WEEK NINE

Tuesday / March 21 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

Tonight we started reading Act II, scene ii of Hamlet. It is a very long scene, and in a professional production’s rehearsal process it would be divided up into three or four smaller sections because of the text's density. So, needless to say, there was quite a bit to get through; some of Shakespeare’s most advanced and celebrated writing, so we quite deliberately took it slow as we made our way through the scene. 

The scene starts with the court discussing the love-tokens Ophelia has refused from Prince Hamlet. They are spoken about in detail, and criticized by Polonius, Ophelia’s father. Naturally, there was quite a bit of identification from the ensemble about the tragically hopeless love-tokens they gave and received when they were younger. In retrospect, they all seemed as misguided and cringe-worthy as Hamlet’s. Some of their stories were of mix tapes and playlists, keychains, antagonizing one’s childhood “love” interest, going bird hunting, and more. Everyone laughed and swapped stories about how embarrassed they were as young people trying to navigate their first “love”, contrasting it to Hamlet and Elizabethans customs.

As the scene progresses, Hamlet enters and starts to appear to be acting out of madness. The ensemble had a lot to say about the immortal Shakespearean debate as to whether Hamlet is acting crazy to throw everyone off his revenge plans, or whether he has actually gone insane. The ensemble's general consensus was that Hamlet is only pretending to be crazy to throw everyone off his scent. That being said, several ensemble members acknowledged that Hamlet must be in a tremendous amount of emotional pain, even if he is pretending to be mad. One member said, “Can you imagine that kind of weight? Knowing what you gotta do? It’s giving him bad dreams—he has to keep Ophelia away from him while he carries out his task.” Another said, “He has to kill. He can’t be with Ophelia because he doesn’t have choice, and so he doesn’t feel free.” She continued, “Everything is a shadow…He’s wondering if this is even real. To kill someone is a big deal, [and he doesn’t even know where to begin].” There was more conversation about the fact that Hamlet could not pursue love and revenge at the same time, and he was in a great deal of pain having to give up Ophelia, all while having to keep it a secret. Hamlet goes on to say that Denmark is a prison, and that he was in prison because in his mind, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” We discussed whether that is true, and whether Hamlet is right to call his world a prison. In response, an ensemble member said, “My body is here [in prison], but my mind is somewhere else—somewhere free.”

We ended the night with some games, and although they were quick, it was a great way to finish the evening.

Friday / March 24 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

Tonight, we continued working through Act II, scene ii, which we were able to finish and get parts up on their feet. The second half of the scene is incredible as Shakespeare starts to break down the nature of reality, dreams, and the theatre. That being said, it’s largely symbolic and gets further away from any progression of the plot. It’s a tricky bit of text for those unfamiliar with Hamlet. There is a lot of discussion of characters in a play Hamlet has seen that the audience never does, and it was difficult figuring out with the ensemble who and what he’s talking about, only to follow up with “don’t feel like you have to remember all that!” Once we were through the thick of the scene, the point really began to become clear for many ensemble members.  At the very end of the scene is the second of Hamlet’s  great soliloquies. These are some of Shakespeare's most celebrated texts, in one of his most celebrated plays, so there is always a ramp-up in the ensemble's attention when we arrive at them. 

We spent all of Tuesday reading while seated, so there was a big push tonight to be active and up on our feet. With the first big soliloquy (“Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh…”) the ensemble had had a real breakthrough when each member performed with a partner, switching off verse lines. One member specifically asked to do that exercise again, so we broke off into pairs and small groups to work on part of the text from one of the soliloquies. Most groups worked on the final soliloquy (“Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I…”), but a few branched out to other parts of Act II, scene ii. After about 15 minutes, each group showed what they had been working on to the rest of the group. Like last time, it felt like we were catching magic in a bottle. Every single group performed, with several performing for the very first time. One member, who does not speak English, performed part of the soliloquy in her native language. It was a very vulnerable moment for her, and the group responded with resounding support. It was a really beautiful moment at the end of the night. You could feel the Shakespeare-fellowship being very deeply cultivated in our little group.

