process somewhere around Dress learn teamwork. They learn to give focus to another actor when he is Rehearsal in the students’ minds. It is my job to make sure the actors speaking, and to play off of other characters. I like to end each per- are prepared—otherwise they will remember the embarrassing moment formance with the entire cast reciting a passage in unison. This is a of a public mistake and not the glorious triumph of owning a Shake- powerful ending, one that reaffirms the unity of the group. speare play. In one of my earlier years of play directing, I was sitting in the audience as one of my narrators stood frozen on stage for at least a Seeing Shakespeare Performed minute, trying to remember her opening line. I started scrambling It is very helpful for young actors to see Shakespeare performed by in my backpack below my seat for a script, at last prompting her a group of professionals, whether they are appearing live on stage from the audience. Despite her fine performance, that embarrassing (preferable but not always possible) or on film. Because an entire play moment is all she remembered from the whole experience. Since can take up two or more full class periods, time may be an issue. I am then I have made sure to assign at least one person to prompt from fortunate because thanks to a local foundation that underwrites theater backstage if necessary. Additionally, I inform the entire cast that if education in the schools, I have been able to take my school groups somebody is dying alone out there, it is okay to rescue him or her to a Folger Theatre matinee of the play that they are performing. I with an offstage prompt. always pick a play that is being performed locally that season. But There is always a certain amount of stage fright that will accom- pany a performance, especially a public one for an unfamiliar audience. not all group leaders are that lucky. Fortunately, there is the Internet, As a director, I live with stage fright as well, even though I am not specifically YouTube. A quick YouTube search for “Shakespeare” can appearing on stage. The only antidote to this is work and preparation. unearth thousands of results, many appropriate for the classroom. If a young actor is struggling with her lines, I make sure to arrange The first “Hamlet” result showed an 18-year-old African-American for a session where we run lines over the telephone. I try to set up actor on the streets of Camden, New Jersey, delivering a riveting a buddy system so that students can run lines with their peers, and performance of Hamlet’s “The play’s the thing.” The second clip was this often works well. But if somebody does not have a “buddy,” I from Cat Head Theatre, an animation of cats performing Hamlet. will personally make the time to help out myself. As I assure my stu- Of course, YouTube boasts not just alley cats and feline thespians, dents from the outset, I am not going to let them fail or embarrass but also clips by true legends of the stage, such as John Gielgud and themselves. They need an experienced leader. And if the leader has Richard Burton. These clips can be saved and shown in classrooms, experience in teaching but not in directing Shakespeare, then he providing useful inspiration. needs this book! One advantage of the amazing variety of clips available on YouTube It is a good idea to culminate in a public performance, as opposed is that students can witness the wide range of interpretations for any to an in-class project, even if it is only for another classroom. Student given scene, speech, or character in Shakespeare, thus freeing them actors want to show their newfound Shakespearian thespian skills from any preconceived notion that there is a “right” way to do it. 46 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 47

Furthermore, modern interpretations of the Bard may appeal to those get everybody on stage at some point, even if it is just for the final who are put off by the “thees and thous” of Elizabethan speech. group speech, because I want every group member to experience By seeing Shakespeare performed either live or on film, students what it is like to be on a stage as part of an ensemble. are able to hear the cadence, rhythm, vocal dynamics, and pronuncia- tion of the language, and they can appreciate the life that other actors breathe into the characters. They get to see the story told dramatically, CASTING THE PLAY which inspires them to tell their own version. Young people can be self-conscious and nervous with “formal” audi- tions, especially if they have little or no acting experience. Putting It All Together: The Steps I conduct what I call an “informal” audition process. I hand out a questionnaire asking students if there is any particular role that After a few sessions of theater games to warm up the group, it’s they desire, whether they play a musical instrument. To get a feel for time to begin the process of casting the play. Each play cutting in them as people, I also ask them to list one or two hobbies or inter- The 30-Minute Shakespeare series includes a cast list and a sample ests. Occasionally this will inform my casting decisions. If someone program, demonstrating which parts have been divided. Cast size can juggle, and the play has the part of a Fool, that skill may come in is generally between twenty and thirty students, with major roles handy. Dancing or martial arts abilities can also be applied to roles. frequently assigned to more than one performer. In other words, one For the auditions, I do not use the cut script. I have students student may play Juliet in the first scene, another in the second scene, stand and read from the Folger edition of the complete text in order and yet another in the third. This will distribute the parts evenly so to hear how they fare with the longer passages. I encourage them to that there is no “star of the show.” Furthermore, this prevents actors breathe and carry their vocal energy all the way to the end of a long from being burdened with too many lines. If I have an actor who is line of text. I also urge them to play with diction, projection, modu- particularly talented or enthusiastic, I will give her a bigger role. It is lation, and dynamics, elements of speech that we have worked on in important to go with the grain—one cast member’s enthusiasm can our vocal warm-ups and theater games. be contagious. I base my casting choices largely on reading ability, vocal strength, I provide the performer of each shared role with a similar head- and enthusiasm for the project. If someone has requested a particu- piece and/or cape, so that the audience can keep track of the characters. lar role, I try to honor that request. I explain that even with a small When there are sets of twins, I try to use blue shirts and red shirts, so part, an actor can create a vivid character that adds a lot to the play. that the audience has at least a fighting chance of figuring it out! Other Wide variations in personality types can be utilized: if there are two than these costume consistencies, I rely on the text and the audience’s students cast as Romeo, one brooding and one effusive, I try to put observance to sort out the doubling of characters. Generally, the the more brooding Romeo in an early lovelorn scene, and place the audience can follow because we are telling the story. effusive Romeo in the balcony scene. Occasionally one gets lucky, and Some participants are shy and do not wish to speak at all on the doubling of characters provides a way to match personality types stage. To these students I assign non-speaking parts and technical with different aspects of a character’s personality. But also be aware roles such as sound operator and stage manager. However, I always of the potential serendipity of non-traditional casting. For example, 48 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 49

