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Today we continued our design conversation from last week, briefly going over how to do some script analysis to help determine what props and costumes are called for in the show. We then asked, “Why do we think that Shakespeare didn’t write the Ghost into the final scene?” We’ve been toying with the idea that the Ghost might play a larger role in our performance.

We jumped right in to work tonight. “What scene are we doing?” our Hamlet asked the group after we raised the ring. “1.3,” another ensemble member filled her in. Hamlet responded, “I might not even need my script.” We just cast the show a few sessions ago! If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: these actors don’t mess around!

As a stage manager, one of my favorite things is to get into the nitty gritty details of logistics. This is one of the magical things about theater that doesn’t really seem glamorous but still takes artistic talent to accomplish. People come together with lots of ideas and experience to make a show happen, and as you whittle away, the concept of the show starts to come into view and something beautiful takes shape.

Tonight’s session was all about strategizing from the get-go. One of our first-season members approached me with a question as soon as I sat down in the circle. This member, who will be playing Horatio, shared that she has been spending a lot of time with her script and was having trouble deciding what Horatio would be doing during some longer breaks when he doesn’t speak but is onstage. She said that she has been thinking of things she can do to be active and present without dialogue, but it’s a challenge for her. I suggested that she pay attention to how she’s feeling when we run those scenes in rehearsal, to write some of those feelings down in her script, and come back to them later.

Today we added some new members to the group. Even though we cast the show last week, there are still plenty of roles that are available both for people who want to step into something larger and for people who want smaller roles with less lines.

It’s good to be back! Due to the holidays, Kyle G, Maria, and I had not been present at a session for a few weeks. We were greeted by a full ensemble, brimming with excited energy. One woman even danced her way to the ring, doing an impression of Farley’s Maniac from “Tommy Boy”. Everyone was ready to put the pedal to the metal.

Tuesday / December 17 / 2019Written by Maria Today we tackled the lengthy Act 2 Scene 2, breaking it into

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.

Tuesday / December 10 / 2019Written by Emma One of our newer members piped up almost immediately after lowering our