CANMORE – Authenticity is something every actor struggles to bring to the role, and the play I Hate Hamlet, produced by the Pine Tree Players and directed by Kizzie Sutton, aims to tackle themes of what makes an actor authentic and great, head on.
Walking into the Miners’ Union Hall, it’s immediately noticeable the amount of work being put into the set and direction of the play, which premiers next Thursday (April 18) and runs until the following Saturday (April 28).
I Hate Hamlet tells the story of a young actor, Andrew Rally, and the reservations of taking up the daunting role of Hamlet on the stage, when he is visited by the ghost of John Barrymore (a great Shakespearian actor) in an effort to teach young Rally how to be an authentic actor.
“He’s (Rally) looking for fulfilment, like the character of Hamlet. This play is kind of an allegory of Hamlet. He just doesn’t know what to do, more T.V. and make loads of money but not be fulfilled emotionally and artistically, or should he do Hamlet and Shakespeare in New York,” said Marcus Williams, who plays Rally.
For the Pine Tree Players, it’s been a meticulous study of character dynamics, breakdowns of swordplay, and the craftsmanship of not just what these characters do, but rather, why they are the way they are.
Although the parallels with Hamlet are there, Hamlet itself is not a requirement to enjoy this play. According to the cast, there are things to love for both the thespian Shakespeare lover, as well as for those who would rather stay away from the bards work. I Hate Hamlet is primarily a light-hearted poke at the way actors carry themselves, and what it means to be a “real” actor.
“I’ve been taking acting classes and I can relate to this play, it’s the reason why I auditioned because I’m a professional actor, you know I’ve done commercials and T.V. shows, but the only theatre I’ve done has been with the Pine Tree Players … and this one is fun, it’s about acting and it takes a shot at acting that I truly believe because, as you’ll see in the play, there are so many different acting techniques. It’s about the subtext, it’s not about the words, but about the relationship you have in the scene,” said Christopher Yee, who plays Barrymore.
To Yee, the dynamics between his character of Barrymore and Williams’ character of Rally is that of a brotherly relationship rather than strict mentor mentee hierarchy. The powerlessness his character feels, as he attempts to convince Rally to achieve his potential and authenticity, is expressed subtly, with subtext rather than over the top outrage. For Yee, this results in a more layered performance that is more authentic itself.
“For an actor, it’s all about human behaviour,” said Yee.
For the performance, Pine Tree Players brought in acting consultants and coordinators from Calgary to increase the quality of the play. One of those coordinators is Anastasia St. Amand, a fight and intimacy choreographer.
“The challenges are marrying safety, story, and style,” said St. Amand. “I hope the audience reads into the characters, particularly Barrymore because he’s got this attitude to him, he’s old hat at this. He is trying to coerce Andrew into playing Hamlet by saying ‘dude you’ve got the chops, let me prove to you that you’ve got the chops,’ but I need to show that in a subtle way.”
St. Amand says that the fights take on the properties of a dance on stage, moving with musicality to create a fluid, believable fight that tells a story while keeping everyone safe. St. Amand also makes sure that the on stage intimacy is kept within boundaries that keeps the actors feeling safe and comfortable while still feeling intense on stage.
“It’s all very safety first and then making it look good. It’s something I don’t think Pine Tree has ever seen, is a real live sword fight on stage,” said Williams.
Emma Schneider, who plays Andrew’s girlfriend Deirdre McDavey, says her character is different from herself, but still an interesting and fun role to play because of those differences.
“She’s super dramatic, so I just imagine what I’m feeling and then I have to feel it around times 10, and that seems to work. Overacting is not overacting with her,” said Schneider with a laugh. “She feeds off other people’s energy, which is really fun … her attraction with Andrew is obviously really important because they’re both trying to get what they want from each other. He’s just trying to sleep with her and she is trying to get him to play Hamlet, so (without words they are) trying to convince each other to do it because they each have leverage over the other one, which is fun.”
“Everyone looks back to those high school days, or those university days, and they get to the Shakespeare part of the program and they either love it or hate it, and there’s jokes about hating Shakespeare and there’s jokes about loving Shakespeare … it’s just fun, it’s making fun of Shakespeare, it’s making fun of actors and it’s making fun of those really pretentious theatre snobs, but it’s also making fun of the other side of it too, the L.A. agent guy who is kind of a used car salesman. It pokes fun at everyone and everyone can have a good laugh,” said Williams.
Visit www.pinetreeplayers.com for tickets.