I have had one of the smallest students in the class play a powerful Let Students Bring Themselves Into the Play Othello. True power comes from within! The best ideas often come from the students themselves. If a young Generally, I have more females than males in a class, so women are actor has a notion of how to play a scene, I will always give that idea more likely (and more willing) to play male characters than vice versa. a try. In a rehearsal of Henry IV, Part 1, one traveler jumped into the Rare is the high school boy who is brave enough to play a female other’s arms when they were robbed. It got a huge laugh. This was character, which is unfortunate because it can reap hilarious results. something that they did on instinct. We kept that bit for the perfor- mance, and it worked wonderfully. Get Outside Help As a director, you have to foster an environment in which that kind of spontaneity can occur. The students have to feel safe to exper- Every time there is a fight scene in one of the plays I am directing, iment. In the same production of Henry IV, Falstaff and Hal invented I call on my friend Michael Tolaydo, a professional actor and theater a little fist bump “secret handshake” to use in the battle scene. The professor at St. Mary’s College, who is an expert in all aspects of theater, students were having fun and bringing parts of themselves into the including fight choreography. Not only does Michael stage the fight, play. Shakespeare himself would have approved. When possible I try but he does so in a way that furthers the action of the play, highlight- to err on the side of fun because if the young actors are having fun, ing character’s traits and bringing out the best in the student actors. then they will commit themselves to the project. The beauty of the Fight choreography must be done by an expert or somebody could get language, the story, the characters, and the pathos will follow. hurt. In the absence of such help, super slow-motion fights are always There is a balance to be achieved here, however. In that same a safe bet and can be quite effective, especially when accompanied by production of Henry IV, Part 1, the student who played Bardolph was a soundtrack on the boom box. having a great time with her character. She carried a leather wineskin During dress rehearsals I invite my friend Hilary Kacser. a around and offered it up to the other characters in the tavern. It was Washington-area actor and dialect coach for two decades. Because I a prop with which she developed a comic relationship. At the end of bring her in late in the rehearsal process, I have her direct her comments our thirty-minute Henry IV, Part 1, I added a scene from Henry IV, to me, which I then filter and relay to the cast. This avoids confusing Part 2 as a coda: The new King Henry V (formerly Falstaff’s drink- the cast with a second set of directions. This caveat only applies to ing and carousing buddy Hal) rejects Falstaff, banishing him from general directorial comments from outside visitors. Comments on within ten miles of the King. It is a sad and sobering moment, one of specific artistic disciplines such as dance, music, and stage combat the most powerful in the play. can come from the outside experts themselves. But at the performance, in the middle of the King’s rejection If you work in a school, you might have helpful resources within speech (played by a female student, and her only speech), Bardolph your own building, such as a music or dance teacher who could offered her flask to King Henry and got a big laugh, thus not only contribute their expertise to a scene. If nobody is available in your upstaging the King but also undermining the seriousness and poi- school, try seeking out a member of the local professional theater. gnancy of the whole scene. She did not know any better; she was Many local performing artists will be glad to help, and the students bringing herself to the character as I had been encouraging her to are usually thrilled to have a visit from a professional performer. do. But it was inappropriate, and in subsequent seasons, if I foresaw 50 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 51

something like that happening as an individual joyfully occupied a Six Elements of Drama: Plot, Character, character, I attempted to prevent it. Some things we cannot predict. Theme, Diction, Music, and Spectacle Now I make sure to issue a statement warning against changing any of the blocking on show day, and to watch out for upstaging one’s peers. Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle’s Poetics outlined six elements of drama, in order of importance: Plot, Character, Theme, Diction, Music, and Spectacle. Because Shakespeare was foremost a play- Four Forms of Engagement: wright, it is helpful to take a brief look at these six elements as they Vocal, Emotional, Physical, and Intellectual relate to directing a Shakespeare play in the classroom.

When directing a Shakespeare play with a group of students, I always Plot (Action) start with the words themselves because the words have the power to engage the emotions, mind, and body. Also, I start with the words in To Aristotle, plot was the most important element. One of the pur- action, as in the previously mentioned exercise, “Positive and Negative poses of The 30-Minute Shakespeare is to provide a script that tells Salutations.” Students become physically engaged; their bodies react Shakespeare’s stories, as opposed to concentrating on one scene. In a to the images the words evoke. The words have the power to trigger a thirty-minute edit of a Shakespeare play, some plot elements are nec- switch in both the teller and the listener, eliciting both an emotional essarily omitted. For the sake of a full understanding of the characters’ and physical reaction. I have never heard a student utter the line “Fie! relationships and motivations, it is helpful to make short plot sum- Fie! You counterfeit, you puppet you!” without seeing him change maries of each scene so that students are aware of their characters’ arcs before my eyes. His spine stiffens, his eyes widen, and his fingers throughout the play. The scene descriptions in the Folger editions are point menacingly. sufficient to fill in the plot holes. Students can read the descriptions Having used Shakespeare’s words to engage the students emo- aloud during class time to ensure that the story is clear and that no tionally and physically, one can then return to the text for a more plot elements are neglected. Additionally, there are one-page charts reflective discussion of what the words mean to us personally. I always in the Folger editions of Shakespeare Set Free, indicating characters’ make sure to leave at least a few class periods open for discussion of relations graphically, with lines connecting families and factions to the text, line by line, to ensure that students understand intellectu- give students a visual representation of what can often be complex ally what they feel viscerally. The advantage to a performance- interrelationships, particularly in Shakespeare’s history plays. based teaching of Shakespeare is that by engaging students vocally, Young actors love action. That is whyThe 30-Minute Shakespeare emotionally, and physically, it is then much easier to engage them includes dynamic blocking (stage direction) that allows students to tell intellectually because they are invested in the words, the characters, the story in a physically dramatic fashion. Characters’ movements on and the story. We always start on our feet, and later we sit and talk. the stage are always motivated by the text itself.

