PROGRAM NOTES
The Hamnet Players debuted the concept of Internet Theatre, a participatory performance art forum, in December 1993 with a production of "Hamnet," an 80-line version of "Hamlet," which was repeated in February of this year with Ian Taylor, of the Royal Shakespeare Company, in the title role. True to the concept of theatre, the production is presented in real time with live performers and audience, with all the opportunities for spontaneous genius and imminent disaster that entails. The debut performance of "Hamnet" was interrupted by a thunderstorm which cut the producers' online access; the play had to be restarted after the producers logged back on via Taiwan. The second performance was enlivened by a bot which accidentally killed Hamlet halfway through the production. Notwithstanding disaster, both productions were received with enthusiasm by participants and audience alike.
Today the company boldly marches forward with a 160-line version of Macbeth, dedicated to the original author whose 430th birthday it is. The plot outline has been preserved, but the text has been mercilessly corrupted in keeping with the expected cultural level of the audience. Also, since we are convinced Shakespeare would never have used Apple hardware if he had known there was a choice, the play has been re-titled in IBM mode.
====================== THE CAST ===========================
*** gazza *** Pcbeth [BATH, WEST ENGLAND]
Believe it or not, Gazza will be playing Shakespeare's Scottish villain for real at the Bath festival this summer. He says that he regards his role in Pcbeth as valuable preparation, but we suspect that he is under some strange mis-apprehension that this is a paying job. He previously appeared as R_krantz in the irc Hamnet, and showed his complete professionalism by first identifying, then corrupting, the one critic in the audience.
*** fem *** LadyM [ALASKA]
fem logs in from Fairbanks, and is known on irc for her frosty wit. She created the role of Queen in "Hamnet" and drove the producer so crazy with her various pranks and tantrums that he swore at one time that she would never /join #lunch in irc again. How she comes to be appearing in another production, in the lead no less, is something of a mystery.
*** snug *** Mac (duff) [LONDON]
snug, like Gazza, has some real stage experience to compare irc theatre to. We believe that, also like Gazza, he is hoping that a check will arrive one day in payment for his services. On both grounds, we imagine that his disap- pointment will be so complete that he will not be seen on the irc stage ever again, so enjoy him while you can.
*** valda *** Banquo [PEORIA, IL]
valda, the vamp of #30plus, plays tennis and describes herself as "out,"
whatever that means
*** jewelie *** 1Witch [SE ENGLAND]
Jewelie's audition consisted of coming into the channel and complaining
that she was broke. Under the circumstances this was judged an adequate
performance. The only other fact she vouchsafed was that she lives "near
the Channel Tunnel" and we suppose she has a quick exit in mind. We welcome
her and point out that it was her own idea to be a witch, not ours.
kashka is bound to be a hit in this production, because she has been practising
her *cackle* all over irc ever since she received the dubious news that she had
been given the role. Her excuse for not turning up for audition was something
about the Israeli telephone company not working on the sabbath, and the producer
thought this was so ingenious he was happy to put her in the show.
*** Infonut *** King [GAUTIER, MISSISSIPPI]
Infonut is living proof that there is life after Delphi. A user of Delphi
by choice -- unlike certain other members of this cast -- Infonut shows that
there truly is no accounting for taste. She states that she is nervous about
this first appearance on the irc stage, but some of us believe that anyone
who can handle Delphi's VAX/VMS client software can handle *anything*. Besides,
she only has 2 lines, fer Chrissake.
*** valerie *** Malcolm [NEW ZEALAND]
Probably more Internet bandwidth has been wasted on valerie's flames than on
any other single topic. Universally reviled on irc and the Usenet, she begged
the producer for a small role in order to (perhaps) begin the process of rehab-
ilitation. This wish was granted, with the strict admonition that she is to
change costumes in her dressing-room *only*, not in the middle of the cast
party as occurred after the second production of "Hamnet." Btw, if you
believe she is really logging in from New Zealand you'll believe anything.
*** merp *** Donalbain [LANCASTER, NORTH ENGLAND]
We know almost nothing about merp except that his user@host bears a very
strong similarity to jewelie's. Merp is the one who lurks on #gb and mutters
about the impossibility of travelling down to London for the gigantic friday
night pis... er, get-togethers, that the #gb crowd go in for. We know what
he means.
*** Fingwe *** Ross [VIENNA, AUSTRIA]
A genuine irc personality and manager of perhaps the last surviving public
irc client telnet site, Fingwe is welcomed back into this virtual theatre
with open arms. His performance as the Queen in the second production of
"Hamnet" was proof -- if proof were needed -- that "on the Internet, nobody
knows you're a dog."
*** HiDi *** LadyR [PITTSBURGH, PA]
If HiDi has a fault at all it is that she takes this all too seriously. She
actually showed up at the audition, for example, and did precisely as she was
told. In other respects, however, we are glad to say she is as iconoclastic
as the rest of the cast and we hope she has a brilliant future ahead of her.
*** uros *** Doctor [LLUBLJANA, SLOVENIA]
uros is so brilliant that it's a surprise that he's not President of Slovenia,
the northernmost of the provinces that used to be called Yugoslavia. Come to
think of it, perhaps he *is* President. It was uros who, on having the
workings of irc theatre explained to him, remarked that he was perfectly
capable of writing a bot-script that would perform the entire play. We did not
find that particularly amusing, which is why he has such a minor role this time.
BoPeep has been voted "most meticulous irc user" for five straight years.
A typo has never been seen from her. By day she is a librarian at Virginia Uni,
wears thick glasses and a tight bun, and delights in shushing people who want
to party in her library. But at night, off come those glasses, down comes that
hair, out comes her irc toolbox and WOW!!! LOOK OUT!!!!
*** Clive *** _Enter [SE ENGLAND]
No newbie, our Clive -- he's been at the irc game a long time and knows more
about it than is good for most people. How, then, do we explain his elementary
error in wandering into the Pcbeth auditions "just to have a look"? Any newbie
could have predicted that he would instantly be forced into taking a role,
which is of course exactly what happened. If he tries to escape we have pre-
pared a novel command, the reverse of /KICK, which forces him back into the
channel. Hehehehe.
Othernick, a wit from #england and #gb (presumably he has not yet located
a channel called #southaf) is best known for his plaintive net enquiry
"Anyone got any ideas for my new nick?" We suspect he took the role of
_Exit just to see how that nick suited him. Hmmm, it may be an appropriate
one if next week's elections in South Africa go badly wrong.
*** kashka *** 2Witch [TEL AVIV]
*** BoPeep *** SCENE [CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA]
*** Othernick *** _Exit [DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA]