The cold and wind took nothing away from the magic as Oakland Tech’s Advanced Drama class performed “Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” at the California Shakespeare Theater’s fabulous Bruns Amphitheater on July 26, 2010 – their first performance on a professional stage, before a public audience, and their last performance in California before taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Every seat was full, with an audience of mostly CalShakes subscribers. One such subscriber wrote afterward that the evening was a “jewelled moment”: “The cold and wind did not matter. We were totally focussed on the superlative actors who dominated the stage …”
“Hamlet: Blood in the Brain” was the inaugural project of CalShakes’ New Works/New Communities program in the 1980s. Tech’s drama department has been tremendously fortunate to be able to work with CalShakes during the 2009-2010 school year; among other things, the “Hamlet” cast has had the amazing opportunity to receive coaching from the director and major actors from the original production. Donations from the July 26 performance will support CalShakes residencies at Tech during the 2010-2011 school year.
P.S. You can keep up with the Tech students while they’re at the Fringe Festival by reading their posts on the CalShakes blog! Check it out!
