Walter’s Students Meet Hamlet in Philly

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

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“To be or not to be: that is the question.” These are the words of Hamlet in what is perhaps the most famous soliloquy in the English language. Both senior and freshman students of English teacher Marc Walter had the privilege of experiencing this very speech in Hamlet, one of the greatest plays the world has ever known.On May 11th, a group of students traveled to the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre to indulge in the rich detail of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Of the 37 plays Shakespeare is credited with writing, Hamlet is the longest of all his works. First performed in 1602, Hamlet is set in Denmark and tells the story of Prince Hamlet’s attempt to avenge his father’s death. King hamlet was murdered by his brother Claudius, who then succeeded the elder Hamlet on the throne and married Queen Gertrude, mother of Prince Hamlet.

The play, which lasted about two and a half hours, explored themes such as deception, ambition, and madness; the drama ultimately demonstrated the difficulty in knowing the truth about other people. Hamlet had been showing at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre since March 18th, and many of the same actors were also featured in the theatre’s second show, As You Like It. As You Like It and

Hamlet were written within a year of each other and share many common themes.

Mary Tuomanen starred as the character Hamlet and did an excellent job portraying the diversity of emotions present in the play. As a female playing a male role, Tuomanen did not hold back at all.  She later shared with the students that Hamlet really becomes her when she is on stage, and gender does not matter.

“It was interesting to see a female play a role that is primarily considered male.  She did a good job though,” commented FAHS junior Brad Jeschonek.

After the show, students had the opportunity to engage in a question and answer session with the cast and director of the show.

“It was really neat to see the actors in normal, everyday clothes after the show. During the play, you almost forget they are people just like us,” said senior Joe Rudderow.

The cast shared some of their favorite parts of the show as well as funny experiences they have had in performance.  Meanwhile, the director shared information on set design, music, careers in theatre, and the process of beginning a production such as Hamlet.

Overall, students seemed to really enjoy the show, and it was a pleasure to experience such a well known Shakespeare play in person.

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