Students discover BTE's Hamlet

published in The Daily Item, Thursday, February 18, 2010. Applause section.

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s Project Discovery program will present matinees of their production of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to local high school students. The matinees begin on Monday, February 22 at the Alvina Krause Theatre in downtown Bloomsburg.

Project Discovery, which is now in its 17th year, is a partnership between BTE, local businesses and high schools in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. All area high school sophomores, juniors and seniors are invited to attend the “Hamlet” matinees at no cost.

Area students from Danville, Selinsgrove, Midd-West, Shamokin, Shikellamy and Warrior high schools will be participating in this year’s Project Discovery. A total of 15 schools and more than 2,400 students will watch BTE’s production of “Hamlet.”

“Hamlet” encourages students to explore themes of revenge, death, uncertainty and loyalty.

“The driving action of the play revolves around whether Hamlet will revenge his father’s murder,” said Nina Winter, BTE’s Education Director.

“Throughout the play, Hamlet is investigating and trying to discover what is certain. When there is opportunity for him to act on his revenge, he contemplates his desire to act and its possible subsequent consequences,” she added.

These themes resonate with high school students because of the close relation to the decisions they have began to make in their own lives. Hamlet’s struggles to weigh actions and consequences as well as determine how strong his loyalty is are similar to decisions made in daily life.

Project Discovery also familiarizes students with the arts as well acquainting them with visiting a theatre.

“We want the students from this rural region to have the same opportunities to experience the arts their peers in cosmopolitan regions have,” said Paula Henry, BTE’s School Programs Director.

The long term goal of Project Discovery is to have a portion of the students’ transition into regular ticket buyers and subscribers of the theatre and the arts.

“Project Discovery builds a community centered on a shared respect for theatre as an engaging means to lifelong learning,” said Henry.

BTE began Project Discovery during the 1993-1994 school year with their production of “Macbeth.” The idea of the program was developed when attempts were made to host field trips at the theatre but many schools’ budgets did not allow for the extra expense.

“In 1993, we started approaching businesses and asking for donations to make free matinees possible for the high school students in the 5 counties covered by Intermediate Unit 16,” said Henry.

Since the start of the program, over 40,000 high school students have experienced live professional theatre performances for free at the Alvina Krause Theatre. According to Henry, an average of 15 high schools participate each year.

“Hamlet” is a co-production between BTE and the BU Players. It is directed by Gerard Stropnicky.

The production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, which is a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble is located in The Alvina Krause Theatre at 226 Center Street, Bloomsburg. In addition to the Project Discovery matinees, “Hamlet” performances are available to the general public. Visit www.bte.org for more information and to purchase tickets.