Hamlet, Austin Drama Club at the Off Center, August 19-28

by Brian Paul Scipione

An Unweeded Garden: Austin Drama Club’s 6^th Production of Hamlet

Many will argue in favor of a favorite song or play is but few will put their money on what is the best. It is easiest to pinpoint what is the ultimate movie or band when one is, say, a freshman in college. Shakespeare is the best writer! Death Cab for Cutie is the most sublime band ever! Dostoevsky has captured the true infirmity of the human soul!

Yet as one ages, learns more, reads more and plainly just experiences more, one is likely to leave behind the notion that one is absolutely sure of anything. My favorite Shakespeare play is Measure for Measure but, nonetheless, Hamlet is probably the best of Shakespeares's plays.

Hamlet has the best lead role, the most emphatic villain, the saddest heroine, and comic foils everywhere. The plot is tight and movess between the supernatural and political themes with a seamlessness emulated in everything from Brave New World to Star Wars. Its ending is tragic beyond tragedy and its message as meaningful as it is morose. If a theatre company were to choose one work as their flagship production than they could do no better than this, Shakespeare’s magnum opus.

Of course, many would argue that the play is sprawling, complex, and behooving of a certain reverence: that is, it should not be approached lightly. This viewpoint was evident in the Hamlet produced last year by Black Swan Productions at the Scottish Rite Theatre and, later, at Boggy Creek cemetary.

Japhy Fernandes's most recent vision of the bard’s classic is on a different level, nay, on a different planet from the play’s traditional interpretation and this is by all means refreshing. He has crafted a version that highlights the eight main characters of the play and their stories. All minor characters and sub-plots have been completely excised. Horatio still barks that something is rotten in Denmark, but these characters are far from Denmark.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Hamlet, Austin Drama Club at the Off Center, August 19 - 28

Received directly:

Austin Drama Club

will be producing

Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

August 19-21 & 26-28

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Sundays at 8 p.m.

at the Off Center 2211-A Hidalgo Street (click for map)
Tickets are $10

contact: japhyfernandes@live.com

This is Austin Drama Club's sixth production of Hamlet. Founded by Japhy and Ellen Fernandes in 2006, ADC under the alias of "Velvet Rut Theatre" produced Hamlet in December of that same year . Since then, we've done versions with and without many of the familar charactors, but always with the same commitment to telling the story.

This production is performed with 8 actors, has a running time of one hour and a half with two intermissions. What's ground breaking about this production is the addition of extra late shows on Friday and Saturday nights, testing the endurance of 4 cast members over the age of 35.

Rob Novak returns for the second time in the title role. He was most recently in an award-winning production of Hamlet at the Scottish Rite Theatre. This show reunites Japhy with college acting partner Brian Potts, now owner of his own talent agency, in the role of Polonius. Ophelia is played by Elena Weinberg, who is currently in City Theatre's production of The Imaginary Invalid, and is the best actress to come out of the St Edwards theatre program in several years.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions for roles in Hamlet and Macbeth, Austin Drama Club, July 13

Received directly:

AUSTIN DRAMA CLUB seeks actors for upcoming productions of Hamlet and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Audition July 13th!

The productions are to be performed in San Antonio at PASA ( Performing Arts of San Antonio) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8 pm.

The shows will rehearse in Austin at the same time with several actors working in both casts. Shows will go up in late August and early September.

We are looking for an actress full of spirit and soul to play the parts Lady Macbeth, or Lady Macduff in Macbeth. And the role of Ophelia is still available in Hamlet. The roles of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet are also available to women.

For men there are 3 are 4 supporting roles in each production available. The roles of Laertes and Horatio are needed for Hamlet.

Auditions are from 8 to 9:30pm at Austin Music Lab, 1306 West Oltorf, Austin, Texas. Room 30 This is about a block from South Lamar. They have plenty of free parking, soda and candy machines. On wed July 13th. You must be there by 8 pm to be seen. Auditions will consist of reading from the scripts which will be provided.

