Hamlet to Be May 7-10

Claudius has his ghosts, too: henchmen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the foreground shadows;
from left, Michael Callahan, Joey Firman and Nick Perry in rehearsal.

The Knox College Department of Theatre and Dance presents Shakespeare's "Hamlet," at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday May 7 through Saturday May 10 in Studio Theatre, Ford Center for the Fine Arts, Galesburg, Illinois.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: A matinee performance has been added at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10.

Tickets are available at the door and are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, and free to students. Admission is also free to Knox College students, faculty and staff.

The production is directed by Elizabeth Carlin-Metz, professor of theatre.

"This production did not begin with a design, in the traditional sense of the word," Carlin-Metz says.

A production design is usually developed before rehearsals, Carlin-Metz says, "so that on the first day of rehearsal, you can start with blocking," the locations where the actors enter, exit, and move on stage.

Instead of starting with faculty designs, "the lighting, set and costume designers for this show are all students, and all the designers and actors are participating in the design process," Carlin-Metz says.

"We are not guiding the play from a singular concept -- the concept is emerging collectively, with faculty as facilitators. The actors and designers have a lot of creative autonomy. The process utilizes all their training and experience with Knox theatre."

For example, the actors and designers shared ideas for the design of the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father, Carlin-Metz says. "They had a discussion of, 'What is a ghost?' People are often more familiar with cinema than stage, so they have to learn how stage designers show what's real and what isn't real."

Hamlet: In Rehearsal

A member of the ensemble cast, Keegan Siebken studies lines for one of his four characters.	Devan Cameron as Gertrude
Observing rehearsal: Elizabeth Carlin Metz, "more facilitator than director"; with students Kari Lefevre, set designer; and Kat Henak, dramaturg.	Matt Allis has dinner before rehearsal, while reviewing the scene (IV, iii) where Hamlet says that Polonius is "...not where he eats, but where he is eaten..."
Meghan Reardon as Osric; verbal fencing presages real swordplay in V, ii.	Matt Allis as Hamlet; Meghan Reardon as Osric. Below, Hamlet seeks treachery, finds it on stage (V,ii). Photos above and below by Lauren Neiheisel.
Below: In 1964, "Hamlet" was the first play performed in the newly-constructed Ford Center for the Fine Arts. In front, as Hamlet, Ethyl Eichelberger, later a famed New York drag and improv performer.

Cast
Hamlet/Lucianus ? Matt Allis
Gertrude/Bernardo ? Devan Cameron
Claudius/Ghost/Francisco ? Joey Firman
Polonius/Clown/Marcellus ? Ariel Lauryn
Ophelia/Clown/Osric ? Meghan Reardon
Guildenstern/Horatio ? Nick Perry
Rosencrantz/Player Queen/Laertes ? Michael Callahan
Player King/Sailor/Messenger/Courtier/Reynaldo ? Keegan Siebken

Production Team
Director ? Elizabeth Carlin-Metz
Co-Director ? Courtney Meaker
Stage Manager ? Kathleen Dickinson
Assistant Stage Managers ? Ryn Flynn and Samantha Newport
Set Designer and Scenic Artist ? Kari Lefevre
Lighting Designer ? Danny Fisher-Bruns
Sound Designer ? Tom Fucoloro
Assistant Sound Designer ? Noel Sherrard
Costume Designer ? Mikah Berky
Fight Choreographer ? DC Wright
Dramaturg ? Kat Henak

Stage combat ? looks funny until you have to do it for real, above right. DC Wright of Western Illinois University, orange shirt and slacks at right, led an open workshop for students and worked with the fight scenes in "Hamlet." Photos by Lauren Neiheisel.