Character

I consider myself a facilitator and a director more than an acting teacher. I want the students’ understanding of their characters to spring 52 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 53

from the text and the story. From there, I encourage them to consider tidbits. There are more internet tools and websites in the Additional how their character might talk, walk, stand, sit, eat, and drink. I also Resources section at the back of this book. urge students to consider characters’ motivations, objectives, and I cannot overstress the importance of acting out the play in relationships, and I will ask pointed questions to that end during understanding its themes. By embodying the roles of Othello and the rehearsal process. I try not to show the students how I would Iago and reciting their words, students do not simply comprehend perform a scene, but if no ideas are forthcoming from anybody in the themes intellectually, but understand them kinesthetically, the class, I will suggest a minimum of two possibilities for how the physically, and emotionally. They are essentially living the characters’ character might respond. jealousy, pride, and feelings about race. The themes of appearance vs. At times students may want more guidance and examples. Over reality, good vs. evil, honesty, misrepresentation, and self-knowledge thirteen years of directing plays in the classroom, I have wavered (or lack thereof) become physically felt as well as intellectually under- between wanting all the ideas to come from the students, and decid- stood. Performing Shakespeare delivers a richer understanding than ing that I need to be more of a “director,” telling them what I would like that which comes from just reading the play. Students can now relate to see them doing. It is a fine line, but in recent years I have decided the characters’ conflicts to their own struggles. that if I don’t see enough dynamic action or characterization, I will step in and “direct” more. But I always make sure to leave room for Diction (Language) students to bring themselves into the characters because their own ideas are invariably the best. If I had to cite one thing I would like my actors to take from their experience of performing a play by William Shakespeare, it is an appre- Theme (Thoughts, Ideas) ciation and understanding of the beauty of Shakespeare’s language. The language is where it all begins and ends. Shakespeare’s stories are In a typical English classroom, theme will be a big topic for discussion dramatic, his characters are rich and complex, and his settings are of a Shakespeare play. Using a performance-based method of teaching exotic and fascinating, but it is through his language that these all Shakespeare, an understanding of the play’s themes develops from “mining the text” and exploring Shakespeare’s words and his story. If achieve their richness. This leads me to spend more time on language the students understand what they are saying and how that relates to than on any other element of the performance. their characters and the overall story, the plays’ themes will emerge Starting with daily vocal warm-ups, many of them using parts of clearly. We always return to the text itself. There are a number of the script or other Shakespearean passages, I consistently empha- elegant computer programs, such as www.wordle.net, that will count size the importance of the words. Young actors often lack experi- the number of recurring words in a passage and illustrate them ence in speaking clearly and projecting their voices outward, so in graphically. For example, if the word “jealousy” comes up more than addition to comprehension, I emphasize projection, diction, breath- any other word in Othello, it will appear in a larger font. Seeing the ing, pacing, dynamics, coloring of words, and vocal energy. Theatre words displayed by size in this way can offer up illuminating insights Games for Young Performers contains many effective vocal exercises, into the interaction between words in the text and the play’s themes. as does the Folger’s Shakespeare Set Free series. Consistent emphasis Your computer-minded students might enjoy searching for such on all aspects of Shakespeare’s language, especially on how to speak 54 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 55

it effectively, is the most important element to any Shakespeare per- costume pieces will go a long way toward providing all the “spec- formance with a young cast. tacle” you need. In the stage directions to the plays in The 30-Minute Shakespeare Music series, I make frequent use of two large pillars stage left and right A little music can go a long way in setting a mood for a thirty-minute at the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Elizabethan Theatre. I also have Shakespeare play. I usually open the show with a short passage of characters frequently entering and exiting from “stage rear.” Your music to set the tone. Thirty seconds of music played on a boom box stage will have a different layout. Take a good look at the performing operated by a student can provide a nice introduction to the play, space you will be using and see if there are any elements that can create an atmosphere for the audience, and give the actors a sense of be incorporated into your own stage directions. Is there a balcony? place and feeling. Can characters enter from the audience? (Make sure that they can iTunes is a good starting point for choosing your music. Typing in get there from backstage, unless you want them waiting in the lobby “Shakespeare” or “Hamlet” or “jealousy” (if you are going for a theme) until their entrance, which may be impractical.) If possible, make will result in an excellent selection of aural performance enhancers at sure to rehearse in that space a few times to fix any technical issues the very reasonable price of ninety-nine cents each (or free of charge, and perhaps discover a few fun staging variations that will add see Additional Resources section.) Likewise, fight sounds, foreboding pizzazz and dynamics to your own show. sounds, weather sounds (rain, thunder), trumpet sounds, etc. are The real spectacle is in the telling of the tale. Wooden swords all readily available online at affordable cost. I typically include three are handy for characters that need them. Students should be warned sound cues in a play, just enough to enhance but not overpower a at the outset that playing with swords outside of the scene is verboten. production. The boom box operator sits on the far right or left of Letters, moneybags, and handkerchiefs should all have plentiful the stage, not backstage, so he can see the action. This also has the duplicates kept in a small prop box, as well as with a stage manager, added benefit of having somebody out there with a script, capable of because they tend to disappear in the hands of adolescents. After prompting in a pinch. every rehearsal and performance, I recommend you personally sweep the rehearsal or performance area immediately for stray props. It is Spectacle amazing what gets left behind. Aristotle considered spectacle the least important aspect of drama. Ultimately, the performances are about language and human Students tend to be surprised at this since we are used to being bom- drama, not set pieces, props, and special effects. Fake blood, glitter, barded with production values on TV and video, often at the expense glass, and liquids have no place on the stage; they are a recipe for of substance. In my early days of putting on student productions, I disaster, or, at the very least, a big mess. On the other hand, the props would find myself hamstrung by my own ambitions in the realm of that are employed can often be used effectively to convey character, scenic design. as in Bardolph’s aforementioned relationship with his wineskin. A simple bench or two chairs set on the stage are sufficient. The sense of “place” can be achieved through language and acting. Simple set dressing, a few key props, and some tasteful, emblematic 56 ✴ hamlet performing shakespeare ✴ 57

