Friday / January 3 / 2020
Written by Lauren
We began the session with a chat about cuts to the script. A couple of women had concerns regarding some proposed cuts, so as a group we discussed those and how they would or would not be missed in the final script. Since this can be difficult work, we followed it by playing a couple of games.
The first game was new to us, and suggested by an ensemble member. It’s number game called Buzz and was very fun! After that we played a group favorite: WAH! Even a certain member who “does not play games” joined in for that one.
We moved on to Act 3 Scene 1. The discussion about Ophelia started out with one ensemble member describing her as a “ditz.” The more we spoke about Ophelia, the clearer the sadness of her life became. After clarifying that she is often spoken about right in front of her, one woman commented, “No wonder she jumped.”
We then focused specifically on Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” speech—its being spoken in front of Ophelia, and what that could mean for her interpretation of Hamlet’s words. One woman suggested that when Ophelia is on stage but being ignored, she could sit in a chair with her back to the audience, almost as if being placed in time out.
Unfortunately, our session came to an end not long after that, but I am looking forward to seeing how the group decides to work with these ideas!