Psych Drama Co Announces HAMLET 11/30-12/17

Under the direction of Dr. Wendy Lippe, The Psych Drama Company's Hamlet will be performed Nov. 30 through Dec. 17, 2011 at the Boston Center for the Arts' Plaza Black Box Theatre. It is the first of the Company's scheduled explorations of Shakespearean and Greek drama. Based in a contemporary setting, Hamlet features a female protagonist and focuses upon the psychological forces that drive the characters in the play. Adding to the disquietude is original music composed by the Boston indie band, Varsity Drag.

In this new interpretation, Hamlet is the sole heir of a wealthy, dysfunctional family living in an isolated world with few social connections. The play examines the dynamics of individuals and families caught up in an increasingly complex and tragic web of events. Commenting on this reformulated Hamlet, Lippe remarks, "The Oedipal dynamics between Hamlet and Gertrude remains intact...Here, Hamlet's feelings about Gertrude and Ophelia are inextricably bound in self-loathing."

Lippe, who founded The Psych Drama Company in December 2010, is a clinical psychologist who was a faculty member of Harvard Medical School for over a decade, and is currently at Boston University. This is not the first time Lippe has portrayed the role of Hamlet as a woman. She did so at the Sporadic Evolution Theatre and later, at the Algonkuin Theatre Company. In The Psych Drama Company's production, Lippe dons the additional hat of director.

In a 2009 interview with The Boston Globe, Lippe explains how she infused her character with female traits, for the Algonkuin staging. ``We all think about Hamlet as obsessive, and stuck in his head with these moments of lashing out,' Lippe said. ``So, I try to integrate more emotional and physical expression...and [infusing] that expressiveness with the more obsessive quality feels like integrating both a female and a male sensibility,' she said. Lippe's insightful performance earned her praise by a reviewer for the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, who described her acting as ``invigorating' and ``delightfully unhinged.'

Lippe explains that the Company won't limit its scope to Shakespearean and Greek tragedy, but plans to offer a broad range of dramatic works that investigate the depth and complexity of the human psyche.

The Psych Drama Company's mission is to explore human behavior---complete with all those triggers that bring out the best and worst it can be. It is hoped, that after spectators experience a performance by the Company, they will reflect upon themselves through a psychological prism. In keeping with its mission, the Company has invited eminent experts in mental health, criminal justice and the social services from throughout the country to shape the performances, and lead discussions after each production. Their goal is to stimulate insight and encourage viewers to get in touch with their emotions, in keeping with all they have seen on stage.

Lippe hopes that the Company's approach to theater will at the very least be a partial antidote to our ever-speeding world of technology and social media. As she puts it, ``It's [far too] easy to lose track of one's own inner-workings'--- a notion that's more than a little bit frightening.

www.thepsychdramacompany.com
About the Boston Center for the Arts: The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is a nonprofit performance and visual arts center. Its mission is to support artists in the creation of new work that connects with and enriches the lives of the broader public. For more information, visit www.bcaonline.org.

Ticketing for Hamlet is available via Boston Theatre Scene. For single tickets, please call 617-933-8600 or visit www.bostontheatrescene.com.

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