Pitfalls and Solutions run lines with them in person or over the phone after school. If stu- dents do not have such a “buddy,” I volunteer to run lines with them Putting on a play in a high school classroom is not easy. There are myself. If serious line memorization problems arise that cannot be problems with enthusiasm, attitude, attention, and line memorization, solved through work, then two students can switch parts if it is early to name a few. As anybody who has directed a play will tell you, it is enough in the rehearsal process. For doubled roles, the scene with always darkest before the dawn. My experience is that after one or two fewer lines can go to the actor who is having memorization problems. days of utter despair just before the play goes up, show day breaks Additionally, a few passages or lines can be cut. Again, it is important and the play miraculously shines. To quote a recurring gag in one of to address these issues early. Later cuts become more problematic my favorite movies, Shakespeare in Love: “It’s a mystery.” as other actors have already memorized their cues. I have had to do late cuts about twice in thirteen years. While they have gotten us Enthusiasm, Frustration, and Discipline out of jams, it is best to assess early whether a student will have line Bring the enthusiasm yourself. Feed on the energy of the eager stu- memorization problems, and deal with the problem sooner rather dents, and others will pick up on that. Keep focused on the task at than later. hand. Arrive prepared. Enthusiasm comes as you make headway. In production, always keep several copies of the script backstage, Ultimately, it helps to remind the students that a “play” is fun. I try to as well as cheat sheets indicating cues, entrances, and scene changes. focus on the positive attributes of the students, rather than the ones Make a prop list, indicating props for each scene, as well as props that that drive me crazy. This is easier said than done, but it is important. are the responsibility of individual actors. Direct the Stage Manager One season, I yelled at the group two days in a row. On day two of and an Assistant Stage Manager to keep track of these items, and on show days, personally double-check if you can. yelling, they tuned me out, and it took me a while to win them back. In thirteen years of preparing an inner-city public high school I learned my lesson; since then I’ve tried not to raise my voice out of English class for a public performance on a field trip to the Folger anger or frustration. As I grow older and more mature, it is impor- Secondary School Shakespeare Festival, my groups and I have been tant for me to lead by example. It has been years since I yelled at a beset by illness, emotional turmoil, discipline problems, stage fright, student group. If I am disappointed in their work or their behavior, I adolescent angst, midlife crises (not theirs), and all manner of other will express my disenchantment in words, speaking from the heart as emergencies, including acts of God and nature. Despite the difficulties somebody who cares about them and cares about our performance and challenges inherent in putting on a Shakespeare play with a group and our experience together. I find that fundamentally, young people of young people, one amazing fact stands out in my experience. Here want to please, to do well, and to be liked. If there is a serious disci- is how many times a student has been absent for show day: Zero. pline problem, I will hand it over to the regular classroom teacher, Somehow, everybody has always made it to the show, and the show the administrator, or the parent. has gone on. How can this be? It’s a mystery.

Line Memorization

Students may have a hard time memorizing lines. In these cases, see if you can pair them up with a “buddy” and existing friend who will Performance notes: hamlet ✴ 59

