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Darragh Kennan as Hamlet
Photo: John Ulman.
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Seattle Shakespeare
Company gives November audiences two chances to explore the complexity
of everyone’s favorite Dane. The company's current production of Hamlet
(Oct. 27 through Dec. 5) features New Century Theatre Company
co-founder Darragh Kennan in the title role. For those who like their
Dane a little lighter, Connor Toms tackles the role of a young Hamlet
encountering Martin Luther, Copernicus, and Dr. Faustus in the comedy Wittenberg (Nov. 15 to Dec. 5).
Kennan and Toms interrupted rehearsals to answer questions about portraying the iconic character at the Center House Theater.
What is the most appealing part of playing Hamlet?
Kennan: The idea of playing Hamlet is fabulous: the best part ever written, being given a chance to "put your stamp" on the part, a validation (almost) of a career in the theater. All these thoughts or ideas swim around in your head and then you actually have to do it. And all you can do is to try to keep up with it.
Toms: I think every actor secretly dreams of what his Hamlet would be. Just as the Hamlet in Wittenberg ponders "what type of king would I be?" It’s a rite of passage, so to speak. It's a litmus test. Can I do this? Am I worthy?
What is the hardest part of being the melancholy Dane?
Toms: Well, luckily, in Wittenberg, Hamlet's life has yet to cave in on him. It's pre-fratricide, pre-ghost, pre-death of Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, et al. Hamlet's just a kid at school. I mean, it's a comedy, so I get to indulge in some very over-the-top histrionics, but I avoid the moniker of melancholy.
Kennan: I would say that it is the ever challenging task of keeping things active, not to get to lost in the brilliance of the poetry. Also, trying to figure out how all the dominoes stack up and fall down: the arch of the character as he goes through the play, why does a particular speech come when it does, what has he learned when he comes back from England, how does he change throughout the play, and so on.
Darragh, you mentioned the brilliance of the poetry: do you have a favorite line or section, besides that famous “to be or not to be” speech?Kennan: It changes daily, but right now I love the sequence: “Give me that man that is not passion's slave and I will wear him in my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart as I do thee.”
And how do you approach that “to be or not to be” moment. It’s the part that everyone anticipates when they come to Hamlet.
Kennan: That speech comes after he is having severe doubts about the spirit that he has seen and the plan he has come up with. It also is a throwback to the way he starts the play in that he is thinking about killing himself. I believe this will be a dialogue with the audience: “What should I do? Why do we live in this world to get hurt? What is there after death? Are we all cowards? Am I different from you?”
Connor, do you have a "to be or not to be" soliloquy?
Toms: I have a soliloquy, yes, but nothing near like "to be or not to be." And I don't think it is supposed to be! It's more a showcasing of the stereotype that Hamlet loves to talk. Again, he knows words, and he knows how to use them.
What’s your favorite part of playing your Hamlet?
Toms: I get to have a full-on, Gene Wilder-esque explosion of desperation, while still speaking in iambic pentameter and rolling on the floor. It's one of those things that wasn't written into the scene, just something we've found in rehearsal that made us all laugh and so we're keeping it. I'm not sure too many actors have gotten to say that they made a choice like that while playing Hamlet...
Kennan: For me, no writer has ever captured the depth of the human experience like Shakespeare. There are parts of this play that make my heart soar. Shakespeare took up the challenge of what it is to be alive, to be a human being, and tried to write about it, to give it a voice. And he does it with the voice of a great poet but with the understanding of the common man. To live within that experience, that shared exploration between audience and actor, is so fulfilling. I’m having a great time with an amazing cast and director.
Toms: If people have a fear of Hamlet, they should see Darragh. The guy has an uncanny way of making audiences feel comfortable. He's going to take people on a wonderful ride. I can't wait.
Kennan: It is a goal of mine to never distance people from Shakespeare. If you come and see Hamlet and don't get it or think it is above you, then we have failed at our task. I want people to come to the show not expecting to see anything other than a story that they can get lost in. It is a beautiful story with great moments of humanity. I invite people to come and see if they can relate to what these people are contemplating.
For Shakespeare’s fans, why should they go see Wittenberg?
