For Immediate Release
Contact:
leanandhungrytheater@gmail.com
Lean
& Hungry Theater to Present
“Hamlet”
Broadcast Live on WAMU 88-5, Sunday, October 30
Production
to Air the Evening Before Halloween, as a Scary Treat to DC Listeners
Patricia Dugueye:
Horatio
|
Azania Dungee:
Guildenstern |
Michael Harris:
Hamlet |
Shannon Listol:
Ophelia |
Paul McLane:
Polonius/Player King |
Barbara Papendorp:
Gertrude |
Brandon Rice:
Rosencrantz |
Robert Sheire:
Laertes
|
Alex Zavistovich:
Claudius/Ghost |
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Washington, DC (October 4, 2011)
Lean & Hungry Theater, DC’s only radio drama company,
and Washington DC’s NPR affiliate WAMU 88-5, will present a
special live-to-air broadcast of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy
“Hamlet,” at 6 PM, Sunday October 30, 2011,
immediately before WAMU 88-5’s hugely popular “Big
Broadcast” show of classic radio dramas. The program will
also be streamed live on WAMU.org.
Aired the evening before Halloween, “Hamlet” is
Lean & Hungry’s Halloween treat to DC’s
radio listeners. Last year’s Halloween offering from the
company was “MacBeth in the 21st Century.”
“Hamlet” is directed by Kevin Finkelstein, who
previously directed “Romeo and Juliet” for Lean
& Hungry Theater. The assistant director and dramaturg is
Hannah Todd. Special effects and musical underscore for Lean &
Hungry’s productions are provided by Lean & Hungry
Technical Director Gregg Martin.
Set in Plantation Era South Carolina in the 1800s, the ethnically
diverse cast of “Hamlet” includes Patricia Dugueye
as Horatio; Azania Dungee as Guildenstern; Michael Harris as Hamlet;
Shannon Listol as Ophelia; Paul McLane as Polonius; Barbara Papendorp
as Gertrude; Brandon Rice as Rosencrantz; Robert Sheire as Laertes; and
Alex Zavistovich as Claudius.
These artists have appeared with or taught at The Shakespeare Theatre,
The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company,
The Washington Shakespeare Company, Studio Theatre, and other local and
national companies.
The DC public charter school system introduces Shakespeare to students
as early as fourth grade. Among fourth grade students overall in DC,
one in eight are English Language Learners, and one in five are special
needs students.
“The story of ‘Hamlet’ is among the best
known and most challenging of Shakespeare’s works, and
essential reading for schools across the nation,” explained
Jessica Hansen, Lean & Hungry’s Artistic Director.
“Perhaps the most famous of all ghost stories,
we’re excited to have the opportunity to present
‘Hamlet’ on the night before Halloween.”
“Setting the story in the south in the Plantation Era lets us
explore inter-relationships among the characters in a new context,
illuminating race and class issues of our current society. As always,
our modernized radio drama approach allows our actors to bring vocal
talents to the text to create a more contemporary sound,”
Hansen added. “Modern-language narration throughout will
explain to the listeners what has just happened and set up the action
to come. With southern-inspired popular and spiritual music as a
backdrop to the acting, we’re bringing an entirely new
dimension to this formidable work of literature.”
The resident radio drama company of St. Stephen and the Incarnation,
Lean & Hungry Theater is the only company in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area dedicated to adapting works of Shakespeare and other
classic playwrights for radio broadcast.
The productions and recordings of Lean & Hungry Theater
productions are endorsed by the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
About
Lean & Hungry Theater: Conceived in 2006, Lean
& Hungry Theater
(Lean & Hungry) is a non-profit educational radio drama
company.
Drawing primarily on the works of William Shakespeare, Lean &
Hungry provides adaptations of classic dramatic works to underserved
areas, in established or improvised venues (both live and electronic),
for the educational benefit and cultural enrichment of students,
families, seniors and other interested groups in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area and beyond. Lean & Hungry performances are
recorded before a live audience, complete with sound effects and
original musical underscore. The recorded performances are made
available as audio streams, audio CD and as radio broadcast
productions. For more information, visit www.leanandhungrytheater.com
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