All actors will receive a portion of the box office. Also a portion of the box office will go to a children's charity.

You can let us know you're coming or send your resume in advance to japhyfernandes@live.com

Japhy Fernandes has acted and directed both these shows several times, playing the roles of Lennox (SFASU), Macbeth in 4 Austin Drama Club productions and most recently Malcolm in Macbeth 67 @ the Vortex. He plays the role of Claudius in Hamlet. Rob Novak returns in the title role of Hamlet. The style of direction is inspired by Harold Clurman, and some Peter Brook with ample portions of Robert Wilson. The pace of the rehearsal process is fast.

Contact: Japhy Fernandes at japhyfernandes@live.com

Upcoming: Macbeth with Philip Kreyche, Vortex Repertory, April 20 - 24

Received directly:

Philip Kreyche

presents

William Shakespeare's

Macbeth

April 20-24, 8 p.m.

Vortex Repertory, 2307 Manor Rd (click for map)

Tickets are $15-30, student tickets are $10. Tickets will be available at the box office or online at www.vortexrep.org. 512-478-5282

Scotland, 1967. Following a bloody war against a foreign power, William Macbeth is the most celebrated general in the nation. With his manhood challenged by a power-hungry wife, and urged on by visions of kingship, he embarks on a dark, frightening odyssey that leads him first to the heights of power and then to his ultimate downfall.

"This play was originally written with the theme of destiny, of fate, of predestination in mind" Kreyche says. "In this more modern update, these medieval ideas have been ignored. There are other, much more contemporary andyet timeless ideas the play brings us, such as the role of machismo and pride in decision-making, and the resulting misery this can cause, and the price of ignoring human goodness in the quest for power."

Philip Kreyche, who directs and takes the title role of Macbeth, has been active in Austin's theater and film scene since 2008. As writer/director/actor: The Legend of Siyavash (Wit's End Theater Project); Love Me (FronteraFest Long Fringe 2010); The Dying Sun (FronteraFest Short Fringe 2011); Kidon (short film, self-produced). As director: Sein Kampf (FronteraFest Short Fringe 2011). As actor: The Laramie Project (Q Tonic); Arthuriosis (Getalong Gang); The Importance of Being Earnest (Foot In The Door); Man and Superman (Austin Shakespeare).

The cast includes Christina Leidel as Lady Macbeth, Japhy Fernandes as Prince Malcolm, David Young as Banquo, Larry Oubre as King Duncan, Dustan Costine as Macduff, Justin Smith, Kevin Karwoski, and Allen E. Rogers.

Click 'Read more' for additional information about the cast from AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions: Austin Drama Club 2011 Season, February 21

Found on-line at www.AustinActors.net, February 15:

Austin Drama Club is holding auditions in its new space

Austin Drama Club is seeking actors for its 2011 season in its new location on the south side of Austin.

Auditions will be held Monday Feb. 21st at 8pm in the performance space at 6800 Westgate Dr. inside The Community Renaissance Market. Actors are invited to stop by before hand during market working hours to look around and check out the space.

To audition actors will be asked to so some reading from the script. Please send any info or resumes in advance to Japhyfernandes@live.com

Our Shakespeare repertory company has set out the bold goal of doing 10 of our plays in the next 1o months. The plays, dates, and parts needed are as followed.

Richard III by William Shakespeare......March 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 (needed are 3 guys for supporting roles and 2 gals for the very important supoorting roles of Margret and Anne.) Rehearsals begin ASAP. (directed by Julio Mella for the 2nd time)

Salome by Oscar Wilde......April 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 (needed is the the title role of Salome who must do a little singing and dancing to get the part) all other parts are cast in this show directed by Casey Allen for the 3rd time. rehearsals begin in march.

Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare........May 13,14,15 ,20,21,22 (needed most of all is a gal to play the huge lead role of Cleopatra and a few other gals and guys to play supporting roles.) directed for the 2nd time by Japhy Fernandes. rehearsals begin in April.

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare......June 10, 11, 12, 17,18,19 (needed is an actress with comic skills and sex appeal.) Some other roles are available in this Sci Fi comedy directed for the 3rd time bty Japhy Fernandes. rehearsals begin in March.

A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare.....July 8,9,10, 15, 16 , 17 (some role are still available in this production dedicated to the films of Jim Jarmuch) Directed for the 2nd time by Japhy Fernandes.

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.....August 12,13,14, 19,20,21 (some roles are still avaliable in this comic version ) directed by J. Ferrnandes for the 3rd time.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.....Sept 9,10,11, 16,17,18 (some roles available in this our 3rd production of the show.

Lear by William Shakespeare ....Oct. 14,15,16, 21, 22, 23. (this is a new show for us and most of the roles are not cast)

Macbeth.....Nov. 11,12,13,18,19,20 (this is our 4th rep production of the show` and most of the parts are filled)

Hamlet ....Dec. 9,10,11, 16,17,18 (needed are Gertrude and Ophelia) It will be our 4th time to do the show.

For more info visit Austindramaclub.com or check us out on facebook and there are still great photos from these shows on our myspace page if you want to check out the costume and set designs for these shows.

The rehearsal process for each show is about 30 days (7pm...most nights) with attendance at all dress rehearsals required. Austin Drama Club provides plenty of free parking, restrooms, changing areas, lights, fog, sound, PR and we plan to split any profits this year with actors upon completion of thier work with us.

Contact: Austin Drama Club Japhyfernandes@live.com
Website: www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-Drama-Club/167721169918581

Upcoming: Henry V, Austin Drama Club at Community Market, February 11 - 27

Received directly from Japhy Fernandes, Artistic Director of the Austin Drama Club:

The Austin Drama Club is proud to present its 4th repertory production of HENRY V by William Shakespeare, February 11, 12,13 and 25, 26, 27 in a new space that we are designing, inside The Community Renaissance Market located @ the corner of William Cannon and Westgate.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with rock n roll DJ Toby Ryan on 101x.

TR: You were the guys that did all those Shakespeare plays in that tiny house over in East Austin!

Japhy: That’s right.

TR: What happened with that? You guys did shows there from like ...since 2006....then you just disappeared over night.

Japhy: A disgruntled actor called the fire chief Mrs. Kerr and told her a very convincing story about how we were all gonna die in flames. Mrs. Kerr then asked us for safety’s sake if we couldn’t possibly find someplace else to do our plays. We said no problem.

TR: Wasn't the city willing to work with you?

Japhy: Yes they were, but we wanted to leave that old house anyway.

TR: Where did you go?

Japhy: To the country...southwest of town with the scorpions and the snakes.

TR: Why do that?

Japhy: The same reason why we do everything. For the glory! And because it's the only warehouse we could afford to move into.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . .

Upcoming: Henry V, Austin Drama Club at Community Market, February 11 - 27

Received directly from Japhy Fernandes, Artistic Director of the Austin Drama Club:

The Austin Drama Club is proud to present its 4th repertory production of HENRY V by William Shakespeare, February 11, 12,13 and 25, 26, 27 in a new space that we are designing, inside The Community Renaissance Market located @ the corner of William Cannon and Westgate.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with rock n roll DJ Toby Ryan on 101x.

TR: You were the guys that did all those Shakespeare plays in that tiny house over in East Austin!

Japhy: That’s right.

TR: What happened with that? You guys did shows there from like ...since 2006....then you just disappeared over night.

Japhy: A disgruntled actor called the fire chief Mrs. Kerr and told her a very convincing story about how we were all gonna die in flames. Mrs. Kerr then asked us for safety’s sake if we couldn’t possibly find someplace else to do our plays. We said no problem.

TR: Wasn't the city willing to work with you?