Toms: Well, if you love Hamlet, or Shakespeare in general, then Wittenberg is the play to see. The playwright, David Davalos, is an incredibly smart man who has incorporated the lives of three (in)famous men, both fictional and real, and given them a platform for a philosophical discussion ("to be or not to be"), while also layering in moments of levity and humor. Anyone who has seen Hamlet, and especially the people who have a more than passing familiarity with Hamlet, will truly be happy with this play.
Kennan and Toms interrupted rehearsals to answer questions about portraying the iconic character at the Center House Theater.
What is the most appealing part of playing Hamlet?
Kennan: The idea of playing Hamlet is fabulous: the best part ever written, being given a chance to "put your stamp" on the part, a validation (almost) of a career in the theater. All these thoughts or ideas swim around in your head and then you actually have to do it. And all you can do is to try to keep up with it.
Toms: I think every actor secretly dreams of what his Hamlet would be. Just as the Hamlet in Wittenberg ponders "what type of king would I be?" It’s a rite of passage, so to speak. It's a litmus test. Can I do this? Am I worthy?
What is the hardest part of being the melancholy Dane?
Toms: Well, luckily, in Wittenberg, Hamlet's life has yet to cave in on him. It's pre-fratricide, pre-ghost, pre-death of Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, et al. Hamlet's just a kid at school. I mean, it's a comedy, so I get to indulge in some very over-the-top histrionics, but I avoid the moniker of melancholy.
Kennan: I would say that it is the ever challenging task of keeping things active, not to get to lost in the brilliance of the poetry. Also, trying to figure out how all the dominoes stack up and fall down: the arch of the character as he goes through the play, why does a particular speech come when it does, what has he learned when he comes back from England, how does he change throughout the play, and so on.
Darragh, you mentioned the brilliance of the poetry: do you have a favorite line or section, besides that famous “to be or not to be” speech?Kennan: It changes daily, but right now I love the sequence: “Give me that man that is not passion's slave and I will wear him in my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart as I do thee.”
And how do you approach that “to be or not to be” moment. It’s the part that everyone anticipates when they come to Hamlet.
Kennan: That speech comes after he is having severe doubts about the spirit that he has seen and the plan he has come up with. It also is a throwback to the way he starts the play in that he is thinking about killing himself. I believe this will be a dialogue with the audience: “What should I do? Why do we live in this world to get hurt? What is there after death? Are we all cowards? Am I different from you?”
Connor, do you have a "to be or not to be" soliloquy?
Toms: I have a soliloquy, yes, but nothing near like "to be or not to be." And I don't think it is supposed to be! It's more a showcasing of the stereotype that Hamlet loves to talk. Again, he knows words, and he knows how to use them.
What’s your favorite part of playing your Hamlet?
Toms: I get to have a full-on, Gene Wilder-esque explosion of desperation, while still speaking in iambic pentameter and rolling on the floor. It's one of those things that wasn't written into the scene, just something we've found in rehearsal that made us all laugh and so we're keeping it. I'm not sure too many actors have gotten to say that they made a choice like that while playing Hamlet...
Kennan: For me, no writer has ever captured the depth of the human experience like Shakespeare. There are parts of this play that make my heart soar. Shakespeare took up the challenge of what it is to be alive, to be a human being, and tried to write about it, to give it a voice. And he does it with the voice of a great poet but with the understanding of the common man. To live within that experience, that shared exploration between audience and actor, is so fulfilling. I’m having a great time with an amazing cast and director.
Toms: If people have a fear of Hamlet, they should see Darragh. The guy has an uncanny way of making audiences feel comfortable. He's going to take people on a wonderful ride. I can't wait.
Kennan: It is a goal of mine to never distance people from Shakespeare. If you come and see Hamlet and don't get it or think it is above you, then we have failed at our task. I want people to come to the show not expecting to see anything other than a story that they can get lost in. It is a beautiful story with great moments of humanity. I invite people to come and see if they can relate to what these people are contemplating.
For Shakespeare’s fans, why should they go see Wittenberg?
Toms: Well, if you love Hamlet, or Shakespeare in general, then Wittenberg is the play to see. The playwright, David Davalos, is an incredibly smart man who has incorporated the lives of three (in)famous men, both fictional and real, and given them a platform for a philosophical discussion ("to be or not to be"), while also layering in moments of levity and humor. Anyone who has seen Hamlet, and especially the people who have a more than passing familiarity with Hamlet, will truly be happy with this play.