BUCKHANNON – The West Virginia Wesleyan Arts Alive! Series and Department of Theater & Dance present The Rustic Mechanicals’ production of “Hamlet,” Tuesday, October 10 at 7:30 pm, with a casual pre-show “Mix and Mingle with Music” hosted by the company starting at 7 p.m. at the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts. The show features Wesleyan theater alumna and Buckhannon resident Sinead Pechon as Ophelia, and is free and open to the public. 

Prince Hamlet has the world at his feet. Young, wealthy and living a rather revelrous life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainties smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a newly ordered world he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the injustice of his new reality. Shakespeare’s searing tragedy is as relevant today as when it was written; “Hamlet” confronts each of us with the mirror of our own morality in an imperfect world.

Founded by Celi Oliveto in the summer of 2014 and based in Clarksburg, West Virginia, The Rustic Mechanicals is the only troupe of actors in West Virginia dedicated to touring the works of William Shakespeare and other classical playwrights.

Directed by Jim Warren alongside Intimacy Director Jessica Morgan, Fight Choreographer Millie Omps, and Voice & Text Coach Bridget Rue Esterhuizen, with Technical Direction by David Byard, Dramaturgy by John S. Shirley, Costume Design by Jason A Young, and Hair and Make-Up Design by Samantha Huffman, the Mechanicals featured in these productions include Samantha Huffman, Sinead Perchon, Seret Cole, Joshua Brooks, James Matthews, Calian Byard, Stephen Phillips, Jason A Young, Justin Grow, Niki DeWitt, and Sarah Young.

 The Mechanicals now tour five shows annually, including their summer West Virginia Shakespeare in the Park(s) outdoor tour and script-in-hand productions called, “a Play, a Pie, and a Pint,” focusing on making Shakespeare’s plays accessible to modern audiences by utilizing dynamic and extreme casting techniques paired with Shakespeare’s staging conditions.

“Hamlet” runs roughly 90 minutes with no intermission and contains images of simulated violence. Please contact Wesleyan Theatre & Dance Department Chair Thomas Schoffler at schoffler_t@wvwc.edu for more information.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) is a private, four-year residential liberal arts and sciences college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A tradition of excellence for more than 130 years, West Virginia Wesleyan is home to 14 Fulbright Scholars. The Princeton Review ranked Wesleyan as one of its 2024 Best Colleges in the Southeastern Region of the United States. U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best College Rankings designated Wesleyan eighth in Best Value – Regional Universities (South). WVWC offers students more than 50 majors and 40 minors; graduate programs in athletic training, business administration, creative writing, nursing and clinical mental health counseling; 20 NCAA Division II athletic programs; multiple performing arts groups; and more than 50 organizations. Founded in 1890, the College is closely affiliated with the United Methodist Church and abides by the Wesley doctrine that emphasizes service to others. For more information, visit wvwc.edu.