Japhy: Yes they were, but we wanted to leave that old house anyway.

TR: Where did you go?

Japhy: To the country...southwest of town with the scorpions and the snakes.

TR: Why do that?

Japhy: The same reason why we do everything. For the glory! And because it's the only warehouse we could afford to move into.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Julius Caesar, Austin Drama Club, September 17 - October 3

Received directly from Japhy Fernandes and Austin Drama Club:

Welcome to the toga party!

Julius Caesar

by William Shakespeare will blow your mind. Its plays Sept 17th through Oct. 3rd on Fri, Sat,and Sunday nights at 8 pm. Opening weekend is free for any who arrives wearing a toga!

Come to our country location between Oak Hill and Dripping Springs off Fitzhugh Rd @ 12345 Pauls Valley Rd (click for map). We have a big sign up out there. It's easy to find and there is plenty of parking.

But you may ask yourself, "Why would I possibly want to go see a long Shakepeare play about some old dudes. I mean the last time I went and saw a Shakespeare play i was bored out of my freaking mind!"

It's true. Plenty of boring ass Shakespeare plays can and will be seen. They do exist out there some where. You can have a great cast, stunning scenery, in a great comfortable location and still a production can be a total flop. "How is that possible?" you might ask. If a director takes away an actor's freedom and liberty or if a director rejects the actors imagination and vision, then a play can turn into a load of bullcrap and you cant sell bullcrap even if you put a pretty ribbon on it. When you come see Julius Caesar you won't be disappointed at the end of the night or we'll give you your money back and free video from the gift shop! You should just prepare to have your mind blown!

Who needs to see Julius Caesar? Lawyers! and Legal eagles! Debate team captains and would be politicians. Lovers of the Republic and Roman historians, Those who seek to preserve the English language and those that would wish to learn it. And of course, actors who are wise enough to come study the great thespians of their age so they borrow tricks and riffs.

If your going on a first date it should be to this play. Shakespeare makes a great first date cause you don't have to talk to each other that much but at the end of the evening you will have shared an epic experience, like watching the NBA playoffs or the Daytona 500. You'll never forget it.

The Austin Drama Club is also the perfect place to learn new catch phrases like "You must needs." "You must needs clean your room. You must needs take a bath. You must needs brush your teeth." And new ways to say good-bye like "Farewell and adieu" or "Go! But do it quickly" or my personal favorite, "Get thee gone. We will hear ourselves again tomorrow."

Forget about your credit score and start thinking about your IQ score because it's bound to rise after a night of theatre.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is co-directed by Christopher Harris and Casey Allen.... who each take lead roles. They are joined by Julio Mella, Sabrina Taributton, Steven Brandt, Bobby Dean, Sarah England, and Java Blume.

I took these promo photos last night and I'll be doing lights and sets for the production and it is my extreme pleasure to do so. Its been a privilege to stand back and watch these top guns of the Austin Drama Club put Julius up in record time with poise and grace and love.

Best wishes,
Japhy Fernandes...artistic director...Austin Drama Club

Doubling Your Fun: Two Cats, Two Romeos and Two Juliets

With so many companies and productions busy in Austin and nearby, some duplications are inevitable. The familiar musicals, of course -- Annie seems to come around in some form about every four or five months. The huge and joyful production at the Georgetown Palace ran through the holiday season, Lee Colee's Broadway Bound boot camp in Wimberley did a fine short version, Tex-Arts has just done a junior production, and now SummerStock Austin has settled in -- "for the duration," as they used to say during World War II. Their Annie, free of charge to the public camping on the hillside in Zilker Park, runs almost a month and a half, until August 14.

For Christmastime 2008 one could attend no fewer than four productions of Christmas Belles. I took my spouse to the one in Wimberley and she thought I was nuts to insist on taking in two more. I passed up the version that played at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre in San Antonio.

