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tealinThe Independent Shakespeare Company could not have picked a better time to open their show – the last* week of production for the thing I was on was the first week of their run. I got through the week on coffee, nerves, and brilliantly executed Shakespearean tragedy alone. This is how I appeared to the rest of the studio:
*turned out to be second-to-last, but was still the most intense
Now that I have an abundance of spare time on my hands, I can finally do the doodles I've been wanting to do, in some cases since I first saw the show in August.
The main cast is entirely the same as the summer production with the exception of Horatio, but the new Horatio is just as good! People talk about 'getting' things about Hamlet that they never have before, when they see the ISC's production, and one of the many things I 'got' was the whole point of Horatio. I had generally assumed he was the sort of character screenwriters put in their scripts to give the main character an excuse to vocalise their internal monologue ... but Hamlet quite famously has no problem vocalising to thin air, so why Horatio? He can't be the 'audience representative' (i.e. the normal 'blank' character thrown into a situation to give the audience someone to identify with, project themselves upon, and/or serve as a conduit for explanations) because he's not really in that much of the play and doesn't get much of importance explained to him. No, the point of Horatio is that he's Hamlet's best friend! And, by the middle of the play if not earlier, his only friend. The way he's played in this production, he's the sort of friend everyone would like to have – he's patient, good-humoured, intelligent, has a sympathetic ear for wild-brained theories, doesn't mind if you blow your lid occasionally, takes care of your crazy girlfriend when you've been sent to England after murdering her father ... just a great guy to have around.
Anyway I had to celebrate Hamlet and Horatio, BFFs, with some good old fashioned vernacular translation:
Of course, the glory of the ISC is that the scenes don't need translating, because when they do it it's perfectly clear what people are saying and what the intent behind it is. (I may have mentioned they are awesome. Please remind me to do so, if I have not.)
Sooo, the whole play rumbles along, things happen, people die, Yorick's skull is talked to (more on that later), and then a messenger comes from the castle with an invitation that sets the final scene in action:
Oh Hamlet, little do you know, Laertes has come back from France with a towering rage against you and a bottle of poison, which he's shared with the King, who knows a thing or two about poison:
IT ALL GETS VERY EXCITING AND THERE IS A COMPLETELY AWESOME SWORDFIGHT! But I'm not drawing that because nothing would get close to the brilliance of seeing it live.
If you are lucky enough to live within driving distance of LA (how often do I say that, eh?) you still have a chance to see this show, because they've extended the run to March 17th – it's Saturday and Sunday this weekend, then Saturdays after that, all shows at 5pm.
GO HERE >>>>> iscla.org <<<<< and get yourself a ridiculously underpriced ticket to some serious quality. GO! I am not joking about this, you do not want to miss it.
ETA: I FORGOT! How could I forget? Interviews and suchlike!
Hamlet interviews his Mom and Dad - Or, rather, David Melville interviews Bernadette Sullivan and Luis Gallindo. There is much of interest and amusement ... and Louis L'Amour! (You'll get it when you see it.)
Melissa Chalsma on KCSN - I think this interview might only be available till Sunday ... anyway, the co-founder and Artistic Director of the ISC talks about the company, its ethos and origins, its place in the LA theatre scene, etc.
David Melville (again) on Hamlet and the ISC's future - Interesting anecdotes and exploration of how one runs a theatre in 'the new economy', especially when the biggest event in the calendar is offering professional entertainment for free.
*turned out to be second-to-last, but was still the most intense
Now that I have an abundance of spare time on my hands, I can finally do the doodles I've been wanting to do, in some cases since I first saw the show in August.
The main cast is entirely the same as the summer production with the exception of Horatio, but the new Horatio is just as good! People talk about 'getting' things about Hamlet that they never have before, when they see the ISC's production, and one of the many things I 'got' was the whole point of Horatio. I had generally assumed he was the sort of character screenwriters put in their scripts to give the main character an excuse to vocalise their internal monologue ... but Hamlet quite famously has no problem vocalising to thin air, so why Horatio? He can't be the 'audience representative' (i.e. the normal 'blank' character thrown into a situation to give the audience someone to identify with, project themselves upon, and/or serve as a conduit for explanations) because he's not really in that much of the play and doesn't get much of importance explained to him. No, the point of Horatio is that he's Hamlet's best friend! And, by the middle of the play if not earlier, his only friend. The way he's played in this production, he's the sort of friend everyone would like to have – he's patient, good-humoured, intelligent, has a sympathetic ear for wild-brained theories, doesn't mind if you blow your lid occasionally, takes care of your crazy girlfriend when you've been sent to England after murdering her father ... just a great guy to have around.
Anyway I had to celebrate Hamlet and Horatio, BFFs, with some good old fashioned vernacular translation:
Of course, the glory of the ISC is that the scenes don't need translating, because when they do it it's perfectly clear what people are saying and what the intent behind it is. (I may have mentioned they are awesome. Please remind me to do so, if I have not.)
Sooo, the whole play rumbles along, things happen, people die, Yorick's skull is talked to (more on that later), and then a messenger comes from the castle with an invitation that sets the final scene in action:
Oh Hamlet, little do you know, Laertes has come back from France with a towering rage against you and a bottle of poison, which he's shared with the King, who knows a thing or two about poison:
IT ALL GETS VERY EXCITING AND THERE IS A COMPLETELY AWESOME SWORDFIGHT! But I'm not drawing that because nothing would get close to the brilliance of seeing it live.
If you are lucky enough to live within driving distance of LA (how often do I say that, eh?) you still have a chance to see this show, because they've extended the run to March 17th – it's Saturday and Sunday this weekend, then Saturdays after that, all shows at 5pm.
GO HERE >>>>> iscla.org <<<<< and get yourself a ridiculously underpriced ticket to some serious quality. GO! I am not joking about this, you do not want to miss it.
ETA: I FORGOT! How could I forget? Interviews and suchlike!
Hamlet interviews his Mom and Dad - Or, rather, David Melville interviews Bernadette Sullivan and Luis Gallindo. There is much of interest and amusement ... and Louis L'Amour! (You'll get it when you see it.)
Melissa Chalsma on KCSN - I think this interview might only be available till Sunday ... anyway, the co-founder and Artistic Director of the ISC talks about the company, its ethos and origins, its place in the LA theatre scene, etc.
David Melville (again) on Hamlet and the ISC's future - Interesting anecdotes and exploration of how one runs a theatre in 'the new economy', especially when the biggest event in the calendar is offering professional entertainment for free.
