Minneapolis, MN--"Who's there? Stand and unfold yourself." With that opening demand, Shakespeare's Hamlet signals an evening of probing questions and revealing truths. Under the direction of associate faculty member Barbra Berlovitiz (co-founder and co-artistic director of Theatre de la Jeune Lune) this production uses a lean, athletic approach to the text, as the action unfolds in a devastated world within an abandoned, crumbling playhouse. Hamlet will be performed April 17 through 27 on the Stoll Thrust stage, and marks the 450th anniversary of the playwright's birth. For tickets call visit theatre.umn.edu or call (612) 624-2345.
While Hamlet was first performed over 400 years ago, it is a play that stays forever in the present. It asks human questions: What do we do when faced with what seems inevitable? How do we avoid what looks like an inescapable path towards destruction?
"In this production, we have set our play in the near, or is it distant, future," explained director Berlovitz. "Much of what this cast of characters knew of the world is gone--only the bones remain. 'What have we done to the world?' they wonder." A group of actors, the few survivors seeking refuge in what was once a theatre, "take on the task of re-telling the story of Hamlet--the story of revenge, love, hate, murder, death. Maybe this time we will learn something," she paused. "Let's hope so."
Barbra Berlovitz co-founded the 2005 Tony Award-winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune and served as co-artistic director of the company for 25 years. She is a graduate of Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France, where she also studied at the National Circus School. In recent years she has studied with Patsy Rodenburg and Philippe Gaulier. For Jeune Lune, Berlovitz wrote, directed, acted, and taught. She staged the first American production of a major work by Pavel Kohout, August, August, August and a critically acclaimed production of Thomas Bernhard's The Force of Habit. She also directed a new adaptation of Emile Zola's Germinal, co-written with Paul Walsh. Her acting credits with TJL include Lulu, Arkadina, Medea, Gertrude, Milady, and Antigone. Half of her work at TJL involved creations. In 2009 she wrote and starred in Stories As Told in a Bed. She most recently performed the role of Mother Courage with Chicago's innovative Bricklayer Company.
Ms. Berlovitz has directed and taught at Carleton College, Augsburg College, University of California San Diego, Fairfield University, and the Eugene O'Neill National Theater Institute. As a member of the associate faculty in the Theatre Arts & Dance Department of the University of Minnesota, Berlovitz has directed Romeo and Juliet, The Oresteia, King Lear, Cabaret, and The Suitors. Honored with a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, she has also received a McKnight Fellowship, a Theatre Communications Group/ITI grant, and a Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Actors.
On April 25, English Department Professors Katherine Scheil and Tom Clayton will join director Barbra Berlovitz for a lively informative post-performance panel discussion, which is free and open to the public.
The Hamlet cast includes the following performers: Edward Euclide (Hamlet), Glen Geppert (Polonius), Max Giles (Bernardo/ Priest), John Graves (Player), Sylvia Hill (Ophelia), Alec Lambert (Gertrude), Alec Lambert( Player), Rick Miller (Laertes), Jacob Mobley (Player King), Evan O'Brien (Marcellus/ Osric), Austin Ruh (Francsico/Gravedigger), Bree Schmidt (Horatio), Ashton Schneider (Player Queen), Nico Swenson (Claudius/Ghost), and Jordyn Wick (Player).
The production's creative team creative team includes the following: Elias Arkham (Assistant Director), Carra Martinez (Assistant Director /Dramaturg), Cole Bylander (Costume Designer), Anne Henly (Set Designer), Aaron Preusse (Fight Choregrapher), Elizabeth Nash (Vocal Coach), Devin Nee (Lighting Designer), Kevin Springer (Sound Designer). The production's stage management team includes Katie Henely (Stage Manager), with Andrew Buckholtz (Assistant Stage Manager) and Aviva Gellman (Assistant Stage Manager).
For tickets and information call: U of M Arts/Events Ticket Office at 612 624-2345 or visit theatre.umn.edu Customer parking is available the 21st Ave. Parking Ramp, located across from the Rarig Center, on the University of Minnesota West Bank Campus.
Quick Facts
What: HAMLET by William Shakespeare
Who: University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance
When: April 17-27, 2014
Where: Rarig Center's Stoll Thrust Theatre, West Bank Arts Quarter.
330 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis
Tickets: $6 Students; $11 U of M faculty and staff; $16 General Public.
U of M Ticket Office (612) 624-2345 or online at theatre.umn.edu
Tickets are also available at the door one hour prior to performance.
HAMLET Performance Schedule April 17-27, 2014:
7:30 pm April 17 Opening night
7:30 pm April 18
2:00 pm April 19
7:30 pm April 19
7:30 pm April 24
7:30 pm April 25 Post play discussion
2:00 pm April 26
7:30 pm April 26
2:30 pm April 27
University Theatre Arts & Dance is a laboratory for performance and practice of content taught in the Department's academic programs. In keeping with the University of Minnesota's three public purposes - research, and discovery; teaching and learning; outreach and public service - the mission of the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance is to educate students and audiences about the performing arts, and about the social issues and human emotions the arts speak to so powerfully. We are committed to realizing this mission by creating, producing, and studying works of theatre and dance, and performing them publicly for diverse audiences drawn both from the University and the community at large. Patrons should expect to see performances that challenge the mind and are produced with the highest possible quality.
