Oakland Community College play puts women in men’s shoes
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
By NANCY McCAULEY BRANSTETTER
Special to the Oakland Press
The Orchard Ridge Theater Program of Oakland Community College has taken Tom Stoppard’s
classic play, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” and given it a 21st century feminine twist. In this production, women will perform the traditional male lead roles, Rosencrantz,
Guildenstern and The Player.
Stoppard pulls two minor characters from Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet”-the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—and gives them the leading roles in his play.
The hapless duo has been asked to spy on t
heir childhood friend, Hamlet and report his strange behavior and intentions to Claudius, the murderous king and Hamlet’s uncle.
“When casting the show, I knew these three women were perfect for the leads,” said director
Dennis North. “They bring an originality to show, which makes our production very unique.”
As the play unfolds, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern witness Hamlet’s insane behavior, his murder
of Polonius and the court now in chaos. The pair is also trying to figure out how they should behave, what actions should they take and where their loyalties should lie.
“These guys are trying to climb the Medieval corporate ladder, while deciding if they can live within a moral code,” North said. “This is an existential play, so our leads constantly ponder,
‘Do they really have any say in their own destiny or has it all been written out for them?”’
Lilli Bishop, cast as The Player, says her voice is a little raspy from lowering her register to
better suit her character. Bishop has also altered her stride.
"One day the leads were all sitting together with our legs crossed and hands in our laps, and I
said, ‘We need to model our characters,’ so we all shifted to more masculine positions,” Bishop
said. “The tables have turned because in Shakespeare’s day all roles were played by men, and
in this production women are now playing the lead male roles.”
Kaitlyn Giguere, who agrees that developing a heavier walk and body positioning has been a major part of character development. Giguere will play the role of Rosencrantz.
“Guildenstern and I set on the floor and I have to fight to sit cross-‐legged and not tuck my legs to one side." said Giguere. “We also console one another, and we can't be sweet so we might pat
a shoulder and say, ‘There, there.”’
In preparation for the play, the public is invited to a special stage reading performed by OCC theatre instructors of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” from 10a.m. to noon March 22 at Smith Theater.
Performances of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” are scheduled for 8 p.m. March22,
23 and 24, and March 29, 30 and 31 in Smith Theater at OCC's Orchard Ridge Campus
General admission is $8; students and seniors (age 60-‐plus) pay $5. Tickets may be purchased at the OCC Raiders Store or at Smith Theatre Box Office on the day of the performance. Tickets may also be reserved in advance by calling 248-‐522-‐3666.
