Stockbridge, MA – May 3, 2018: Each spring, a group of Austen Riggs Center patients and actors from the local community stage a Shakespearian production in the intimate Riggs Theatre located at 37 Main Street in Stockbridge on the second floor. This year’s production, The Hamlet Project, will be performed nightly at 7:30 p.m. from Tuesday, May 8 through Sunday, May 13.
“We’re calling this The Hamlet Project because we’re playing with it–playing with theatrical forms and conventions–much like Shakespeare did. But all the while we’re giving a full measure of respect and appreciation to the language of Shakespeare’s play and the actors’ relationship with the audience,” remarks Kevin G. Coleman, the Riggs theatre director, who also serves as the education director at Shakespeare & Company.
Coleman goes on to say, “The text of Hamlet is extraordinary–this is Shakespeare at his wildest and most irreverent. The actors in this production keep marveling at how insightful and accurate the language is; there’s an ongoing refrain in rehearsal of ‘this is so familiar to me in my life.’ Beyond the familiarity, Coleman notes the intense text work that has been such a large part of this rehearsal process: “Looking up words in dictionaries and lexicons, researching references, discussing interpretations–all of this has created an atmosphere of excitement and curiosity that I believe the audience will be able to see and feel at the performance.”
Part of the Activities Program, Riggs Theatre 37 provides an opportunity for patients to explore some of their strengths through involvement in twice-yearly productions (spring and fall). The immersive ten-week process includes reading scripts, selecting a play, working through rehearsals, and staging several performances for the general public.
The production is open to the public and runs Tuesday, May 8 through Sunday, May 13 with nightly performances at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. To reserve tickets, call 413.298.5519 ext. 5606.
For a complete listing of upcoming events at the Austen Riggs Center, visit: www.austenriggs.org/conferences.
About the Austen Riggs Center
Austen Riggs Center, a leading psychiatric hospital and residential treatment program, has been serving adults since 1919. Within a completely open setting, patients are provided immersion in an intensive treatment milieu that emphasizes respectful engagement. Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy is provided four times a week by doctors on staff. The Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center studies individuals in their social contexts through research, training, education, and outreach programs in the local community and beyond.
The Austen Riggs Center is located in Stockbridge, MA. For more information about its services, please call 413.298.5511 or 800.517.4447 or visit www.austenriggs.org.
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