Hamlet

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S
                                            MARCH 19, 20 7:30PM
                                                     bLACKFRIARS Playhouse
                                                                          10 s market sTREET
                                                                                  sTAUNTON, va

HAMLET
            DIRECTED BY JAQ BESSELL

                                                                         Admission Free

Presented by Mary Baldwin College's Master of Fine Arts/Master of Letters
Program in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance Program in
Partnership with American Shakespeare Center

With Anna Northam, Francis RTM Boyle, Katherine Mayberry, Chelsea Collier,
Corey Vincent, Lesley Larsen, Anna J.L.Christiansen, Heidi Grumelot,
Eve Speer, Angela K. Boyle, Robert Bowen Smith, James Mainard O'Connell

Dance Choreographer: Katherine Mayberry                       Fight Choreographer: John Paul Scheilder
Original Music Written by the Cast and Produced under the direction of Chelsea Collier
Prop Production: Andrew Blasenak and Kristine Ayers                             Dramaturg: Francis RTM Boyle
Voice Coach: Anna JL Christiansen    Fight Captain: Lesley Larsen   Graphic Design: Robert Nesbit

Jaq Bessell (Director) is the former Head of
Research at Shakespeare Globe in London, and now
teaches acting, directing and dramaturgy in the
MLitt/MFA program in Shakespeare and Renaissance
Literature in Performance at Mary Baldwin
College/American Shakespeare Center. She has
directed extensively in Britain and the United States,
but this is the first time she’s directed Hamlet.

Heidi Grumelot (Marcellus, Rosencrantz, Osric)
is excited to be acting in Hamlet even though she is
an MFA directing candidate at MBC. She has
served as assistant director of A Christmas Carol
and director of the staged reading Hengist for
American Shakespeare Center; director of school
productions of The Jungle Book and The Tempest,
and assistant director of Two Noble Kinsmen.

Anna JL Christiansen
(Laertes, Reynaldo,
Lucianus) Her previous
roles include, the Jailer’s
Daughter from The Two
Noble Kinsmen, the
Duchess in The Duchess of
Malfi, Hermione in The
Winter’s Tale, the First
Witch in Macbeth, Maureen
in Stags and Hens, and
Martha in The Rhimers of
Eldritch.

Katherine Mayberry (Queen Gertrude) came to
Mary Baldwin’s Mlitt/MFA program from
Michigan, where she works as an actor and
artistic associate with the Pigeon Creek
Shakespeare Company, of which she is a
founding member. Previous Shakespeare roles
include Lady Macbeth in Macbeth,
Titania/Hyppolita in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
and Rosalind in As You Like It.

Francis RTM Boyle
(King Claudius) Hamlet is
Francis’ MFA thesis.
Other roles include: Duke
from Measure for
Measure; Faustus, Dr.
Faustus; Flavius, Timon of
Athens;
Gloucester/Edward IV,
Queen Margaret. He is
currently interning at
Golden Duck Productions
and soon will studying for
his PhD in Theatre.

Eve Speer (Polonius,
Priest) directed Twelfth
Night, and produced and
performed in The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow at
Theater at Lime Kiln last
year. Her favorite roles
include Goneril in King
Lear, and various roles in
ASC’s 2006 Renaissance
Season. She graduated
from Brigham Young
University with a BFA in
Acting.

James Mainard O'Connell
(Barnardo, Player Musician,
Fortinbras) is in his second
year in Mary Baldwin's
M.Litt/MFA program. He
holds a BA in Theatre from
Hendrix College and has
worked extensively as an
actor and carpenter at the
Peterborough Players. He
has also taught and directed
at Episcopal Collegiate
School and Parkview High
School.

Angela K Boyle (Francisco, Player Queen)
Originally from Cincinnati, Angela earned her AB
from Washington University. Since coming to
Mary Baldwin, her roles have ranged from
Rosalind in As You Like It to the title role in
Queen Margeret. Having earned her Mlitt in
teaching, she’s turning those skills toward her
MFA in Directing this year.

Anna Northam (Hamlet) trained at the Central
School of Speech & Drama in London. For the
last ten years, she has played multiple roles on the
British and American stage; most recently a twelve
week American tour of Hamlet with the company
Actors from the London Stage. Anna is presently
completing her MLitt/MFA in Shakespeare and
Renaissance Literature from Mary Baldwin College.

Chelsea Collier (Horatio) graduated from the
University of Tampa with a BA in Writing. Her
previous roles include Puck in A Midsummer
Night's Dream, and Gutter in the world premiere
of The Trial Has No Name. She dedicated her
performance to her mother, Kathy.

Lesley Larsen (Ophelia, Gravedigger) is a
founding member of red umbrella theatre
company. Before coming to Mary Baldwin,
Lesley worked as an improv comedian in
Phoenix, AZ. Her favorite previous roles
include: Gower in Pericles, Karen in The
Children’s Hour, and Emilia/Old Shepherd in
The Winter’s Tale. She holds a BFA in Acting
from Brigham Young University.

Corey Vincent (Ghost of King Hamlet, Player
King, Gravedigger) was born, raised in, and
danced in South Florida, moving to Staunton to
attend the Mlitt/MFA program. She went to
Florida Atlantic University for Acting and
Directing. Her favorite roles include Carabosse
in The Sleeping Beauty, Witness 8 and Witness
9 in The Investigation, and Hero in Much Ado
About Nothing.

Robert Bowen Smith (Guildenstern) is
graduating with his Master of Letters in
Renaissance Literature in Performance this
spring. He studied with Young Actors Space in
Van Nuys, California, and received a BA in
Theatre from Southern Virginia University. He
has been accepted in the MFA program at Mary
Baldwin College and will begin in the fall of 2007.