this way, the narrator becomes not just a purveyor of information, but a confidante. Simple physical actions go a long way toward flesh- ing out even the smallest roles. On the other hand, physical actions can also be overdone. The ✴ performance notes: actress playing Hamlet in Scene 1 of our production had wonder- ✴ ful presence, diction, commitment, and emotional delivery, but hamlet she tended to “saw the air too much” with her hands (an acting tic that Hamlet decries in his advice to the players). I appreciated her I directed this performance of Hamlet in 2010 with a group of high instincts toward physicalization, especially since most young actors school seniors. These notes are the result of my own review of the move too little, but we had to choose specific moments where her performance video. They are not intended to be the “definitive” per- arm movements enhanced the text rather than distracted from it. formance notes for all productions of Hamlet. Your production will As with many scenes, by simply breaking the speech down moment- be unique to you and your cast. That is the magic of live theater. by-moment, we were able to “suit the action to the word, the word What is interesting about these notes is that many of the performance to the action.” details I mention were not part of the original stage directions. They Hamlet should be standing far stage right in this scene, apart either emerged spontaneously on performance day or were devel- from the other characters, moving center stage only after the others oped by students in rehearsal after the stage directions had been have exited. Staging in this early part of the scene should reflect written into the script. Some of these pieces of stage business might Hamlet’s state of mind, i.e., isolated. When Horatio enters, Hamlet work like a charm. Others may fall flat. My favorites are the ones perks up visibly. In fact my two twelfth grade actors devised a special that arise directly from the students themselves and demonstrate a handshake between Hamlet and Horatio, including a little dance step at the end, which went a long way toward illustrating their friend- union between actor and character, as if that individual has become ship. The actors devised this move themselves, and as a result, it came a vehicle for the character he is playing. To witness an eighteen-year- off as genuine. It made Hamlet and Horatio real people with a true old young man “become” Hamlet as Shakespeare’s words leave his friendship. mouth is a memorable moment indeed. As Horatio explains the circumstances of the Ghost’s visitation to Hamlet, Marcellus, Bernardo, and the Ghost act out the moment Scene 1 (Act I, Scene II) silently behind them. These living tableaux provide visual reinforce- I always enjoy picking the opening music because it is so effective ment for key plot elements and allow the audience to see what hap- in setting the mood for the scene and the play as a whole. The first pened in an omitted scene. This technique is often very helpful at sounds we hear are reminiscent of the screeching of a metal gate, the beginning of the play, and can be employed during the narrator’s along with low gong sounds. The narrator walks out slowly, looking introduction to acquaint the audience with key characters and plot from side to side apprehensively. By placing his hand up to the side of elements. Audiences are not nearly as familiar with the story as the his face as if sharing a secret on the line, “And then there is the matter actors are. One should not assume the crowd knows the plot. Tell the of the ghost,” the narrator brings the audience into the mystery. In tale, but also show the story in living color! 60 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 61

Scene 2 (Act I, Scene IV) How does one speak “poetically”? The first rule is not to rush the phrases. Many young actors hurry their lines, which perplexes Hamlet’s first line in this scene references the cold air, so he and the audience. Writing down beats and breathing points in the script Horatio must shiver against the frigid weather. Shakespeare’s charac- helps curb this problem. Have the actors mark a slash in their text at ters use their words to describe the settings, the relationships, their appropriate breathing points. They can also underline words or syl- thoughts and feelings, and the tale itself. It is our job to bring the lables that are accentuated, and then experiment with changing the words to life, and simple physical choices such as actors bracing against the cold are essential to the tale telling. When the Ghost appears, emphasis to hear how this changes a line’s meaning. Hamlet and Horatio huddle together, not for warmth but to use each Actors can practice “coloring” their words. Think of the word other as protection against the apparition. as not just a word, but also an emotion evoker. See if the word can The Ghost should move slowly and deliberately, economizing become a poem in itself, with a richness that echoes its sentiment or movement. Like the young woman playing Hamlet, the actress por- enhances the image it arouses. Marking beats and coloring words traying the Ghost tended to have “happy arms,” i.e., she used her will encourage actors to slow down their speech. Through her evoca- sword too readily to punctuate her speech. Curtailing excessive tive expression of the Ghost’s speeches, the young woman playing movement in actors can be achieved by asking them to move only this tormented spirit succeeded in conveying the human emotion when there is a motivation based in the text. For example, Horatio and beauty of the Ghost’s anguish, and won an award for her efforts. exclaims, “It beckons you to go away with it,” so clearly the ghost can After the Ghost yells, “Swear!” from offstage, Hamlet and Hor- beckon with his sword prior to that line. The only other movement atio face each other holding hands, and bow their heads together. the Ghost should make in this scene is to exit slowly after he beckons Brief moments like this speak volumes about the characters’ rela- Hamlet to follow. The Ghost is not human, and his sparse and slow tionships. Hamlet may have few true friends in the world, but he has gestures should reflect that. In this case, stillness is more compelling one in Horatio. Particularly in a tragedy about a very lonely man, an and frightening than movement. intimate human stage interaction such as this can have a particular emotional resonance. Just as comedy flourishes best with a backdrop Scene 3 (Act I, Scene V) of sorrow, so the audience can feel these tender moments deeply, since they are few and far between in Hamlet’s world. The Ghost’s speeches in this scene are full of rich imagery. I asked the actress playing the Ghost to focus on the words themselves, how Scene 4 (Act II, Scene II) they sounded, and what they evoked. When an actor breaks a speech down to its individual words, she can “color” each expression and This very short scene consists only of one speech by Hamlet. Its paint a beautifully textured scene for the listener. A player must purpose is to set up “The Mousetrap,” the play-within-a-play. Hamlet appreciate the sound and feeling of the words as they leave her mouth: enters pacing while talking to himself. One can almost see the “father’s,” “spirit,” “doom’d,” “term,” “walk,” “night,” “day,” “confined,” thoughts forming in his head. The actor who played Hamlet in this “fast,” “fires,” “foul,” “crimes,” “nature,” “burnt,” “purged,” and “love.” scene makes an interesting choice. Right before the line, “The play’s Each of these words alone is expressive, and when spoken as part of the thing,” he looks out at the audience and smiles, as if the idea of a line of Shakespeare, they are poetical. catching the king’s conscience is bringing him pleasure. 62 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 63

He could have played it with intensity, anger, amazement, or Young actors frequently do not know what to do with their bodies any other number of emotions—but he chose joy. Many of the deci- while they are on stage. They either move too much or too little. Just sions actors make can spring directly from the text, and I encourage as we can vocally color words through inflection, tone, pauses, pitch, performers to mine the text for clues to help them in their choices. etc. so can we add body movements that add to a word’s meaning. However, the writing itself does not inform all acting choices. In fact, On his line, “marry a fool,” Hamlet performs a little stutter-step and certain acting choices inform the narrative, i.e., they enable actors a hand pose to signify a fool’s jest. When Ophelia describes Ham- and audience to view the story in a different light, based on a perfor- let’s “noble and most sovereign reason, like sweet bells jangled,” she mance choice an actor makes. That is why it is so helpful to experi- lifts her arm up and rings an imaginary bell. Often a simple physical ment with different interpretations of a scene before making a final gesture can help an actor put her stamp on a character and make choice on how to perform it. Shakespeare’s words her own.

