Becoming Hamlet
Adapted by
Sybille Bruun & Damon Horowitz
Our Team
Scenic & Lighting Design
David Waggoner*
Costume Design
Amit Gajwani
Production Manager
Samantha Muster
Stage Manager
Lacey Jo Sloat*
Director
Sybille Bruun & Damon Horowitz
Cast
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Polonius
Laertes
Ophelia
Horatio
Guildenstern
Rosencrantz
Ghost/Gravedigger
Hamlet Guide
Facilitators
Audience
David H Littleton*
Desirée Baxter*
Jim Pratzon*
Steven Lamont
Judith Feingold
Tyler Moss*
Truman Gaudoin
Parmeet Singh*
Equiano Mosieri*
Damon Horowitz
Sybille Bruun
Addy Paul Jenkins
Emily Jackoway*
Sevans Martinez
*Actors appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association
Director's Note
Tonight, we invite you into Hamlet's world: not just into his desperate situation, but into his mind and his experience. We invite you to feel what it is like to be Hamlet.
You are not here as passive observers but as true participants, as human beings whose voices matter, whose responses are authentic, and whose quality of presence shapes what happens on this stage. How we all show up and encounter each other determines the value of our experience -- here in live theatre, as in life.
If Shakespeare invented the modern understanding of being human (as the critic Harold Bloom has argued), it is no wonder that Hamlet feels so urgent right now, in an era that threatens the obsolescence of the human. Hamlet is the embodiment of an intense inner life: a consciousness constantly forming itself through language, a mind that overhears and revises itself in real time. Hamlet is at once deeply individual and somehow universal, containing parts of all of us, yet impossible to reduce to any single actor or interpretation. As you speak Hamlet's lines tonight, you give sound to those parts of the character that are resonant for you in this moment. Hamlet's story — of pride and grief, of love and betrayal, of not knowing the right path forward — is everyone's story.
At the core of the play is Hamlet's struggle to act: to move from thought to deed, from feeling to choice. That existential struggle is explored through theatre itself, conceived as a process of discovery. Tonight, you face a version of that same challenge, as you have the opportunity to step into the action, to speak and to respond. Your situation in this room mirrors Hamlet's situation in the play. We will all witness each other, as individuals and as a collective, woven together through the character, in the human spectacle of transformation.
We present to you an adaptation of Shakespeare's original play, preserving his elevated language, vivid characters, and compelling narrative. We are here tonight as guides, to facilitate your participation, to meet you where you are and bridge your entrance into Hamlet's heightened realm. You may choose whatever level of participation suits you. We are grateful you have chosen to join us.
Meet the Players
Desirée Baxter* (Gertrude) is an NYC-based actor and classical singer. Roles: Countess/All’s Well That Ends Well, Parent Lear/Lear, Gertrude/Hamlet, Ranevskya/The Cherry Orchard, Marmee/Little Women, Hope/Be a Good Little Widow and Dauber/The Cradle Will Rock. She has performed in operas, oratorios and concerts in the U.S. and Europe, and premiered works by several North American composers. Thriving in a collective where all voices – past and present - are sought out and amplified, Desirée is an active member of Expand The Canon, uncovering and uplifting classic plays by women & underrepresented genders; and The Drawing Board, a lab for playwrights, screenwriters and actors. AEA, SAG-AFTRA, AGMA. DesireeBaxter.com
Sybille Bruun (Director/Facilitator) is a director, educator and researcher whose work explores multiple facets of the indomitable human condition. She teaches Shakespeare for Actors, as well as Voice and Speech, and Shakespearean Verse/Text courses. She has directed numerous productions both in New York and regionally. Highlights include: The Taming of the Shrew (Live Theatre Workshop), The Insatiate Countess (American Shakespeare Center Staged Reading Series), Macbeth (Brachiate Theatre Company), as well as Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, Titus, King Lear and Othello(s) with The Shakespeare Forum. Sybille remains grateful to the NYC Shakespeare Forum community as well as to her husband and children- the loves of her life.
