That's Uncle P on the right, as Claudius (conspiring with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) in a 1982 college production of Hamlet. It was the first Shakespearean role I'd ever played, and frankly, I was terrified. The director, a professor I both loved and feared, was prescient enough to cast the leads the previous spring, working with with us all summer long to prepare for the late September production.
Every year at this time, I grow a bit nostalgic for this particular production. I made life-long friends among some of the cast; learned how to read, interpret and perform the works of Shakespeare and discovered the full range of my voice, all in one show. It was truly one of those life-altering experiences.
Oh, there have been dozens upon dozens of shows, since. There have been roles I have both loved (Dysart in Equus; the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance; Danforth in The Crucible; Roate in Wait Until Dark and Sweeney in Sweeney Todd, among many) and hated. There have also been many plays that I have directed that made me fall in love with theatre over and over again. Still, there is something about this particular production at this particular time in my life, that resonates with me almost 30 years later. I got my ear pierced accompanied by two members of the cast (and later slept with one of them - TMI, I know...). I was introduced to Devo by none other than Hamlet himself (Thanks, Steve!) and got a perm because I saw Derek Jacobi's perm in the same role on PBS. I discovered New Wave dancing at City Gardens (where I was served drinks by none other than the future Jon Stewart); found out that the Beatles were amazing and played countless games of "Password" at cast parties.
I've since gone on to play many Shakespearean characters and direct three of his plays. But it is this production of Hamlet and that year of self-discovery that will always occupy a special place in my heart. And for that, I will always be grateful. It was the September when I was a tender and callous fellow, indeed.
27 years ago, I made my Shakespearean debut as the villain Claudius in Hamlet. I was crapping my pants scared. First Shakespeare and I'm in Hamlet? Playing 20 years older than I was (as I did in almost every show I ever did for a very long time) and cast opposite a woman who was actually 20+ years older than I., as one of the most famous villains of all time? This was no Bye Bye Birdie, my friends. This was Theatre.
I remember it being a rather intense production, The principles were cast from a Spring acting class taught by a wonderfully eccentric and often brilliant professor, who was directing the following fall. Each of us met with Sir (a name Q and I will always remember fondly) once a week over the summer to work on technique, diction and vocal production, with occasional character work thrown in. It was that summer that Sir helped me truly figure out what my voice was capable of, and how best to use it on stage. He also taught me the intricacies of playing a villain ("You must believe that your actions are not only for your own good, but the common good") and the value of advance planning as a director (though my personal directing style was much more influenced by another wonderful teacher who I promise to talk about soon).
If you haven't figured it out by now, that's Uncle P on the right, entreating Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet back to England with them. I know the young man in the middle was a British exchange student named Pip (he was with me when I got my ear pierced), though I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the brunet or who played whom. That was 27 effing years ago... I remember those faux-fur costumes were hot as hell and I went out and spent $120 on boots at some trendy store (which my father threw-out when I moved to California, briefly). I remember the massive revolving set and the performances of several cast members; Rich M. as Horatio; Terry D. as Laertes; Steve O. as Hamlet; Lillian B. as Gertrude; Rich W. as The Player and the Gravedigger... I remember the actress who played Ophelia (Betty... something...) took her mad-scene costume outside and rolled around on the ground, getting a massive grass and mud stain on her ass, which we could not look at without bursting into hysterical laughter... I remember good times and laughter to combat all the sturm und drung that is Hamlet; a very intense experience for such a young actor and in the end, a production that was actually quite good for college theatre. It was also the first time I actually understood Shakespeare without having to fight to get it (another gift bestowed by Sir). I recently reconnected with Steve O. via Facebook. Steve shared pictures from the production, which I never knew existed. And there I am...
Today, the gray hair and the goatee are real, though the perm (thank God) is a thing of the distant past. What isn't gone are those feelings of accomplishment and the lessons learned (not to mention the friendships made) over the course of one production.
