by Erik Weasenforth, Marketing Associate VISTA
Top to Bottom:
1) Freddy narrates Hamlet
2) Students laugh at Freddy’s comedic ways
3) “To be, or not to be. That is the question.”
Today I got the opportunity to visit Stepping Stone 1 in north Austin to see Theatre Action Project’s own, Freddy Carnes, put on a Shakespearean show as part of his World Tales and Tunes. He started off with warm-ups, telling the students to repeat dialogue from Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet,while doing actions and striking poses. Then he played his guitar and sang songs. Everything he did, the kids repeated with excitement, laughter, and enthusiasm.
Following the warm-ups, Freddy chose some of the students for roles in performing Hamlet, complete with costumes. Freddy narrated for them so they knew what lines to say. It was very entertaining to watch them having so much fun while learning.
Following their performance of Hamlet, Freddy engaged the students in a conversation about a few of the themes from Hamlet, including marriage. He asked them “Why do people get married?” and explained to them the right reason: Love. This led them to the story of true love, Romeo and Juliet, which they got to perform.
