First Hamlet Player Rehearsal...

Today we had our first rehearsal as Players for the 15 minute scene of Hamlet. The first scene involves a lot of physical body work as the players are supposed to look like puppets, waiting to be moulded and instructed by Hamlet. We wanted to create a sense of madness, much like that inside of Hamlet's mind and so we choose some jerky movements contrasting with those of silence and eeriness, where the players become almost animalistic and creature like. We lean over Hamlet to show our interest and fixture with this mad man, much like the clowns from Circ du Soleil. This opening is performed to music which has some strong rhythms which the players move to. We also have large blocks to manoeuvre which we can droop upon, in a range of levels so that the stage looks like a scattering of people. The scene in which the players are amongst the 'dumb show' performed by the player king and queen has a very different atmosphere. The mood is light-hearted and the 'play' comical. The players have a variety of different instruments here which we play crazily in time to the action in the 'play.' Here the players have changed into characters of the lowest class who are caught up in the action on stage. They are almost like the groundings of the Shakespearian theatre. We act wildly and because we are caught up in the excitement of the play we really have no clue about the true meaning behind the performance!