MAY VIOLETS SPRING - One

Last evenings’ first rehearsal for MAY VIOLETS SPRING was a lot fun…to get together with people to read some Shakespeare sold me.

The cast of 6 read the play, which, thanks to Jim Parenti’s cutting, should could in with a running time of about 100 minutes or less at the public reading, which is set for February 6th.

After the reading, we chatted a little about what we all got out of the adaptation, with plenty of thoughts and ideas coming from everyone in the room. I'm happy to say that there's a lot of great stuff to think about and work on.

Dissecting Shakespeare, specifically HAMLET, is something that has been going on for over 400 years. With all the mystery that surrounds the play and its title character, it’s easy to see why. As a fictional character, more time has been donated to the study of Hamlet than any other character in all of literature, with the possible exception of Sherlock Holmes. I don’t think anyone has ever cracked the case as far as HAMLET is concerned, but I don’t think that’s the point of the analysis or in Jim’s case, this new adaptation is concerned. The fun in what Jim has done with this adaptation is that it forces us, the actors…and the audience, the ask new questions about the characters, their relationships, their motivations. It’s exciting to work on and I can’t wait to get back into the mix on Wednesday night.

Here is The Cast List for MAY VIOLETS SPRING (in alphabetical order)

Timothy J. Cox as Polonius / Ghost/ Player King / Priest
Sam Dash as Horatio / Laertes
Chris Kateff as Claudius
Michael Goldsmith as Hamlet
Maura Hooper as Ophelia / Gravedigger
Diana Zambrotta as Gertrude

Director: Katherine M. Carter
Adaptation By: James Parenti
Stage Manager: Elise MacPherson