During the month of September, ADAPT’s actors put on six creatively adapted performances of William Shakespeare’s classic, Hamlet. The play had a run time of about one hour and took one year to produce. All six of the Hamlet showings occurred at the Pelham Adult Learning Center in the Bronx and were well attended by family, friends, staff, and people supported alike.
Hunter Kaufer, an ADAPT Theatre Specialist and the play’s director, said that the rehearsal process began nearly 8 months ago, during ideation meetings and on the Afternoon Session of WACN, ADAPT’s online education platform. The virtual playwrights created ways to lighten the tragic tone of the classic story and personalize it to themselves and their lives. The intensive rehearsals increased in frequency and length the closer the performance days crept, and the cast put their all into making the play a success. Each member of the cast learned their role in the 5-act story and they were highly prepared by the time opening night came around.
“They traded a lot of community trips and activity opportunities and exerted so much energy to be a part of this ensemble; the cast was in the theater by 9:45am every day ready to warm up and rehearse,” Hunter said.
For each performance and rehearsal, there were understudies ready to assume any of the main roles at a moment’s notice. Additionally, every cast member was individually coached when they wanted to further explore their role or needed a critique on how they were performing. This year’s Hamlet was the 6th ADAPT Shakespeare show, following A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, As You Like It, The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet, so many of the cast members already had experience performing in ADAPT productions. They were able to assist their peers and acclimate them to the artistic process.
“What I liked about this play is that everybody gets together and does teamwork,” said Steven Freeman, who played Polonius, one of the play’s villains. “I liked working together on the dance scenes, the film scenes—there are a lot of good scenes. Everyone came from different programs to work together on the play.”
The show did not follow Shakespeare’s original exactly, and instead played with Shakespeare’s themes of regret, inner turmoil, and uncertainty by creating characters perspectives through a reflection of the present. Each character had two actors who repeated each other’s lines. Not only did this allow for even more people supported to be involved in the play, but it also added emotional depth to the performances by combining two unique interpretations of each character and line. The production team leaves the meaning of these “echoes” up to interpretation, suggesting that they could symbolize the characters’ ghosts, an alternate reality, or the cyclical nature of the characters’ thoughts. Each line was also projected onto the stage (and demonstrated by an ASL interpreter) to make the play accessible to everyone regardless of their hearing or processing ability.
One of the most impactful changes made to the story of Hamlet was its incorporation of audience participation. At the end of Hamlet Adapted, the audience was invited to elect the King of Denmark. However, the playwrights did not want the participation to stop there. Hamlet Adapted’s cast and crew also set up a voter registration booth outside the theater to encourage audience members to use their voices for good. Many of the actors are active political participants who advocate for causes like subway accessibility and fair pay for Care Professionals, so this part was close to their hearts.
The performances were dedicated to Lisa, an actress who passed away during production. Debora Martinez, an Art Specialist and Production Designer for the play, created a memorial for Lisa that was featured on a pillar in the theater.
Everyone in the cast and crew of Hamlet Adapted, including staff and people supported, worked incredibly hard on the play’s production. Each person, whether onstage or backstage, played a vital role in making this vision a reality. Kenneth Shivers, a person supported at ADAPT for almost 40 years, played Laertes. Kenneth said, “[The play] turned out really well. We did good. I’m really proud of all my friends.”
Thank you to everyone who supported the play and who continues to be an active part of the ADAPT community. We look forward to the next show, which will be announced shortly. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Hamlet Adapted: The Film, which is set to release on our YouTube channel later this year.