But sometimes you'll have an unusual opportunity to see versions of a notable piece of theatre, opportunities to glimpse just how great the differences of interpretation and impact can be. Theatre is, after all, a live art. Though texts may be standard or closely aligned, the real life and blood of a piece comes in the staging. Austin, you now have the chance to examine Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare as examples of the powerful transformations of dramatic art.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Call for Actors: Austin Drama Club, revived

Received directly:

Austin Drama Club seeks new company members

All shows to perform at our new location in the hills west of Oak Hill near Fitzhugh Rd. and 290 west. We encourage any and all artistic young men and women in that area to come hang out with us this summer and see if you might be into putting on costumes and make up and acting like a fool half the time.

We are also looking for someone who will commit to doing 2 shows with us this summer..someone who wants to begin working on 2 parts at the same time.

We also want to welcome any elder community style actors who have the urge to swagger and bray and talk loudly in a thick British accent.

Romeo and Juliet will open on July 22nd and run through August 10th and needs the following:

3 young men between the ages of 14 and 17 to play the part of Romeo or Benvolio or Tybalt in the Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances.
1 young lady around the age of 15 to play Juliet on Saturday and Sunday afternoons only.
The show also seeks a stage manager who will understudy the role of Lord Capulet.

Merchant of Venice opens August 19th and runs through Sept 5th.

Again we're looking for a group of young guys and gals to understudy some big supporting roles and perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Anthony and Cleopatra comes soon after and has many parts still available

If you have any questions please email JaphyFernandes@live.com or call the theatre at 512 569 7435

To see some pictures and read about our history please search us on the web and visit our MySpace site.

The End?: Austin Drama Club and Geppetto Dreams

Received directly, news that:

• Officials of the City of Austin have ordered Japhy Fernandes and associates in the informal Austin Drama Club to stop offering public performances at the frame house just off E. 7th Street that they've been using since 2003. Last night Fernandes informed the cast, who had been preparing Romeo and Juliet for three weekends of performances beginning April 15. Prospects are dim and uncertain for this underground, underfunded and underappreciated group of Shakespeare lovers.(UPDATE, April 7: The City of Austin has handled this in a very cool way. . . .There is a ray of hope that we might find a new space. Maybe by the fall we'll be doing shows again. [No further information])

• Ricki Vincent is disbanding the Geppetto Dreams puppet company performance troupe. He writes, "After much soul searching and some craziness I can’t go into just yet, I've decided to disband our performance troupe. I'll be taking down the website Geppettodreams.com at the end of May and since there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the funding tunnel I will most likely be closing Geppetto Dreams at the end of this year… That being the case, a lot of our puppets from past shows are for sale. Some are up on E-bay for auction. Others are here at a set price if you'd like to haggle. All these puppets were made with a lot of care & love and are for sale cheap-cheap-cheap! So check it out and see if there's anything you can use for your shows... Also I still will be building/ writing/designing custom shows and single puppets for other people so if you don't see anything you like let me know what you're looking for and i'll build it just for you... The only limits are your Imagination... Oh... And your budget. For those who wish to keep up with my art or need to contact me at admin AT geppettodreams.com or just go to my Youtube Channel."

Upcoming at Austin Drama Club: R&J, M of V, Mother C

Received directly:

Hello theatre fans,

We've been working hard on 3 productions at the same time. Here they are with their performance dates, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Romeo and Juliet (April 15 - May 1) is a repertory production directed by Japhy Fernandes. Cast members coming back from the '07 production include Casey Allen as Romeo, Japhy Fernandes as Friar, Christopher Harris as Paris, and Aaron Lawhon as Benvolio. New cast members include Ashley Mcnerney as Juliet, Sabrina Taributton as the nurse, Java as Lord Capulet, Teddy Fernandes as Tybalt, Steven Brandt as Mercutio, Lakeva Greene as Page to Paris, and Sarah England as Lady Capulet. Ellen Fernandes does lights and sound.

