By Briana Hallstrom
Picture a Shakespearean actor playing Hamlet. Imagine his face, his air of intelligence, and his vocabulary of words, such as cometh and forsooth, that people pretend to understand. He is the epitome of grace, authority and of stature. Now picture one more thing: He is 5.
Normally, the idea of children and Shakespeare is an unusual combination. Children enjoy playtime, while adults take pleasure in plays. However, the Young Company is changing that notion.
The Young Company trains BYU actors and directors specifically interested in theatre for young children. The company consists of two components: a Shakespeare troupe and a contemporary troupe, each comprised of ten members. The groups collectively perform for 13,000 to 15,000 young people each year, traveling to schools all over the Wasatch Front.
'Shakespeare for the Young' is one program put on by the Shakespeare troupe that has enjoyed much success. Meeting at the Provo Library every Wednesday at 4:15 p.m., children age five and up are invited to help act out Shakespeare plays. Using whispered lines and encouraging prompts, the actors help the children understand the plot, and assist them through the complex material.
'Our scripts are 100 percent Shakespeare, but the kids have no problem with comprehension,' said Chris Clark, the director of the Shakespeare troupe. 'Our goal is to introduce these plays to them when they are young, so they don''t grow up with the common misconceptions of difficulty the public usually has.'
The goal appears to be working.
'The kids are always very attentive and they stay right with us,' Clark said. 'We get a lot of positive response from them during and after the performance. It''s very exciting.'
Rebeca Wallin, the theater outreach coordinator and a member of the Shakespeare troupe, concurs: 'We are almost always full, and we even have a few kids who have become regulars. Interestingly enough, they start to know plays even their parents don''t know. It''s fun to see them get excited at such an early age.'
Eight-year-old Justin Raisor begs his mom, Tina, every Monday to sign him up for the show. According to Tina, he absolutely loves it.
'It''s great that a second-grader is being exposed to Shakespeare,' she said.
Justin, on the other hand, thinks it is fun, and simply loves 'acting it out.'
As the popularity of the program continues to grow, children flock to Provo Library each Wednesday for their turn to act. The program seems a long way from playing hopscotch and climbing trees, but the excitement propelled by the program is obvious.
'The kids love it,' Walling said. 'They have a lot of fun.'
Who knows, maybe the next generation will no longer have to pretend to know words such as cometh and forsooth.
For information, call the Provo library at 852-6682. Today''s play will be The Two Gentleman of Verona. All plays last approximately 45 minutes, and is free to the public.