Hamalot
Hamalot is a collaborative theatre project developing a "Comedy Circus Hamlet" adaptations.
The project is a repository for Hamlet related bits, skits, shorts, scenes, and acts, which can be produced in whole or parts by adequately skilled amateur to professional level circus-arts and comic performers. As a core principle final products and planning work are publicly released for open license use with due credit. It is hoped that the project's output will enrich and enliven the world of circus-arts and related performance, making new original and accessible material available for amateur, professional, and competition use.
Details
Hamalot is the brainchild and fusion of Andrew Bedno's circus, clowning, music, theatre and production experience, and his intense love of Hamlet. It leverages the available local skill base, and benefits from the perceived inherently high cultural value of Shakespeare works. Combining the recognized greatest work of English language literature with the greatest spectacle theatre tradition, the Hamalot idea is suddenly obvious.
Hamalot depends on and actively solicits writing and choreography from enthusiastic contributors, potentially world-wide. As such, Hamalot is neither a theatre company nor producer, but rather intended as the central information coordinator and resource for all interested participants, and as a shared umbrella title for derived and related works. Participation is enabled by a contemporary collaborative authoring system on the project's web site.
Structure is a simplified plot strung along through scenes built to lead-in/out of performance breaks, with 3-4 significant circus act highlights, 3-5 interstitial skits, and some narrative. Play-within-a-play, sword fight finale, and gravediggers/soliloquy scenes are fixed points, but broad re-envisioning elsewhere is encouraged. Alternate scene versions are also encouraged allowing substitutions and varying cast abilities. Implementations must minimize requirements for sets and props and speech, but costumes are encouraged. Possible small acts include juggling, unicycle, hoops, jump rope, poi, dance, gymnastics; bigger acts such as globe, wire, silks, adagio, Lyra, and stage combat; and several 2-3 person clown/comedy skits; as well as specialty acts (contortion, sword swallowing, yoyo, ...) where available.
Output from this project is currently individual scenes written as shorter comedy bits, but eventually the entire play must be rendered.
Early releases are targeted as proof of concept and for potential use in 2009 spring/summer circus productions.
Ultimate target is a compilation video of short videos of individual scenes, allowing maximum freedom of independent development and production of each piece, and providing performance resume video clip content for participants.
History
The history of alternate productions of Hamlet is extremely rich, as befitting its cultural significance. A comprehensive assay of film versions finds over fifty when dozens of short works are included. Many are available on YouTube.
Major alternate works include Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1999 s10e09), Hamlet (2000) with Ethan Hawke in an entirely modern adaptation, and the new future cult classic "Hamlet 2" comedy.
In comedy, numerous major series have taken on the bard including Monty Pythons Flying Circus (1974 s4e43), Simpsons (2002 s13e14), South Park (2001 s5e05), Animaniacs (1993 "Alas Poor Skullhead"), Duckman (1997 s4e25 "Hamlet 2"), Gilligans Island (1966 s03e04 "The Producer"), and others.
Among short productions absurdism abounds: The Brak Show (2003 s3e01 "Braklet Prince of Spaceland"), Cat Head Theatre (2006), Blackadder (1998), Swartzenegger (1993), Fred Mogubgub (1960s animation), Woody Allen and others.
Extremely abbreviated tellings are also common including Tom Stoppard's fifteen and one minute versions, as well as several short song versions.
In circus, integration of a storyline connecting the entire show is not common, but not unheard of. It's a higher structural ideal, but challenging in already complex productions. Most Cirque Du Soleil shows have an integrating theme, though typically stream of consciousness and impressionistic. Several large works by Chicago area troupes have integrated circus and theatre. Examples include Shakespeare's "The Tempest" performed by aerialists at The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston in 2007, "Journey of the Arabella" a Pirate Circus Play produced by Midnight Circus long running annual Halloween circus story.
Chicago in particular, where Hamalot originates, has both a teeming local circus community and circus history significance, and a strong Shakespeare community. Navy Pier is home to the grand scale Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the city has seen numerous experimental Shakespeare versions including rap, sign language and improvised. In this context, the Hamalot project's Comedy Circus Hamlet is a sound idea with good precedence.
Conclusion
I hope this idea tickles some fancies because it would take too long alone. In fact it seems well suited to writing of individual scenes by different contributors.
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Hamalot: To Do
Hamalot: Plot
Hamalot: Simplified Play
Hamalot: Characters
Hamalot: Pantomime Soliloquy
Hamalot: Play-Within-a-Play Ideas
Hamalot: Ophelia's Deaths
Hamalot: Gravediggers Scene