We’ve made it to Act 5! There are only two scenes in Act 5, so this shouldn’t take too long, right?
….RIGHT????
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
Confession: Second Gravedigger is my favorite gravedigger. First Gravedigger is a bit of a jerk.
Stick-Figure Iconography: Gravediggers
We’re finally done with Act 4! Let’s take a look at some of the new characters we’re about to meet as we embark upon THE FINAL ACT.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
Hatless gravediggers are very rare, possibly endangered.
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 6 (part 2)
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
Drawing on Shakespeare
Last week Austin Tichenor of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and Gary Andrews, artist, animator, cartoonist, and fellow Shakespeare geek, invited me to join them for an informal jaw-and-draw session. You can see the results here:
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 6 (part 1)
We’re almost done with this act, I promise.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
“Unction of a Mountebank” is my new band name.
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 5
In which there are pirates.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
For more on the Shakespearean phenomenon known as “pirate ex machina”, check out this handy guide to Shakespeare’s other pirates!
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 4 (part 3)
Alright, let’s wrap up this extremely depressing scene.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
AND WE’RE DONE WITH ACT 4!
…oh wait, sorry, we’re totally not done with Act 4. Still two more scene to go. Sorry. False alarm. It just felt like... I mean… we’ve been doing this for so long…
….*tiny sob*
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 4 (part 2)
Remember that Laertes guy from Act 1? He’s ba-a-a-ack…
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING, SAYING LAERTES SHALL BE KING?
A Stick-Figure Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 4 (part 1)
It’s “Burbage Break” time! Hamlet is back in his dressing room taking a nap, and all the other characters FINALLY have a chance to do things without him!
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
Nobody at the Danish court is good at processing their Feelings.