Hamlet

WRITTEN BY: William Shakespeare
PERFORMED AT: Corning Community College, Corning, NY
PERFORMED ON: March 5-10, 1996 (7 performances)
DIRECTOR: Clare Reidy
SPONSORED BY: CCC Two-Bit Players
CAST:
* CLAUDIUS, KING OF DENMARK- David Marion
* HAMLET, SON TO THE FORMER KING- Eric Giancoli
* POLONIUS, LORD CHAMBERLAIN- John T. Olcott
* HORATIO, FRIEND TO HAMLET- Sam Losito Jr.
* LAERTES, SON TO POLONIUS- Joseph Regan
* ROSENCRANTZ, COURTIER- David Alan Scott Jr.
* GUILDENSTERN, COURTIER- Tom Schink
* OSRIC, COURTIER- Michael Bonsor
* VOLTEMAND, COURTIER- Chris Callas
* PLAYER KING- Steven G. Terwilliger
* PLAYER QUEEN- Sally Egan
* GRAVEDIGGER- Rick Pirozzolo
* GHOST OF HAMLET'S FATHER- Henry Moonschein
* GERTRUDE- Margaret Menges
* OPHELIA- Amber La Bella
* GENTLEWOMAN 1- Laura Fusare
* GENTLEWOMAN 2- Fran Wells
* PAGE- Alex Feulner
* COMMENTATOR- Michael Gilmartin

PLOT: Prince Hamlet (Eric Giancoli) plots to kill his uncle King Claudius (David Marion), who is said to have murdered the old king, Hamlet's father. A Shakesperian tragedy.

HISTORY: A very memorable show, not only for its seven great performances (there were going to be eight, but one was cancelled due to heavy snowfall), but for the fun cast members had together, both backstage and offstage. I later wrote about the experience in the April 19 issue of CCC's The Crier newspaper. Here are some excerpts:

          "...Having been a part of the play, I can tell you firsthand that putting on a play like this is part fun, part challenging, and often memorable.
          Part of the fun (or challenge) was learning to work with people we weren't entirely familiar with. When Eric...came in from New York City, his style of professionalism left many of us almost speechless. Rather than let his superiority discourage us, we worked to improve the quality of our own acting; as a result, we learned to become better actors and Eric turned out to be a great guy to work with....
          ....Backstage antics were also a highlight. When we weren't focusing on our lines for an upcoming scene, we were in the main dressing room, having snacks..., reading magazines, and talking to each other....
          ....But immediately, my favorite memory of "Hamlet" occurred right before we went on stage to take our bows for the final show.
          As Hamlet began to die for the last time (onstage), I saw Tom Schink run back into the dressing room to write one final message on the poster of Polaroids that we had put together to commemerate the show.
          What he wrote serves not only as a description of the poster itself, but as a summation of his first experience as an actor: A light-hearted look at my new and dear friends."

PHOTOS:
* Me backstage during a rehearsal (photo by Tom Schink)
* Tom Schink and I in the green room (photo by Alex Feulner)
* The cast of "Hamlet" (photo by Clare Reidy)