Scene 5 (Act III, Scene I) Scene 6 (Act III, Scene II)

This is a powerful and emotional scene. It is also tricky to act, because This scene features the Dumbshow, or “The Moustrap,” whereby the characters’ emotions, especially Hamlet’s, change rapidly and the traveling players act out the murder of the king via poisoning, unpredictably. Hamlet may be acting insane on purpose, a point that according to Hamlet’s instructions. The stage is split horizontally, the actor and the group can explore in rehearsal. He is certainly rash with the audience (consisting of King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and emotional. He also says some very cruel words to Ophelia, whom Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius) seated stage left. Traveling players he once loved, according to Hamlet himself. From a staging perspec- enter from stage right but play directly out to the audience for great- tive, I am interested in having the actors’ physical movements reflect est visibility. The entire Dumbshow should be performed to music their emotions. Hamlet could get physical with Ophelia by holding her with a mysterious, vaguely foreboding feeling to it. I tend to choose shoulders and pushing her, which would certainly give her some- production music myself for two reasons: first, because I have access thing to get upset about. On the other hand, his words are more to a large collection, and second, because I enjoy it! I consider choos- hurtful than any shove. For example, Hamlet and Ophelia approach ing the play’s music a perk of being the director, but that is simply each other until they are almost touching, and then Hamlet turns my preference. You may have a student who is interested in sound away on the line, “I love you not.” design. If that is case, by all means assign that job to the student. As Hamlet is exiting, he turns back to Ophelia and walks toward Movements during the Dumbshow should be stylized. Each her for the line, “God has given you one face and you make your- pose must be held long enough for it to become a mini-tableau. For selves another.” This back-and-forth staging works on two levels: It example, the poisoner should not simply enter and immediately reinforces the attraction/repulsion dynamic between Hamlet and poison the king. Rather, the whole sequence should be performed Ophelia. Also, if Hamlet is indeed pretending to be mad, it paints a in distinct steps. Write these steps out, so the cast can see each indi- convincing portrait of someone who is behaving erratically. Finally vidual move distinctly. (See Appendix 1 for a written Dumbshow on Hamlet’s line, “It hath made me mad,” Ophelia turns her back on sequence.) In our production, the poisoner added his own physi- him, as if it is too painful for her to see him this way. cal punctuation to the show. At the end of the Dumbshow, when 64 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 65

he placed his hand on the player queen’s shoulder (to indicate that Scene 7 (Act III, Scene IV) he was entering into a relationship with her), he turned toward the The narrator can become a character in this scene by looking around audience, smiled, and gave a big wink, holding that expression while anxiously before reciting, “The Ghost returns.” Having the narrator the audience laughed. react physically to the circumstances he describes helps us to create Technically, the Dumbshow is not a comedy, but it is not an inap- an overall atmosphere and incorporates the narrator into the world of propriate place for audience laughter. If an actor has a chance to the play that the other actors inhabit. If everybody in the play lives in get a laugh, that opportunity must be seized! Especially in a tragedy, the world they create, the audience will inhabit that same domain. moments of comic relief are important. They allow the audience to Hamlet kills Polonius in this scene. In my experience, death breathe, decompress a bit, and continue to be purged of pity and fear. scenes in high school productions can result in unexpected laughter. King Claudius can choose to respond to the traveling player’s For the horror of this scene to work correctly, Polonius must fall to reenactment of his crime by looking horrified or standing quickly the floor facing away from Hamlet, with his face toward the audi- and holding his chest. Our production’s Claudius chose instead to ence and Hamlet upstage of Polonius. This way the audience can see stand and slowly walk offstage, remaining nearly expressionless Polonius’s face, but there is a moment in which Hamlet still thinks throughout. It was an interesting choice. By hiding his true emotions he has killed King Claudius. As Hamlet turns Polonius on his back of shock and horror behind a stony stare, he indicated by omission and recognizes him, Hamlet’s face can show the growing recognition what another actor might have chosen to depict through histrionics. of his error. I am continually fascinated by the craft of acting, and I do not profess I encourage actors not to play death scenes too casually. We may to be an expert. In every production, I learn more from the student rehearse the scenes many times, but in the world of the play, this is actors about the limitless possibilities of portraying Shakespeare’s the only time the character dies, and it should be horrifying. As with characters. Claudius’s poker face following “The Mousetrap,” Hamlet can choose The young man playing Hamlet moves the tragedy inexorably whether to exaggerate his facial expression into one of horror and forward, as he faces the audience directly and recites these chilling disbelief or to experiment with other responses such as fear, sadness, lines with diction, projection, conviction, and passion: numbness, etc. The important thing is for the actors to put them- selves in the theatrical moment as if for the first time. “Tis now the very witching time of night, The performers in this production of Hamlet continually sur- When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out prised me with their choices. When Queen Gertrude said, “Hamlet, Contagion to this world: Soft! Now to my mother.” thou hast thy father much offended,” she wagged her fan at him as if she were scolding him. Throughout the scene, even when Hamlet By embracing the poetry and power of Shakespeare’s words, this was cowering and pointing at a ghost that she did not see, she contin- young actor makes it clear that we are now deeply involved in a story ued to act the no-nonsense, practical mother, shaking her fan at him that is anything but ordinary. and explaining unsentimentally, “This is the very coinage of your brain.” Despite her straightforward demeanor, the actress playing Gertrude then displayed a great sadness and vulnerability when she 66 ✴ hamlet hamlet ✴ 67

