New Canaan resident Claire Kelly, who is the artistic director for Shakespeare on the Sound in Norwalk, will be directing an abridged version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet this summer in Rowayton.
“As my parents would say, I was always a dramatic child. From age three, my first obsession was with Wizard of Oz. I used to put on the Wizard of Oz for my parents every day.” Kelly says she always portrayed Dorothy. “It’s been a passion ever since I can remember. I did it all through elementary school, I would put on plays either based on real plays or plays that I made up, and charge people five cents.”
Kelly was born in England, spent time in Texas, Ohio, Minnesota, and Massachusetts before earning her master’s degree in educational theater from New York University.
According to Kelly, she had been pursuing directing for years prior to acquiring her master’s. When she was in eighth grade, she joined a two-year theater program at the Cleveland Playhouse. She was involved in theater during high school and throughout college. She was an intern at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she ended up becoming a full-time employee for three years.
“I was focused on acting at the beginning, but as soon as I found directing it made complete sense to me. I pursued directing, which took me to the East coast,” Kelly said. She moved to New Canaan in 2001 from New York City.
Kelly has been involved with Shakespeare on the Sound since 2010. She began as education director before becoming the artistic director during the summer of 2015. In 2013, she directed As You Like It and in 2014 Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Directing Hamlet
“The thing about directing is, you do a little bit of everything, you have your hands in everything, it’s very collaborative, but I have very strong ideas; We work as an ensemble to create the world of the play then bring it to life,” Kelly said.
As the director of Hamlet, Kelly has a variety of duties such as “collaborating with the set, costume, and lighting designers to help create the world of the play.” She added, “I need to analyze the play, as the director, and decide what I want to focus on and what story I want to tell.”
According to Kelly, she works with the board on the marketing and fundraising for the production. She also casts the actors with the help of producers and casting agents. In addition, she picked the music for the show and works with the choreographer for movement on stage.
According to Kelly, there are three different versions of the text which run for an average of four hours and 30 minutes, so she worked with a literary editor to cut the script down to two hours and 45 minutes.
Any subplots which don’t advance the story and extend the play were cut. Kelly said, “We re-arranged some of the scenes to tell the story more fluidly, and to keep the action going.”
“We’re trimming it to tell Hamlet’s story in an exciting and a fast paced way,” said Kelly. “So that the audience is excited, and it moves along on a fast clip.”
From the beginning of the play, “as soon as Hamlet sees his father and is asked to be avenged, it’s like a gun being shot off, it’s on a downhill roller coaster till the end,” Kelly said.
Sixteen performances of Kelly’s rendition of Hamlet will be held Tuesday to Sunday at 7:30 p.m., from June 16 through July 3, at Pinkney Park in Rowayton, Conn. There will be no charge for performances on Tuesday through Thursday, but admission will be $20 Friday through Sunday, children 12 and under free.
The production marks the 21st season for Shakespeare on the Sound and the company’s first production of Hamlet.
Director Claire Kelly and lead actor Joey Santia here were talking about how Shakespeare illuminates the workings of the soul and turns life into art in Hamlet, to be staged in Rowayton’s Pinkney Park starting June 16. —Jayson Byrd photo
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