Directing Hamlet

1865  is a two act historical drama and a mirror for today’s political events.

1 set (utilizing the theatre as a theatre)

3 f,  6 m

Jenna LaFluer, a company actress, steps out onto the stage, surveying the wreckage that was Ford’s Theatre shortly following the assassination attempt of Abraham Lincoln on April 14th, 1865, to sneak a cigarette.  She and seven other performers and stagehands have been temporarily trapped inside the locked down theatre as a growing mob congregates outside the building to await the fate of the President and the nation.  The ongoing interviews of those who claimed to have witnessed the evening’s attack have been postponed due to the increasing danger from the assembled swarm.  In order to ensure their protection, the actors and crew are all quickly been sequestered to the stage itself.

Relationships strain as the evening wanes on.  The crowds outside begin demanding justice from those responsible, shooting at the building and smashing windows in an attempt to flush out the conspirators and vent their anger while a small faction of Union soldiers hold down their ground.  The chant of “Burn it down!” raises the stakes higher, taking a further toll on those embedded inside.

In order to survive will this ragtag group need to give up one of their own to satisfy the mob and earn back their own freedom?  1865 is as relevant and true today in the wake of our current political climate, as well as 9/11 and the LA riots (1965 and 1992) as it was when our nation first lost its innocence.  If we never learn from our past . .