 HAMLET
This play was the first venture of our new company of teenagers – The Rogue Players. We realized that the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre was getting too large and the span of ages was too vast, so we divided off the high school students, eleven in all, to tackle something a bit more intense. Ten of these kids had been with me for 4 years or more, so I felt they could handle a big challenge. They didn’t hesitate when I offered Hamlet as one of the choices for their first production.
That was their first collective decision and from the first to the last I gave them many opportunities to make choices for themselves. It was thrilling to watch them discover the story and arrive at their own interpretations of characters and motivations. I find that when I invite these young actors to participate fully in creating the production, the result is a much richer final product. Their keen insights, hard work and marvelous cooperation were a joy to behold.
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