The casual theatre-goer knows only what he or she sees on stage, at the performance he or she attends. Like most movie audiences, they see only the finished product (in as much as live theatre can ever be considered 'finished'). What they don't see are the months and months of planning and preparation; casting and rehearsing; prop gathering; costuming; set-building; lighting design; etc., etc. that go into that finished product. They also don't know the kind of camaraderie and even sense of family that happens among small groups of people with an intense, albeit (by definition) temporary, common experience. It's why real theatre people do theatre.
Yes, we get artistic satisfaction. We get applause and kind words from strangers (especially if we're any good). We still get to play make-believe long after every other profession in the world (Pro Wrestling nonewithstanding). If we are very, very lucky we make lots of money, become famous and win ultimately meaningless awards. Because if we love doing theatre, we love it for all the same reasons Trekkers love "Star Trek" and X-Philes love "The X-Files." It boils down to a sense of belonging, I think. Its time spent being yourself among like-minded folks, all the while creating something completely artificial to present to a group of judgmental strangers in order to seek approval. We get each other, us Theatre Folk do. Just as any other bunch of geeks get one another.
So, from a still very proud Theatre Geek, this post is dedicated to Dr. Harold Hogstrom. Teacher; adviser; director; inspiration. My TSC contemporaries will either agree wholeheartedly or call me mad (though I doubt the latter). None of them will argue that Sir had a profound effect on all of us, in one way or another.
Thank you, Sir (with love)...
Yeah, I went there. And yeah, I know I'm totally ripping off "Glee," but I don't care. The older I get, the more I realize how influential Sir would become, long after I was no longer his student. And thank you, Steve, for sharing those amazing pictures.
I was going to get all political tonight and talk about CBS and their decision to run a Superbowl ad from the Anti-LGBT group Focus On the Family, but when I ran across this item earlier today, I decided it had been a while since I talked about a movie I really need to see and went with it, instead (though tomorrow I'll probably go full rant on CBS's ass).
As you can probably imagine, I visit tons of movie sites every week. Some, more often than others. And as Genre Queen, I often visit Horror movie sites. About once every two weeks or so, I visit UHM (Upcoming Horror Movies), just to see what's on the Horror horizon. Today, I found a listing on UHM for a movie that pushed all my buttons at once.
My first experience as an Shakespearean actor was playing Claudius in a college production of Hamlet in 1983. The director, a brilliant but possibly insane man whom I adore (and who actually taught me how to use my voice to its best advantage), cast the principal roles in the Spring and worked with all of us throughout that Summer in preparation for a late Fall production. When classes resumed that Fall, he cast the remaining roles and I was introduced to our Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for the first time. Both of them were exchange students (one from England and one from Canada) and both of them were absolutely gorgeous. I fell in love with one and later slept with the other (I'll never tell which is which), and both of them were with me when I got my ear pierced (it was the 80's, after all).
Not long after that rather amazing show, I saw Tom Stoppard's brilliant 1966 play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, in which Stoppard dissects Hamlet and skewers theatrical convention, all through the eyes of two of the play's most enigmatic, though relatively minor characters. It wasn't until 1990 that the movie was made, starring Gary Oldman, Tim Roth and Richard Dreyfus, and I immediately fell in love with the material again.
By now, you may well be asking yourself what any of this has to do with Horror movies. Well, just see the poster I've put up at the top of this post, and you will have your answer.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead is the story of a fellow who is hired to direct a rather unorthodox production of Hamlet. It turns out (to the joy of Marlowe conspiracy enthusiasts everywhere), that Shakespeare was not the author of Hamlet and it actually involves both the Holy Grail and... vampires! As ridiculous as it sounds, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead has all the earmarks of a fun, campy horror movie written and directed by someone (Jordan Galland) who knows his way around Elizabethan drama and Vampire lore. Take a look at the hilarious trailer and see if you don't agree:
UHM lists the movie as "Awaiting Release." I, for one, am waiting impatiently.