Set in the present with modern costumes and dance...some live loud electric guitar rock and plenty of colored lights and a fog machine. A few things are changed in this updated version....Paris is bound to a wheel chair from the top of the show. Tybalt wears a dress to the ball. Someone else kills Juliet at the end. I call it our Kurt and Courtney version...all apologies.

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (May 6 - 22). We did this gem back in '08 and gave it a 'Three is Company' sit-com type of feel. Set in modern times, and characters like Shylock and Antonio do their business on the raquetball court rather than on the Rialto. Portia and Nerrisa chew and twist gum around their fingers while choosing a husband with the choice of the right box. And then there is the famous courtroom scene. There was a man who recently flew a plane into an IRS building here in Austin -- in a final letter he made reference to this play when he told them that they would get their "pound of flesh...." You'd have to see the play to understand what he was getting at.

Returning from the original cast is director Japhy Fernandes who now takes the role of Shylock. Christopher Harris is back as Antonio, Casey Allen is back as Lorenzo. Making a triumphant return to the Austin Drama Club, Kevin Karwoski takes the role of Prince of Arogon/Duke. Sarah England (the witch from Macbeth) is our new Portia. Steven Brandt is our new Bassanio. Look for more new faces in this light hearted drama of a buisness/love deal gone bad.

Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht (June 3 - 19). It's a new show for us and our 1st attempt at Brecht. Austin Drama Club legend Aaron Lawhon makes this his directing debut. More details about the cast and play are coming soon.

Also, we've done some work on our performance space to give audiences more leg room, softer seats, and better air flow, so visit us again. Remember, for all shows seating begins 7:30 p.m...shows start at 8 p.m. We do our best to seat any latecomers. BYOB. No concessions. Donations go in the jar marked "donations." Contact japhyfernandes@live.com for specific location, directions or any other questions.

Macbeth, Austin Drama Club, February 4 - 20

Sarah England's opening turn as the witch in Macbeth for Austin Drama Club felt so, so right. She's one witch for three, huddled over a trash can lit from below and sporadically spouting CO2 smoke. Her cutting voice and spooky moves make you see that she believes, believes that there is dark magic at work here.

That belief is the underpinning for the Austin Drama Club, an almost inexplicable group of devotees to the dark art of theatre make believe, folks intent on pondering many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.

Or not so forgotten. ADC under Japhy Fernandes' leadership is in its fourth season now in their quasi-hideout on East 7th street between the Texas State Cemetery and Huston -Tillotson University, and they are well into a twelve-play season for 2010. This Macbeth is the first of eight major works by Shakespeare. They did Oedipus Rex in January and in non-Shakespeare months they plan to do Brecht's Mother Courage (next month), Peter Shaffer's Equus (September) and Molière's Tartuffe in November.

No other theatre in town has a schedule that comes even close to that level of challenge and commitment.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Oedipus Rex, Austin Drama Club, January 14 - 30

UPDATE: review by webmaster, www.groups.yahoo.com/group/theatreaustin, January 21

Received directly:

Out with the old and in with the new.....

AUSTIN DRAMA CLUB
offers up

OEDIPUS REX


Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy from back in the time of The 300 Spartans and Alexander the Great. It was a time before the Romans and gladiators. It was a simple time when bad children were taken out of the city and left in the middle of nowhere for someone else to find and raise.

The story is a rags-to-riches to stabbing-out-your-own-eyeballs kind of thriller.

Most of the cast returns from the '08 production, including Julio Mella as Creon, Jennifer Fielding as Jocasta and Erin Jo Montanna as Chorus. Japhy Fernandes joins the cast as the messenger, and coffeehouse poet Java jumps in as the shepherd. Kat Eason bellies up to the project as the the prophetess. Ashley is in it, too!

Erin Jo re -directs the show with a vision setting the characters and the story in the land of hippies and flower power. She wants everybody to have their fair share of the peace. Look for more comic relief than you might expect in a story of incest and mistaken identity.

