Echo Times

Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Robin Jackson A serious young man. Drama instructor James Dunn believes that at 22-years-old, David Abrams (pictured) has the necessary depth to play Hamlet.

Media Credit: Robin Jackson Taking a stab; Drama student David Abrams (left) rehearses a duel for COM's production of "Hamlet" with fellow cast member Spencer Acton. Abrams is playing the title role, while Acton was cast as Laertes.

For serious mountain climbers, Everest often marks the peak challenge of their careers; for many serious actors that zenith can come from playing William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which College of Marin will stage between March 5 and March 21. "It is probably one of the most difficult roles ever written for any actor to play, and that's why all actors want to try it sometime during their lives," said long-time COM drama instructor James Dunn. "This is my fifth production of this play. I've always had older actors playing this role, usually in their 30s." That streak ended when Dunn chose 22 year-old theater student David Abrams for the principal part in his latest undertaking. The unconventional decision generated considerable excitement about the upcoming play and the young star, with good reason, Dunn believes. "I never had a person that was young that I thought could handle the intellectual part of the character, and the passion. I've watched (David) do things and he just gives his all on stage," Dunn said. "I think he's got the possibility to become a professional actor. I had Robin Williams as one of my students, and I saw that in him at the time. As a teacher, you kind of spot these people. You kinda know." When auditioning, Abrams knew he wanted the lead role, but recognized the difficulties he would confront. "It's the Everest of male roles. You want to do it, but you're scared out of your mind," he said. In addition to an experienced director, his cast members, and his own abilities, however, Abrams knew he would have something else in his favor. "We have one of the greatest plays written in the English language to fall back on," he said. Written by the legendary bard over four hundred years ago, the classic play vividly charts the course of a young prince's mental anguish-from an overwhelming grief to rage to uncertainty-exploring themes of treachery, revenge, and self-doubt. Yet, because of its dramatic structure and depth, Hamlet remains one of the world's most famous plays. "The two people that have been written about the most in libraries are Jesus Christ and Hamlet," Dunn said. "And Hamlet is a fictional character." Nevertheless, its popularity-forged by intense drama, death and action-as well as the title-role's highly cerebral nature create additional degrees of difficulty for anyone selected to be Hamlet. "I have to make thinking for two and a half hours interesting, that's generally something we don't think of as worthy of being watched," Abrams said. "The other reason it's so challenging is because everyone knows Hamlet. People are going to come in with an idea of who Hamlet is and I'm not that person. The challenge is not trying to please people, but trying to be my Hamlet." After seeing Abrams in performances last year, Dunn, a 45-year veteran of COM drama, was convinced the young actor could match the role's demands. "I (liked) his look. He's thin. He's small. He's kind of frail looking, but he has this incredibly strong heart, and I said I think this is what I want to do with this," Dunn said. "He had to audition just like everybody else, but I kind of knew what I wanted." Abrams receives comments about his appearance with a laugh. He has a full head of curly hair that would fit just as well in a period piece as the present day, and he has an appealing confidence, but, he said, he has not always been sure of himself. At Humbolt State, where he took classes before coming to COM, Abrams vacillated between studying wildlife biology and pursuing his dreams of becoming an actor. "I can relate to that, this notion of not knowing what to do with myself," Abrams said, something that has given him insight into the character of the indecisive, "melancholy Dane." It's a perspective, however, emerging from the past. "The thing that's different between Hamlet and me is that I have something that I know that I want to do. I want to do theater because it's the only thing that really keeps me sane." Abrams has applied to acting conservatories in New York and London. If he does not get accepted, he will look to attend a four year college with a good theater program, but for now, he said, "I'm just going to worry about Hamlet." So far, about half way through rehearsals, Abram's and the cast's painstaking work is paying off. "I feel we're exactly where we need to be, making new discoveries every day," he said. Those discoveries and Abrams' performance could very well make COM's "Hamlet" worth the ascendant notice it has received, according to Dunn. "As director I am very excited about what I think we can accomplish with this," he said.

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