Episode Details

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They will be rolling out the red carpet at Bingham High School as drama students star in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Because of COVID, a stage version of the play was replaced by students filming all the scenes for a big screen production. On this episode of the Supercast, we find out what it was like for students filming Shakespeare and trading a live stage for the big screen. We caught up with the cast as they were filming a scene in the greenhouse at Bingham High.

"Grating so harshly all his days of quiet with turbulent, dangerous lunacy? He does confess he feels himself distracted. But from what cause he will by no means speak. Nor do we find him forward to be sounded, but with a crafty madness, keeps aloof when we would bring him on to some confession of his state. Did he receive you well? Most like a gentlemen. But with much forcing of his disposition. 'Tis most true, and he beseeched me to entreat your Majesties to hear and see the matter.  With all my heart, and it doth much content me to hear him so inclined.  Good gentlemen, give him a further edge and drive his purpose into these delights."

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here outside the green house at Bingham High School to talk with Mr. Purdy about a project he's doing with his theater students. Mr. Purdy, thanks for joining us.

Teacher:
Yeah, absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us a little bit about what you're working on.

Teacher:
So we are taking Shakespeare's Hamlet and turning it into a film. So the students help out the production assistant, camera stuff, lighting and then just all the theater students are auditioned and they got in the film and it's just a new experience for them. Film acting. It's a completely different thing than theater.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is this a film adaptation in order to kind of cope with the impact that the pandemic has on your ability to perform live?

Teacher:
Yes, exactly. That was the whole thought behind it is. How can we do something creatively and in a new way, still give the students a really good experience, having them learn something new.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now you said that film acting and stage acting are different. What are the different approaches that students have to learn when they are acting on film as opposed to on stage?

Teacher:
Well, first of all, on stage they have to be huge all the time. Just really big, big facial expressions, big movement. The closer the camera is, the more you have to get rid of that. It's all about honesty and subtlety and just being real. So the big stuff doesn't work unless the camera's really, really far away. The big thing though, that's changed for them is that they get very little rehearsal time because we have to shoot. We have to rehearse a little bit and shoot every week and edit as we go along. So they don't get very much rehearsal and they have to memorize way, way faster. So it's a big learning curve, but they're doing an amazing job

Anthony Godfrey:
And memorizing Shakespeare presents a special challenge. But it's also very valuable to do that level of work. Why Hamlet?

Teacher:
Well, my favorite thing to direct is Shakespeare. I'm super passionate about Shakespeare and Hamlet. I don't kno