The show opens January 14 and runs three weekends on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. For more details, email Japhyfernandes@live.com To see pictures from other Austin Drama Club productions visit the ADC Myspace page.

Hamlet, Austin Drama Club, December 10 - January 2

Going to an Austin Drama Club production is like Alice's falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Their venue is a house just off E. 7th Street in Austin, Texas, and you enter through a scruffy back yard surrounded by a chain link fence. When my son and I arrived, Jennifer Fielding was standing by the gate on back yard duty. Her question was, "Have you been here before?"

It wasn't a speakeasy challenge question, but rather an offer of guidance. Finding one's way into the theatre space isn't easy the first time, for that small house has been converted with curtains and a miscellany of improvised, tiered seating into a 25-seat ad hoc theatre. Sightlines are so constrained that three closed-circuit televisions offer alternative views into the corners of the playing space. Lighting consists of inexpensive floorlamps and wall-mounted goosenecks wrapped with aluminum foil and masked with gels in deep red and blue.

You could call it underground theatre, except that it isn't underground. Japhy and Ellen Fernandes and friends are more of a cult, one that is dedicated to dark and somewhat deranged productions of the classics, each done on half a shoestring. Their output is impressive. In 2009 they filled out Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with three-week runs of Talk Radio, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Fool for Love, Henry V, The Wizard of Oz, Richard III, After the Fall and now, again, Hamlet, their fifth presentation in three years of the epic of the melancholy Dane.

Under Japhy's direction, this is a six-person Hamlet, edited down for a two-hour staging that includes two ten-minute intermissions. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern disappear -- as they did in Laurence Olivier's 1948 version. Also gone are Fortinbras and the gravedigger, much to my disappointment. What remains is a quirky Freudian psychodrama in which Shakespeare's language shines fitfully out of the dark.

The character transformations are often striking and often inexplicable. For example, Rob Novak's Hamlet dresses in white tights and short dark tunic but sports a Tyrolean hat and an ice ax, as if old Europe had somehow slipped in space and time. Casey Allen as Leartes (sic) looks like one of the three musketeers. Although Christopher Harris proved himself an articulate and focused actor in their previous Macbeth, here plays Horatio as a dimwit with a pistol.

The favor that Kat Eason as a juicy Ophelia in tight bustier seeks to return to Hamlet is a Playboy magazine with centerfold deliberately unfolded. The Player King phones in his performance -- literally -- and The Mousetrap is an eerie black-and-white pantomime on the television sets. Julio Mella's Polonius shuffles and mumbles. When Hamlet skewers him through the arras, neither Hamlet nor Gertrude investigates the identity of the corpse. After Hamlet berates her, Ellen Fernandes as Gertrude responds with scornful laughter when her son sees the Ghost.

Playing Claudius, director Japhy Fernandes applies an appropriately theatrical demeanor and uses impressive tone and phrasing, although in an occasionally flutey voice. The strength of his personalization of the confused king carries over the other actors like a big clear-channel radio transmitter dominating other signals.

The cast surprises us with the entirely unexpected and unforeshadowed means of Ophelia's demise, a plot development that suggests a rich and enigmatic undertext. There's madness in this Denmark, but Hamlet isn't the lunatic.

The Fernandes couple and friends are waving torches in a menacing darkness. There's potential treasure there, but unfortunately it is never fully revealed. If you can bear with ambiguity, you'll take away some food for thought. And perhaps you'll develop a taste for alt-Shakespeare.

Click to view ADC Hamlet slideshow on MySpace

Upcoming: Hamlet, Austin Drama Club, December 10 -

Received directly:


Austin Drama Club presents

Hamlet
by William Shakespeare

This theatre is a submarine. We scurry through narrow hallways dimly lit, wires and power plugs jotting out like booby traps. You are at war.

