‘Hamlet’ stoops to conquer - Hilltop...
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Joel Martini, who was a member of the Trojans with... ‘ Hamlet’ stoops to conquer A t the end of first semester, when audi- tions were held for the spring produc- tion, “She Stoops to Conquer,” and only a few people showed up to audition, direc- tor Katie Karnes and assistant director Ra- chel Ost decided to switch productions. The result: “Hamlet.” But a “Hamlet” like Corban’s audience had never seen it before. “The Little Theater’s Production of Hamlet” is about a big city director who migrates to coal-mine-dotted West Virgin- ia. She’s on a mission, a mission to insert art into this artless town, to the bewilder- ment of the residents. The entire production took place “in- the-round,” with the stage surrounded on three sides by the audience. This helped give the production a more cozy, family atmosphere. The actors, in addition to learning lines and blocking, had to be trained in several different accents. The cast retreat that took place during the early part of the semester was a great way to help the cast get to know each other. “The theater retreat is always a great way to kick off any play, and we had some real bonding at the coast that has continued to grow stronger during rehearsals and oth- er get-togethers,” Karnes said. “The retreat was funny,” said Krystal Kuehn, who played Mona Wilkins and Ophelia. “We didn’t know each other, but it made it better in the long run. We found out our assistant director (Ost) is an amaz- ing chipmunk!” The rehearsals also provided some fan- tastic memories for the cast and directors. “I can’t forget the many times Rachel and I sat on the side of the stage laughing until we cried at some of their antics dur- ing the more humorous ‘Hamlet’ scenes,” Karnes said. Sarah Stroud, who played lead character Lauren McTeer, summed up some of the things she has learned as an actress: ”As Christians, we know what we’re supposed to be doing and where we’re headed, but we don’t have the exact words or motions. We have a script with no lines. We have a plot. ” Sarah Stroud, as successful director Lauren McTeer, pleads with a bust of William Shakespeare “to forgive Lauren for what she is about to do to his masterpiece, ‘Hamlet.’ This is because my character is forced to make sweeping revisions to the script and feels terrible about doing so,” Stroud said. Photo by Josh Millikan 82 SPRING PLAY
Transcript of ‘Hamlet’ stoops to conquer - Hilltop...
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J o e l Mart i n i , who was a m em b e r o f t h e Trojan s w i t h . . .
‘Hamlet’ stoops to conquer
At the end of first semester, when audi-tions were held for the spring produc-
tion, “She Stoops to Conquer,” and only a few people showed up to audition, direc-tor Katie Karnes and assistant director Ra-chel Ost decided to switch productions. The result: “Hamlet.” But a “Hamlet” like Corban’s audience had never seen it before. “The Little Theater’s Production of Hamlet” is about a big city director who migrates to coal-mine-dotted West Virgin-ia. She’s on a mission, a mission to insert art into this artless town, to the bewilder-ment of the residents. The entire production took place “in-the-round,” with the stage surrounded on three sides by the audience. This helped give the production a more cozy, family atmosphere. The actors, in addition to learning lines and blocking, had to be trained in several different accents. The cast retreat that took place during the early part of the semester was a great way to help the cast get to know each other.
“The theater retreat is always a great way to kick off any play, and we had some real bonding at the coast that has continued to grow stronger during rehearsals and oth-er get-togethers,” Karnes said. “The retreat was funny,” said Krystal Kuehn, who played Mona Wilkins and Ophelia. “We didn’t know each other, but it made it better in the long run. We found out our assistant director (Ost) is an amaz-ing chipmunk!” The rehearsals also provided some fan-tastic memories for the cast and directors. “I can’t forget the many times Rachel and I sat on the side of the stage laughing until we cried at some of their antics dur-ing the more humorous ‘Hamlet’ scenes,” Karnes said. Sarah Stroud, who played lead character Lauren McTeer, summed up some of the things she has learned as an actress: ”As Christians, we know what we’re supposed to be doing and where we’re headed, but we don’t have the exact words or motions. We have a script with no lines. We have a plot. ”
Sarah Stroud, as successful director Lauren McTeer, pleads with a bust of William Shakespeare “to forgive Lauren for what she is about to do to his masterpiece, ‘Hamlet.’ This is because my
character is forced to make sweeping revisions to the script and feels terrible about doing so,” Stroud said. Photo by Josh Millikan
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“In the ‘get thee to a nunnery’ scene, I got to clutch at her dress and crawl on the floor,” said John Bennett, who played both Sam Glover and the titular ‘Hamlet’ across from Krystal Kuehn’s Mona Wilkins and Ophelia.
Photo by Kenneth Mabry
Hattie (Kimberly Liu) gives a parting
hug to director Lauren McTeer (Sarah Stroud) at the end of the show.
“Hattie suggests that maybe someday Lauren
will miss doing little theater in West Virginia,” explained
Stroud.
Christi Hathorne and Jill Hochstetler play waitresses Lodocia Reynolds and Bettylou Sammons. “She has this great comedic voice,” said Sarah Stroud of Hathorne’s charac-ter, a rather boisterous and outgoing waitress. Photo by Josh Millikan
Sarah Stroud found her role challenging and sometimes
confusing. “Three of the scenes were monologues,
and I started half of the scenes. I’m in every single scene!” Stroud wrote up all of her entrances just so she
could keep track of her costumes and props.Photo by Josh Millikan
“We have done lots of fun improv with this cast,” Katie Karnes, direc-tor, said. “The cast loved doing it, and it has helped them stretch as actors and try things on stage they wouldn’t normally do just walking in off the street.”
Photo by Josh Millikan
“We were getting ready to go on stage for the ‘roman-
tic’ scene,” Krystal Kuehn explained. “It was awkward at first, but the more we ran
through it, the more comfortable it got.”Photo by Kenneth Mabry
Jill Hochstetler, who played wait-ress Bettylou Sammons, enjoys a game of cards in Hattie’s restau-rant. “She’s kind of sweet, but don’t mess with her,” said Sarah Stroud of Jill’s char-acter.
“I’m using the magic of stage makeup to in-crease Taylor’s age by about 40 years,” said assistant director Rachel Ost.
Photo by Josh Millikan
“Oh Lord, my God!” yells Kimberly Liu, as she goes all out for her character, Hattie. Hattie’s Heavenly Restaurant was the setting for the entire show. “I got to go way over the top and still be in char-
acter,” Liu said. Photo by Josh Millikan
Zac k Jac k s o n , who l i k e d to p o k e f u n at. . .
Christi Hathorn’s character Lodocia relaxes for a few min-utes. Photo by Josh Millikan
Taylor Husk breaks out a quick dance improv. Photo by Kenneth Mabry
Photo by Josh Millikan
Photo by Kenneth Mabry
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