Hamlet Performed

Boy, was the 4th grade play impressive! And what a difference between the Dress Rehearsal and the live performance today. You could hear the children, most of the lines (and actors) were clear, and there was a fair amount of expression. I was very surprised. I guess they felt silly putting feeling in their words with no audience on Wednesday. Today was totally different.

The children only had one practice with microphones (the Dress Rehearsal) but were able to handle them quite well. They placed them down on a pad in the middle of the stage at the end of each scene and I don't think they ever forgot and carried them off. They shared them and almost without fail remembered to pass them off to the next speaker.

The play lasted a full hour, but it was so well-performed that the time flew by. There were some mistakes, but so few (especially considering they are only in the 4th grade) that no one cared. A few lines were forgotten but, again, very few and the kids recovered well. All-in-all, it was very impressive.

Dane did great! And Hamlet was a real star. It was exciting hearing such famous lines being performed by such young children. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be"; "I will speak daggers to her, but use none"; "Brevity is the soul of wit"; "This above all: to thine own self be true" - such incredible words. I'm once-again reminded of my love for Shakespeare and his turn of a phrase.

I hope these young boys and girls understand some of the words they spoke and that this play gives them a real love for great literature. I was about their age when my love affair with The Bard began to develop.

It was quite a morning, for all of us. The entire school attended the production and I'm sure it will be quite the topic of conversation for the next week or so.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been an invitation to the Cast Party!