uttered, “Oh Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.” By revealing and Laertes. I am always grateful to have the help of a seasoned pro- more than one facet to a character’s personality, players can portray fessional in matters where I lack experience and expertise. I urge not just a character but also a complex person, in this case a practical anyone who is putting on a Shakespeare show with young people mother whose son’s rash words and deeds are breaking her heart. to seek out qualified helpers in areas such as voice, dance, music, and combat from your own circle of colleagues. We adults tend to Scene 8 (Act IV, Scene V) work independently, which is handy, but only up to a point. There are people nearby who will gladly offer their talents. As an added ben- Ophelia’s behavior in this scene is disturbing. Unlike Hamlet, who efit, it expands your personal and professional network. Sometimes retains lucidity even in his “mad” moments, Ophelia’s psyche has it takes a village to build a Shakespeare play. turned a corner, and she is a completely different person from the No production of Hamlet would be complete without the “To Ophelia we last saw. She sings, twirls suggestively before Claudius, be or not to be” speech, one of the most famous soliloquies in the stops, sings again, and then spins off. As she exits, she pantomimes English language, and to my ears, one of the most beautiful. In this as if she is riding a horse-drawn carriage. Although the actress play- staging, the cast shares in the recitation. As characters enter (or rise ing Ophelia portrays her as quite mad indeed, she chooses to have a from the ground if the character has died), each player recites one moment in the scene where the madness appears to lift briefly, leav- line of the speech, punctuated by phrases recited by the ensemble as ing in its place raw emotion. After the line, “I cannot choose but a whole (see Appendix 2). Finally, all recite the final lines in unison, weep, to think they should lay him / i’ the cold ground,” Ophelia their voices rising to a near shout as they conclude the tragedy: stops moving, sits down, and buries her head in her hands, weeping uncontrollably. Then, just as quickly she stands and exclaims firmly, “And enterprises of great pitch and moment “My brother shall know of it.” This powerful moment of vulnerable With this regard their currents turn awry, sorrow gives the audience a chance to experience the pain behind And lose the name of action!” Ophelia’s losses. On the word “action” all raise their arms in the air and bow simultaneously, holding hands as a group. Scene 9 (Act V, Scene II. Additional Material from Act III, Live theater is magical. It is the most dynamic form of entertain- Scene I) ment available to us. There is nothing like the interchange between The narrator comes onstage for the final time to tell the audience actors and audience, that vibrant energy that is created in the what is about to transpire, and adds, “I do not predict a happy theatre. Hamlet is surely one of the most powerful and enduring ending.” This gives the spectators a chance to let out a brief laugh dramas ever written, and we are fortunate to be able to continue giving before the tragedy comes to a close. it life, especially with young performers who can give it the vitality This is a fairly elaborate concluding scene, featuring sword fight- it deserves. ing, poisoning, and multiple deaths. Thanks to the assistance of my annual fight choreography resource, Michael Tolaydo, this produc- tion ends on a strong note with the climactic fight between Hamlet Benjamin banneker academic high school presents ' Hamlet ' By William Shakespeare Folger Secondary School Shakespeare Festival Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 Senior English Class | Instructor: Mr. Leo Bowman | Guest Director: Mr. Nick Newlin Fight Choreography: Michael Tolaydo

✴✴ hamlet: Cast of characters: Set and Prop List Scene 1 A room of state in the castle Dumb Show: Narrator: Brandon Scott Player King: Emmanuel Eboweme King Claudius: Gabriel Massalley Player Queen: Nhu-Thuy Ton Set Pieces: Queen Gertrude: Nicolette Johnson Poisoner: Khaalil Akeem Polonius: Janay Wood Player Queen’s Friend: Kyna Uwaeme Throne Laertes: Latoya Corum Scene 7 The Queen’s room Chair Hamlet: Lorynn Holloway Narrator: Courtney Jordan Table Horatio: Emmanuel Eboweme Hamlet: Brandon Scott Scene 2 The platform Queen Gertrude: Nicolette Johnson Props: Narrator: Latoya Corum Polonius: Janay Wood Throughout: Hamlet: Lorynn Holloway Ghost: Brenda Reyes Horatio: Courtney Jordan Swords Scene 8 A room in the castle Scene 3 Another part of the platform Narrator: Rinita Hutchinson Scene 2: Hamlet: Lorynn Holloway Queen Gertrude: Kyna Uwaeme Armor helmet for the Ghost Horatio: Courtney Jordan King Claudius: Darrius Wade Ghost: Brenda Reyes Ophelia: Shanise Bush Scene 5: Laertes: Latoya Corum Scene 4 A room in the castle Box (or bundle) of letters for Ophelia Narrator: Oluwatobi Orekunren Scene 9 A hall in the castle Scene 6: Hamlet: Michael T. Daniels Narrator: Shanise Bush Hamlet: Michael T. Daniels Crown for Player King Scene 5 A room in the castle Horatio: Emmanuel Eboweme Vial of poison for Player Poisoner Hamlet: Michasel T. Daniels Osric: Alexander Baker Ophelia: Brittany Whitby King Claudius: Oluwatobi Orekunren Scene 9: Horatio: Courtney Jordan Queen Gertrude: Charminika Kirkpatrick Two bottles of wine Scene 6 A hall in the castle Laertes: Jerod Hairston Two goblets Hamlet: Michasel T. Daniels Attendants: Khaalil Akeem, Brandon Scott Vial of poison for Laertes’s sword Ophelia: Brittany Whitby Polonius: Janay Wood Stage Manager: Manisha Brooks Horatio: Manisha Brooks (Nish) Boombox: Darrius Wade Queen Gertrude: Rinita Hutchinson King Claudius: Alvin Jones There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow . . . The readiness is all. Hamlet additional resources ✴ 71

