The Barter Players Encore Company's HAMLET Begins Tonight

Barter Theatre's new performance group, The Barter Players Encore Company, will be performing William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" thanks to a grant from Shakespeare in American Communities and the National Endowment for the Arts. "Hamlet" will appear at Barter's Stage II beginning tonight, March 4.

The Barter Player's Encore Company is a new performance group Barter has created which is made up of Barter Players alumni. The Encore Company makes this play familiar to students by setting their two-act "Hamlet" in a not-so-distant time and place. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, but Denmark bears a strange resemblance to a place we can all imagine: someone loved has died, and the audience left to decide how to proceed.

"Hamlet," one of the most famous plays in the English language, can also be one of the most challenging plays for students, but The Barter Player Encore Company has created an experience to make this play easier to understand and appreciate.

This production brings the play from the page to the stage and offers workshops for student performances using role-playing activities. These workshops will be held before and after student performances. Evening performances will not feature workshops, and are not adapted specifically for students, allowing adults to enjoy this classic Shakespeare play as well.

"Hamlet" features Sam McCalla as Hamlet. Other performers include: Emily Grove, Terrance Jackson, Barrett Guyton, Samuel Floyd and Natalie Riegel. This production is directed by Katy Brown.

The National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest presents Shakespeare in American Communities. Barter Theatre is one of 40 professional theater companies selected to participate in bringing the finest productions of Shakespeare to middle and high school students in communities across the United States. This is the 12th year of this national program, the largest tour of Shakespeare in American history.

Barter would like to issue a special thank you to Shakespeare in American Communities. Because of their generous support, the Barter will be able to offer assistance for schools/students that can demonstrate need. This includes bus and ticket subsidies.