Judith Feingold* (Ophelia) is a classically trained Meisner actor, hailing from Shakespeare & Company, and from the DeSotelle Studio, where she now teaches Meisner, Shakespeare, and text analysis. She is a core member of Nuance Theatre Company, an Emmy recipient for the anti-war piece Not On This Night, and is a proponent of independent theatre and film. Upcoming work includes the features AM, His Father's House, and Upwards Onwards, a workshop of The Seagull, and mainstage productions of No Exit and Macbeth. JudithFeingold.com
Truman Gaudoin* (Guildenstern) hails from Camden Town, London, Truman trained at Drama Studio London, before moving Stateside in 2024. Recent credits include Hamlet and The Tempest with Hip to Hip Theatre Company, and Romeo & Juliet with Gallery Players. insta: @truman.gaudoin
Damon Horowitz (Hamlet Guide) is a philosopher and performer, pursuing these complementary forms of inquiry across an unlikely range of venues. He founded The Oracular Theatre and directed their first production of Julius Caesar; he is a popular public speaker on large stages around the world, including the TED mainstage; he teaches liberal arts courses at Columbia, Stanford, and San Quentin State Prison; he leads teams building humanistic technology, and served as In-House Philosopher at Google; he coaches individuals toward self-realization through Hakomi somatic mindfulness; and he performs piano in the woods. His most subversive acting experience, prior to the present enterprise, was performing in As You Like It with Stanford Shakes.
Emily Jackoway* (Facilitator) is a New York-based actor, writer, and educator. A graduate of NYU Tisch’s Drama program, she loves bringing together her training in movement, devised works, and classical texts. Previous credits include The Vitagraph Story (The Flea); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (92NY); Hay Fever (Stag & Lion Theater Co.); Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare in the Woods). Her writing has recently been seen in The Quotidian Collection's new works series. As a Shakespeare nerd and former writer/podcast host for a Shakespeare education website, she is thrilled to be working with the incredible team at Shakespeare Forum on this groundbreaking production. Web: emilyjackoway.com
Addy Paul Jenkins (Facilitator/Fight Choreographer) is an actor and fight director living their dream making theatre with wonderful people. They hold a BA in Theatre and Performance from SUNY Purchase and is a certified actor combatant with Dueling Arts International with additional certifications from SAFD. Previous roles: Prince Hal/Henry IV, Part 1; Tyndareus/Orestes 2.0; Resten/The Language Archive; Theodore Whitman/The Nobodies Who Were Everybody; Romeo/Lady Capulet/Friar John/Abraham/Romeo and Juliet; and Bassianus/Titus Andronicus. Addy also works as a lighting designer having worked on The Seagull, Three Cis-ters, Tam Lin as well as SUNY Purchase’s Purchase Performance Lab.
Steven Lamont (Laertes) is a New York based actor, writer, director, and teacher whose work spans classical and contemporary theatre and spoken word. Stage credits include Rodney/Small Mouth Sounds and Oliver/As You Like It at T. Schreiber Studio, and Long John Silver in the world premiere of Treasure Island at Classic Theatre of Maryland. A T. Schreiber Studio alum, he has trained with Peter Jensen, Tommy Buck, and Pamela Scott, and with Fiasco Theatre. Additional training includes scene study with Brian McManamon of Juilliard. He holds a degree in Psychology from Penn State. Steven is thrilled to bring Laertes to life. Cheers to the cast and crew.
David H. Littleton* (Claudius) Previous credits include work at The Public Theater/NYSF, Theatre for a New Audience, Urbanite Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, NBC/Universal, Disney+, AMC+/Shudder, and others. www.dlittleton.com
Sevans Martinez (Facilitator) is a tough, smart, capable leader and a funny, outspoken clown who'd rather keep people in stitches. Former firefighter, and current EMT and set medic. Overactive, charismatic mom to an amazing 4 year old motor-mouth sass pants. Unsure where any of this was picked up. (Love to Eli and Jesus!) Last seen on Blue Bloods, The Affair, and on stage from Shakespeare, musicals to comedy improv. Last heard in VO for The Penguin, Madame Webb, Marry Me, and Blue Bloods. An extremely versatile actress who honed her training at the University of Mississippi. Resident company member of Soñadores Shakespeare Company. Founding director and member of Say What? NYC Comedy Improv. SayWhatNYC.com No stranger to intense challenges and tries to bring that intensity to every facility of her performing.