Scenes From Shakespeare: 101 Theatre Games for Drama A Workbook for Actors Teachers, Classroom Teachers Robin J. Holt & Directors McFarland and Co. Mila Johansen London, 1988 Players Press Inc. Additional Resources California, 1994 Theater and Performance Play Directing Shakespeare Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre Keith Johnstone Theater and the Adolescent Actor: Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Romeo ShakesFear and How to Cure It! Routledge Books Building a Successful School Program and Juliet, Macbeth and a Midsummer Ralph Alan Cohen London, 1982 Camille L. Poisson Night’s Dream Prestwick House, Inc. Archon Books Peggy O’Brien, Ed., Teaching Delaware, 2006 A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: Connecticut, 1994 Shakespeare Institute The Secret Art of the Performer Washington Square Press The Friendly Shakespeare: Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese Directing for the Theatre New York, 1993 A Thoroughly Painless Guide Routledge W. David Sievers to the Best of the Bard London, 1991 Wm. C. Brown, Co. Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Hamlet Norrie Epstein Iowa, 1965 and Henry IV, Part 1 Penguin Books Peggy O’Brien, Ed., Teaching New York, 1994 Theater Games The Director’s Vision: Play Direction Shakespeare Institute from Analysis to Production Washington Square Press Brush Up Your Shakespeare! Theatre Games for Young Performers Louis E. Catron New York, 1994 Michael Macrone Maria C. Novelly Mayfield Publishing Co. Cader Books Meriwether Publishing California, 1989 Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Twelfth New York, 1990 Colorado, 1990 Night and Othello Peggy O’Brien, Ed., Teaching Shakespeare’s Insults: Improvisation for the Theater Internet Resources Shakespeare Institute Educating Your Wit Viola Spolin Washington Square Press Wayne F. Hill and Cynthia J. Ottchen Northwestern University Press http://www.folger.edu New York, 1995 Three Rivers Press Illinois, 1983 The Folger Shakespeare Library’s New York, 1991 website has lesson plans, primary The Shakespeare Set Free series is Theater Games for Rehearsal: sources, study guides, images, an invaluable resource with lesson Practical Approaches to A Director’s Handbook workshops, programs for teachers plans, activites, handouts, and Teaching Shakespeare Viola Spolin and students, and much more. The excellent suggestions for rehearsing Peter Reynolds Northwestern University Press definitive Shakespeare website for and performing Shakespeare plays in a Oxford University Press Illinois, 1985 educators, historians and all lovers classroom setting. New York, 1991 of the Bard. 72 ✴ hamlet

http://www.shakespeare.mit.edu. http://www.opensourceshakespeare The Complete Works of .org. William Shakespeare. This site has good searching capacity. All complete scripts for The 30-Minute Shakespeare series were http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/ originally downloaded from this site default.htm before editing. Links to other internet Excellent links and searches resources. http://shakespeare.com/ http://www.LoMonico.com/ Write like Shakespeare, Shakespeare-and-Media.htm Poetry Machine, tag cloud http://shakespeare-and-media

.wikispaces.com http://www.shakespeare-online.com/ Michael LoMonico is Senior Consultant on National Education http://www.bardweb.net/ for the Folger Shakespeare Library. His Seminar Shakespeare 2.0 offers a http://www.rhymezone.com/ wealth of information on how to use shakespeare/ exciting new approaches and online Good searchable word and phrase resources for teaching Shakespeare. finder. Or by lines: http://www.freesound.org. http://www.rhymezone.com/ Nick Newlin has been performing the comedy and variety A collaborative database of sounds shakespeare/toplines/ act Nicolo Whimsey for international audiences for 25 years. and sound effects. Since 1996, he has conducted an annual play directing residency http://shakespeare.mcgill.ca/ http://www.wordle.net. affiliated with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Shakespeare and Performance A program for creating “word clouds” research team Newlin received a BA with Honors from Harvard University in from the text that you provide. The 1982 and an MA in Theater with an emphasis in Play Directing clouds give greater prominence to http://www.enotes.com/william- from the University of Maryland in 1996. words that appear more frequently in shakespeare the source text.

Needless to say, the internet goes on and on with valuable Shakespeare resources. The ones listed here are excellent starting points and will set you on your way in the great adventure that is Shakespeare. THE 30-minute shakespeare new in Spring 2011: hamlet the two gentlemen of verona 978-1-935550-24-2 978-1-935550-25-9

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There is no royalty for performingHamlet: The 30-Minute Shakespeare in a class- room or on a stage; however, permission must be obtained for all playscripts used by the actors. The publisher hereby grants unlimited photocopy permission for one series of performances to all acting groups that have purchased at least five (5) copies of the paperback edition or one (1) copy of the downloadable PDF edition available for $12.95 from www.30MinuteShakespeare.com.