Arts

Hamlet Shows Strength of Department’s Technical Abilities

The crew of winter term’s eagerly awaited Theatre 520, Hamlet, is working diligently behind the scenes to make this a production to remember. Bruce Bacon, chair of the Theatre Department, with the help of students, designed and built the set of Hamlet out of wood and paint. He collaborated with the directors, Jean St. Pierre and Kevin Heelan, on the artistic design of the set. “Elsinore, in this version, is bombed out from the wars,” he said. “Over on stage right, one of the walls has been blasted out and they’re in the process of repairing it. In this version of Hamlet, Denmark is pretty war ravaged. The idea is that the palace is in rejuvenation, reconstruction.” The set also features a turret containing a heart-shaped door. “Ophelia makes her mad entrance from there,” Bacon tells me. “That door was actually taken from a picture from an insane asylum.” Behind the main set, the crew has built a second level that is not immediately visible from the audience. The second level is “to have people move around behind on the battlements behind the castle” and will be used for the battle scenes and when Fortinbras’ army arrives. Billy Murray designed the lights with his lighting class, who will also be operating the light board during the show. Anand Swaminathan ’05 designed the sound. Billy Murray, in addition, designed the costumes with the sole member of his costuming class, Layla Mohammed ’05. “I really like the costumes,” adds Allbright.