Equiano Mosieri* (Host, Ghost, Gravedigger) is excited to turn you all into Hamlet for a night! Select credits - Film: “Influence” (Co-Lead), “A Thing of Beauty” (Lead). Theater: HB Studio- Stand Right There And Perish. Theater of War- Ajax (Sophist). Folger Theatre- Our Verse in Time To Come (SOS). Bedlam- Titus (Aaron). Commonwealth Shakespeare Company- Romeo & Juliet (Friar Lawrence). LaMama ETC- Phantasmagoria (Lord Byron). Craig "muMs" Grant’s Beauteous (The Revolutionary). Central Square Theater- The Convert (Elliot Norton Award). New Ohio Theatre- In Fields Where They Lay. Julie Harris Stage - A Raisin In The Sun (Walter Lee). Shakespeare & Co- Romeo & Juliet (Tybalt). BTF- MacBeth. ANPT Nashville- Les Negres by Jean Genet. Director | Creator: The Living Theatre, São Paulo- Electric Awakening, Fairbanks Shakespeare- What You Will, Manhattan Rep- The Clark Dolls. MFA: Brandeis University. IG: @equianomosieri. He is Co-founder of 10th Element (IG: @xethebrand). Love U, Family!
Tyler Moss* (Horatio) is the Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Forum. He is a NYC based actor, teacher, and clown. Previous Roles: Sid/Waiting for Lefty; The Writer/Birth of my Violence; Jameson Parks/Terror Superhighway; Benedick/Much Ado About Nothing; Puck/A Midsummer Night's Dream; Iago/Othello[s]; Fool/King Lear; as well as title characters Hamlet, Cyrano De Bergerac, and Henry V. He will play Titus Andronicus next week in a one night performance with The Shakespeare Forum. My family is my everything. I love you. tylermossactor.com
Jim Pratzon* (Polonius) has become over a dozen Shakespearean characters on stage, with the career goal of working on as many as possible. He most recently played Sebastian in The Tempest. He has worked OB, OOB, and regionally, most notably in On The Verger, Beyond Therapy, and Brian McEleney’s adaptation of Jane Eyre, Johnny Eyre. He’s recorded ten audiobooks for the New York Public Library, including Charles Dickens’ complete Martin Chuzzlewit, as well as the Penguin edition of Days of Devotion: Meditations of the Good Shepherd Pope John XXIII, a best-seller in Scandinavia.
Parmeet Singh* (Rosencrantz) is elated to join the cast as Rosencrantz. He is coming fresh from playing Sebastian in Twelfth Night at Tier5 Theatre company. Over the summer he played Laertes in Hamlet and Caliban in The Tempest with Hip to Hip Theatre. He also played Macbeth at Hamlet Isn’t Dead. He was also seen at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's LIVE! company where he played Romeo in Romeo And Juliet and Lysander in A midsummer Night's Dream. He graduated from the conservatory program at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Parmeet also trained at the National School of Drama, India. He has additional training in the Meisner Technique, Clowning, Commedia Dell’arte, Stage-combat, and Improv.
Samantha Muster (Production Manager) is a NYC based stage manager. Her past credits include producing for the NY based House of Spirits, stage managing and designing lights for Off-Broadway, Year of the Solar Eclipse, and designing lights and sound for many NYC theater festivals. A special thanks to this cast and crew for making this production so enjoyable.