As the soliloquy was performed over and over again, a few in the group commented on how much clearer the text was when seeing it up on its feet. There were identifications that I don’t think would have been made otherwise. One member said, “It’s like [facing a family tragedy] and feeling helpless. All I have to say are words, and words don’t help. What do they even mean? I’m not telling them what I’ve told them a thousand times before. You gotta show what you mean, because words are meaningless.” In the scene, Hamlet labels himself a weakling because he knows what he needs to do and can’t do it. A few members likened it to some of the struggles they experienced before coming to prison, knowing they needed to stop but not quite being able to go through with it. It was a really powerful night, and there were so many moments when the group were able to make profound identifications with the text in a truly supportive environment. At the end of the night, I issued a challenge to work on something from Hamlet and bring it to the group on Tuesday. There were several promises to do so, and a lot of enthusiasm for next week.

WEEK TEN

Tuesday / March 28 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

At the end of last week’s session, I issued a challenge to the ensemble: I believe I said, “I double-dog-dare you” to prepare something for the next session. The parameters could not have been looser: choose a monologue or dialogue, any character, any part in the play or any other play, and bring it in to show the ensemble. I thought maybe three or four members would do it—but we had eight performers! It was wonderful to see the ensemble jump head first into this challenge so completely. They brought pieces from various parts of the play, and a good range of characters were represented as well: a couple of Hamlets, a Claudius, a Gertrude, an Ophelia, and a Ghost. Truth be told, I’m not sure everyone was planning on performing what they had worked on over the weekend. As we worked our way around the circle and more and more ensemble members said, “I’ll go next.” The willingness to perform became contagious, and the night seemed to pick up momentum. It was fantastic!

We didn’t finish the performances until almost 7:30, almost an hour after we started. We started reading from Hamlet, and started Act III, scene i. This is a VERY famous scene, which contains the “To be or not to be…” speech: perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of text in all of English literature. We really took our time with it and made sure we understood each line of verse, and there were many identifications with their lives, and with their experience of incarceration. 

We continued on in the scene, in which Hamlet cruelly scorns his love interest and arguably ends their relationship. It is, like so many parts in Hamlet, a complicated scene that scholars have debated for years, and our ensemble was no different in their abundance of theories and interpretations. “‘Get thee to a nunnery’ is about ‘get out of the picture and be safe.’ He’s trying to save her,” said one member. Another said, “He’s pushing her away—he can’t let his feelings get in the way…Now is not the time to let his love-feelings out.” Some thought that Hamlet thinks Ophelia is just a pawn and is really talking to Polonius and Claudius. Some said he was showing tough love to get her out of the picture, some thought that he felt betrayed and was scorning her, and some thought he can’t pursue love and revenge at the same time. The discussion brought us right to the last minute of the evening, and we finished the night eager to pick up the conversation on Friday. The ensemble did make sure to “triple-dog-dare” me to perform something on Friday night, a challenge which I gladly accepted.

Friday / March 31 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

As soon as we got into the room, the ensemble asked me if I had worked on a monologue. I said that I had, but it is a monologue from a little later in the play. After check-in and bringing down the ring, I launched right into a performance of it. Everyone was very supportive, and it was really nice to hear them coming together to be so encouraging. 

We launched into the working on Act III, scene i on its feet. We read right up to the end of the session on Tuesday, so we didn’t get to act out the scene. The ensemble talked about how much easier it is to perform in front of each other, even feeling comfortable working through material they hadn’t practiced or even read before. One member, who has been too nervous to perform before now, completed an entire scene on her feet tonight. The ensemble cheered her on and gave her lots of support all the way through and after. We continued on and worked Act III, scene i, “freeze” style, meaning the ensemble could say “freeze” and take over one of the characters they wanted to try. 

We had to end the night early, but we’ll be back in action next week!

