Students Bring New Life to "Hamlet" This Weekend

 

 The play is the second of Don Zilidis’ work that the school will perform. Known for his off-beat and witty take on the classics, “The Hamlet Thrill-Ma-Geddon” will be no different. The play follows William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet;” however, a slashed budget forces the Drama Club to sell out to corporate sponsors to bring the show to life.

 

“The Hamlet Thrill-Ma-Geddon” was chosen because it’s hilarious,” said Theater Director Brendan Hoyle. “The script is wonderful and very funny and offered many parts for our fabulous student performers. The show is a delightful riff on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ while spoofing large corporate sponsorships. It’s a treat from beginning to end!”

 

And it wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our students, who brought the show to fruition from creating the set to running the sound and lights. The set consists of a castle which serves as the backdrop for myriad sponsorships.

 

“For the set design we wanted to build something big,” said Hoyle. “After almost two years with no theater sets on the Hackney Stage, we knew it was time for something impressive. With that in mind we set out to design and build a castle that would cover the whole stage. This provided a large construction project for the theatrical production students and also provided us with a lot of surface area that we could use for projections we use in the show.” 

 

It also marks the first product for our new play director, Madeline Gondek.

 

“I am most excited just to have theatre back,” she said. “I think the students would feel the same and are all so excited to be on stage again. Working with them on this show has been such a joy, and they have done an incredible job. It has been such a special experience for me as my first Collegiate production. I am so excited for the audience to see this show.”