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MeganKelly
ProfessorLynnM.Raymond
UWRT1203
8October2015
ASpaceHamlet?
Throughoutmywritingcareer,bothinandoutofschool,neverwasasinglepiecemore
influentialtomethanShakespeare'seversofamous
Hamlet
.Everyonehasread
Hamlet
,sure,
andImsureeveryAP12thgradeteacherthoroughlygagsattheideaofanotherstudenteven
mentioninghowdeeporwellwrittentheythoughtitwas.Imsure,withoutadoubt,that
therewasasinglepointwheneveryEnglishteacherreachestheirShakespeareanthresholdand
areforcedtochoosebetweenattendingclassthatdayorhavingasuddenandsevereillness.
However,thatwasntmyexperiencewith
Hamlet
.Myexperiencewith
Hamlet
wascomprisedof
sorrow,beauty,andaWookieortwoandhaschangedhowIreadeveryworkingeneral.
Mysenioryearofhighschool,firstsemesterinmyEnglishclass,wasideallysupposedto
bededicatedto
JaneEyre
andotherclassicalworks.Thatwasntquitethecase.
Hamlet
absolutelydominatedthesecondquarter,somethingofwhichmyEnglishteacheractually
seemedtoenjoywithherexcellentsenseofhumor.Wewererequiredtoactitoutinclass,of
course,andItypicallytookontheroleofHoratio(whoisundoubtedlythebestcharacter)or
Rozencrantz,nothingmajor.Weenjoyedreadingitandhadsomegreatlaughs,ofcourse,and
filledourmindswithinterestingideasonmadnessorwhateverelsewefanciedtobeanindepth
orsymbolicdiscussion.Itwasallfununtilourteachertoldusthebadnews.Wehadamajor
projectweweregoingtohavetodowithHamlet.

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Istaredblanklyattheoptionswithmyfriends.Apodcast,agameboard.Ashortfilm?
WedalreadybeenactingenoughandhadallofChristmasbreaktoworkonit,sowhynot?
Lookingback,Iwouldhaveattemptedtoshutthatideadowninstantly,butinourhastewedid
not.Inthemiddleoftheroomwesat,ourgroupcomprisedof8girlsandstartedshootingideas
forwhatwewoulddo.Onegroup,weknew,wasdoingasockpuppetshortfilmwhichmeant
thatourideasurelyhadtobecrazytoo.Quietly,onegirlwhispered,
StarWars
,and,despite
hertone,everyonequietedandturnedtolookatourgroup.TheclassroomsatinsilenceuntilI
noddedandthatwashowwegotourhorrificidea.
Iofferedtowriteourscript,whichiswhereItrulylearnedtolovetheplayasattempting
tomakea
StarWars
adaptationof
Hamlet
takesdedicationandsomecloseanalysis.Ibegan,
mixinginShakespeareanlanguageinwithquotesfrom
StarWars
,atotalmessfromthestart.
Though,asIcontinued,Iabsolutelyadoredit,andbegantoloveShakespearesjokesand
methodsofdescriptions,andwasabletotieinsomethemesbetweenthetwofromfatherhoodto
totaldeception.Ithoughtthingswerestartingtogetreallyreallygooduntilmyfriendstopped
mehalfwaythroughandsaid,Oh,bytheway,youreHamletbecauseyouhaveshorthair.So
thereIwas,LukeSkywalker/HansSolo/Hamlet.WhathadIgottenmyselfinto.
Actingandreadingarentalltoodifferent,readingisjustactinginyourheadtosome,but
actingin20degreeweatherforafewhoursbeforeastonechurchonMainStreetreallyteaches
youtolookintothetonesofwhatyouvereadandtranscribedsoyoudonteverhavetodoit
again.Eventhroughthesoliloquy,whichtook3hoursinthecoldestweatherduetobatteries
dying,Ibegantonoticethesethingsandreallylearnedtoreadintoanauthorscharactersand
intentions.Inmynextsemesterandoverthesummer,Iwouldspendforeverlookingintotones

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anddictionjustfromalltheactingandwritingIhadtodo.IhonestlybelieveIdneverlearnedso
muchfromsuchagruelingexperience.
After14hoursofediting,withmanyfailuresinthatprocess,countlesshoursofacting,
andhavingtowritealmostallofascript,IliketothinkIlearnednotonlyalotabout
Hamlet
,but
abouthowtoreadintothingsandchangethemtoyourneedsingeneral.Ihonestlyhadnever
everlookedsofarintoapieceandtakingitapartonlytomoldittowhatIwantedmadethe
experiencesomuchmoreencompassing.EverythingIvereadsincehashauntinglyremindedme
ofallthattimeandeffortspentshiveringorcursingatimperfectionsinascript,yetalsoithas
remindedmeofhowmuchreadingisdependentuponthereadersowndiligenceandreflection.