WEEK ELEVEN

Tuesday / April  4 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

After check-in, we got right to work reading Act III, scene ii. This is a very long scene, and it is a mystery that Shakespeare did not split it up into smaller scenes. There was no way to finish it all in one night, but we sat down, dug in and started reading. Hamlet is arguably at his most unhinged, so this text can be quite challenging for those unfamiliar with Shakespeare. Shakespeare is sometimes difficult to understand when all the characters are making sense, but when you have a character acting out of his mind and responding in a way that isn’t intuitive, it can pose even more questions. This is a scene in which the characters watch a play, and that also can be confusing. Once over that hill, though, the ensemble had some good ideas on how we could stage this part of the play.

There were some really wonderful identifications with Hamlet’s craziness before the play-within-the-play. One member said, “He’s anxious right before the play. He’s about to find out if it’s fake or the real deal. …He’s going crazy because he’s about to find out if he is going to kill someone. Reality is not what he wants, so he’s all ‘delay delay delay!’” Nearly everyone shared a story about trying desperately to delay the onset of the reality of a situation. Some referenced their lives in general, some referenced the time that led to incarceration, some about leaving prison and being nervous to be on the outside again. Most members had something to add, and by the end of the conversation, Hamlet’s craziness seemed a lot more normal.

Friday / April  7 / 2023
Written by Kyle Fisher-Grant

Tonight we had another round of performances, which is always a real joy to see. The ensemble is really getting the hang of the process, including that they have the ability to work on whatever they want to bring to the group. It was a great clarification that the “double-dog-dare” from a few weeks ago is an ongoing challenge that can be taken on at any time. And so we spent the first part of the evening checking out what the ensemble has been working on, and giving snaps and support to those up on their feet.

We started on Act III, scene iii, which albeit less famous than “To be or not to be…”, is still up there in the canon as some of Shakespeare’s best stuff. It’s a densely layered scene in which Claudius attempts to pray and finds he cannot actually pray until he repents, and he cannot repent until he gives up the throne—which he will not do. He is followed closely by Hamlet, who is about to take his revenge but decides not to take the king's life while he is praying, lest he go to heaven. Hamlet wants a darker outcome and decides that he will take revenge when Claudius has more dirt on his soul. The great irony here is that Hamlet is unaware that Claudius cannot repent, and, thus, the cycle of procrastination and inaction continues. There was a lot to talk about, and lots of identification to go around. Most of the conversation centered around whether Claudius felt any guilt, and what justice could look like if the characters could make different choices. There was a lot of identification with Claudius, in that he feels like he knows what he needs to do but can’t quite give it all up. 

One woman said, “You can be honest and repent, but the hard part is to admit to yourself that you’re that kind of person…What does that say about myself? He probably doesn’t want to confront himself.”  Another responded, “In order to heal, you have to confront what you’ve done wrong. You gotta accept that in yourself. You gotta forgive yourself.” Another member said, “You gotta take action steps!” Yet another said, “He’s like, ‘Can I be forgiven and keep the crown? Can I keep this shit, have my cake and eat it too?’” “I like the part about the angels, I can relate to that!” another woman said, meaning there would need to be an intervention that allowed him to pray in order for him to do it.

We moved on to Hamlet’s soliloquy, and what a change had come over him. Suddenly, it was not enough for Hamlet to seek revenge. Now, he wanted Claudius to suffer and go to hell, which made for a dramatic change in his outlook and objective for the play. I felt certain that his monologue would spark the same kind of response that Claudius’ had, but the conversation kept finding its way back to Claudius’ prayer, or non-prayer, depending on your interpretation. We got the scene up on its feet and even introduced some staging for the ensemble members to make it read a bit more clearly. “I imagine Hamlet creeping in while Claudius is praying!” said one member, and we thought of ways for Hamlet to do so. We finished the scene, and the group was VERY eager to know what Hamlet was going to say to his mother Gertrude, so we dove into the beginning of that scene, knowing full well we’d have to read the bulk of it next Tuesday.