Lacey Jo Sloat* (Stage Manager) - Rochester native and proud SUNY Brockport graduate. Off-Broadway; Someone Spectacular (Signature Theatre Company, ASM), Fall River Fishing (Bedlam, ASM), Drunk Shakespeare (Brass Jar Productions, SM). Regional; The Addams Family (Gateway Playhouse, ASM), Once (Olney Theatre Center, ASM), Dear Jack, Dear Louise (Shakespeare & Company, ASM), The Other Josh Cohen (GEVA Theatre, ASM). Film; High School Lullaby (Big Eddie Pictures, 1st Asst. Director), It's All True (MKR Productions, 2ndAD), My Autopsy (Screaming Butterfly Ent., Prod. Asst.) All my love to my partner and my fur babies <3
Amit Gajwani (Costume Design) was born in Mumbai, India and at 12 years old moved to NewYork. The influence of both cultures inspired travel that has taken him around the world. He also discovered a love for historical fashion during his travels and the combination of these influences are evident throughout his designs. He became established and well respected in the world of fashion print and advertisement campaigns for clients such as Hershey and the Winter Olympics2026, Jaegermeister, Microsoft, Franco Sarto, Maybelline, Ford Motors, and many more. Amit graduated with a psychology degree from Vassar College. His passion for psychology lends itself beautifully to character work within short format content and narrative feature films and Theater. He has worked with a wide range of talent such as Gabrielle Union, Lala Anthony, Debra Winger, Chris Abbott, Jim Belushi, Rachel Brosnahan, Macy Gray, Madeline Brewer and many other. One of his features for Netflix, The Perfect Find won the AudienceAward at the Tribeca Film Festival. One of his most current projects, I Live Here Now, directed by Julie Pacino, was released in theaters in February, 2026. Amit also costume designed the sold-out Off-Broadway run of the play, Phoenix, starring Julia Stiles. His passion for films has led him to jump into production. His ability to work with different clients, budgets and talent is an asset. He is currently working on narrative and a documentary about female boxers in Mexico.
David Waggoner (Light Design) Becoming Hamlet marks David’s first opportunity to design for Shakespeare Forum and his second production with the company. Previously, he played Alonso in …Forum’s pop-up production of The Tempest. Other New York City credits include Designer and Production Coordinator for upLIGHT Designs, Production Manager for Beth Morrison Project’s staging of Richard Foreman’s opera, What to Wear, Production Manager for BMP’s Guggenheim “In Process” staging of the opera Hildegard, and resident Production Manager for Theatre Row. David served for several years respectively as theatre department faculty at Loyola University Chicago and Missouri Southern State University. During his Chicago tenure, he was an actor, designer, and director for the Piven Theatre Workshop and the Cenacle Theatre Company. He also served as resident Technical Director and occasional stage director at Chicago Center for the Performing Arts. While in Chicago David was fortunate to partner with Steppenwolf Theatre Company with John Malcovich, North Light Theatre with David Mamet and William H. Macey, The Goodman, The Court Theatre, and West Beth Productions with Steven Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello.
Thank You's
Firstly to the team at El Barrio's Artspace PS109: Rolinda Ramos, Kim Sanchez, Jasmine Castillo, Miguel Rivera, Reynaldo Mannings, James Borda Cruz, and Frank Matteo
To the incredible team at Table7: Victoria Cairl, Mark Scoff, Grant Allen, Kevin Kulp, Lindsey Stone
To this incredible cast and crew that have given so much of themselves to each other.
To Tita.
To Federman and Stanfa, you keep us running.
To our families and friends that have supported us all as we've taken time from them to pursue this endeavor.
To David Waggoner, Eran Zelixon, Xianix Barrera, Bill Keys, Gail Wernicki, Evelyn Collazo, Ms. J and Emperor, Mark Dessaix, Jennifer Tulchin, Vincent Saia, Pat Dwyer, Elizabeth Cassarino, Lindsey Newton, Yukiko Washio, Tristan André, Katie May Porter, J.L. Zhang, Julie Flandreau, Ari Edlson, Don and Carmen Bajema, Joe Owens, Dave Stishan, Andy Barrett, Garald Farnham, Alexander Silvestre, Seven Schroko, Anna Willson, Katherine Maness
And to all those that volunteered to be Hamlet throughout this process.
We can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.