We patrol the waters along the coast of enemy waters for you. There is a high attrition rate among us. Some shows and casts are torpedoed and sent to the bottom never to rise again. Others like wounded battleships in shallow waters soon will sail at full strength. Imagine the actors and theatre artists, playwright and light board operator, house manager and producer blown up and floating by in the cold waters of 21st century drama. Then you know you are on the front lines of the theatre scene. "They need theatre in the world, Craig!"

So you want to see Hamlet? Its armed and ready as only repertory style direction can make it. The original crew from 3 years ago and 5 times since; Japhy Fernandes as Claudius, Ellen Fernandes as Gertrude, Julio Mella as Polonius, Casey Allen as Leartes, Christopher Harris as Horatio. Joined by local theatre vets; Kat Eason as Ophelia and Rob Novak as Hamlet.

Seven actors in our 13th production of the year. Why? Because they'll be plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.

You can expect to see heavy rip offs from Clockwork Orange in this production. Children should never know of such a thing. For weapons we offer canes, bats, chains, whips, hand guns, and a ghost who blows smoke out his....next to a queen who blows it from under her..... Sound track mixes classical, trance, Nico and some bagpipies for good measure. Colors are green and pink on black and white and ball gowns are preferable.

When you come, if you've never come, come early. It is hard to find but very close by, with plenty of great places to eat just a few blocks away. Seating begins at 7:30 p.m. and the shows start at 8 p.m. BYOB. And when this masterpiece ends around 10 p.m. be a sweetheart and throw something in the donation jar... in the lobby... on way out.

Performance dates are Dec. 10,11,12 17, 18,19, 31, Jan. 1 and 2nd. And dress nice for *'s sake.

Further info, including address on 7th St. E, from Japhy Fernandes -- japhyfernandes@live.com

Ongoing: Salomé by Oscar Wilde, Austin Drama Club, November 5 - 21

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Hello Theatre Fans,
The Austin Drama Club welcomes you to come enjoy the underground biblical hit from so long ago......

Salomé
by Oscar Wilde
November 5 - 21, Thursdays - Saturdays, 8 p.m.
Austin Drama Club

Do you remember the story about the John the Baptist, the guy who gave Jesus the idea to dunk heads under water as a sign of spiritual re-birth? Do you remember how John the Baptist met his maker and why? It had to do with one hot, lit babe called Salomé who because of her pervert of a dad, King Herod, does a little dance and gets what she wants tonight as the moon turns a bloody red.

Back in the day Oscar Wilde was the bomb playwright. His plays stand the test of time and most are of the light, farcical nature. Salomé was his private play for close friends and those he could trust with secrets. Oscar later did some time in a brutal English prison for confessing his gentle disposition and his weakness for young men. Up until then had been seen in the best of society and had adapted quite well. Wit and play writing were the focus of his life and he had no interest in political martyrdom.

Salomé was first performed by the Austin Drama Club in August of 08. The vision for the show belongs to poet Casey Allen who returns as director with most of the original cast. Casey turns King Herod's bash into a costume party where Herod (Christopher Harris) comes as Elvis. Casey plays John, the doomed prophet. Erin Jo E. is his angry wife. Kat Eason returns as their daughter Salomé with a dance of the 7 veils not to be missed.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: House of Yes, Austin Drama Club, October

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Austin Drama Club
presents


House of Yes
by Wendy Macleod
Directed by Japhy Fernandes
October 15 - 31

It's the 70's. It's Thanksgiving. A very odd family is gathering at their estate next to that of the Kennedys. A crazy, spoiled, rich bitch is waiting with erotic anticipation for her twin brother to return home. What she doesn't know is that her twin brother is bringing his fiance -- a donut shop girl from the Big Apple.

A hurricane has blown all the power out. Someone finds a gun, then someone finds a knife...people get undressed to reveal their best metro sexual underwear. With Thanksgiving dinner ruined and only cranberry sauce to eat, it's no wonder that someone gets killed.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .