A friend tapped me for a project that he knew I couldn't refuse: make a cut of Hamlet for a BYU student production to produce.
The catch? This production was going to be James Bond themed. But not as a gimmick; every instance, word, intonation, and gesture that pointed toward spying had to be included in the cut. The focus, then, was that the world of Hamlet was one in which deception and subterfuge reigned, and it was my job to draw that out as much as possible.
Thus I gained the unpronounceable title of dramaturge. My job was to not only edit the play (the longest in Shakespeare's canon, at over 4,000 lines, always requires a hefty cut) but to omit the specific parts of the play that didn't remain focused on the spying. After some back and forth--with me trying to make the piece as lean as possible, yet still putting in all that the director wanted--we finally landed on a cut that is currently being rehearsed. The production will run during June of 2017.
Along with the edit, I'm supposed to know the "world of the play." That is, the dramaturge tends to be the historian/guru about the time period in which the play transpires, as well as any nitty-gritty details about the text that may be needed. So, the dramaturge of The Crucible would need to be familiar with 17th century Salem, the real life witch hunt there, its real outcomes, and the McCarthy-era red scare that inspired the play in the first place. That way, if the director or actors have questions about why a thing is said or a particular prop is used, there's context and understanding. Essentially, it's what I do every day I teach Shakespeare.
This has been a new and exciting experience--one for which the director even offered me a part--as I've been able to glimpse behind the curtain a little, as it were, and gain some insight into the process of putting on a play. As an additional perk to the job, I get to do one night (due to my schedule) of "talk-back" to the audience: After the play is over, I will sit in the front with the director and actors and answer any questions from those who experienced Hamlet as James Bond. I try to convince myself that I'm better at asking questions than providing answers, but I know that I do have some responses at the ready, particularly when it comes to Hamlet (and Hamlet). This is an exciting part of the process, and I wish I could be there more often, if needed. Alas, that shan't be the case.
The final piece of this new part of my life is that I'm to write a blurb for the program. A couple hundred words or so, describing the process, the decisions, or whatever else I think may be helpful to the audience before getting involved in the play. So, without further ado about nothing, I'm putting my first draft here. Enjoy.
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| Actual video footage of my friend, right before talking to me. (Source) |
Thus I gained the unpronounceable title of dramaturge. My job was to not only edit the play (the longest in Shakespeare's canon, at over 4,000 lines, always requires a hefty cut) but to omit the specific parts of the play that didn't remain focused on the spying. After some back and forth--with me trying to make the piece as lean as possible, yet still putting in all that the director wanted--we finally landed on a cut that is currently being rehearsed. The production will run during June of 2017.
Along with the edit, I'm supposed to know the "world of the play." That is, the dramaturge tends to be the historian/guru about the time period in which the play transpires, as well as any nitty-gritty details about the text that may be needed. So, the dramaturge of The Crucible would need to be familiar with 17th century Salem, the real life witch hunt there, its real outcomes, and the McCarthy-era red scare that inspired the play in the first place. That way, if the director or actors have questions about why a thing is said or a particular prop is used, there's context and understanding. Essentially, it's what I do every day I teach Shakespeare.
This has been a new and exciting experience--one for which the director even offered me a part--as I've been able to glimpse behind the curtain a little, as it were, and gain some insight into the process of putting on a play. As an additional perk to the job, I get to do one night (due to my schedule) of "talk-back" to the audience: After the play is over, I will sit in the front with the director and actors and answer any questions from those who experienced Hamlet as James Bond. I try to convince myself that I'm better at asking questions than providing answers, but I know that I do have some responses at the ready, particularly when it comes to Hamlet (and Hamlet). This is an exciting part of the process, and I wish I could be there more often, if needed. Alas, that shan't be the case.
The final piece of this new part of my life is that I'm to write a blurb for the program. A couple hundred words or so, describing the process, the decisions, or whatever else I think may be helpful to the audience before getting involved in the play. So, without further ado about nothing, I'm putting my first draft here. Enjoy.
I called my mom, asking her if she had a copy of Casino Royale. After being assured she did, and asking why, I said, "I need to watch that movie as research for Hamlet." Admittedly, one doesn't associate the philandering power fantasy of Ian Flemming as fitting in with the supreme creation of English drama. But the mashup of a Cold Warrior and a Danish prince isn't about the gimmick: It's about the text. When I sat down to cut the play into a more manageable size (the original is over 4,000 lines long, with Hamlet's lines alone comprising more than 37% of the play), I made it a point to include as many references to spying, observations, or watching. That is, the espionage of Bond's world, filtered through the Bard's words. Even the tagline of our production comes straight out of the play: "They come not in single spies but in battalions" (4.5). One of the requirements of both Prince Hamlet and James Bond is to act a particular way in order to get close to their targets, who are observing them--and vice versa. In some ways, acting is a special type of reverse observation. Part of Hamlet's (and Hamlet's) power is the way that this play continually holds, "as 'twere, the mirror up to nature" (3.2) and gives us a deeper look into ourselves and our world. We hope that you enjoy watching this play about watching those who play as some of the best known characters in the English language. We hope you enjoy Hamlet.