Shakespeare set for refurbished auditorium

IF YOU GO What: Hamlet

When: 7:30 Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Where: North Augusta High School auditorium, Knobcone Avenue

Cost: $10 for adults, $8 for children

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Phone: 738-7487

It's a good match.

The North Augusta Cultural Arts Council wanted to show off renovations it and several other organizations funded in the North Augusta High School auditorium, and the Occasional Theatre Co. needed a space to perform.

The area's newest professional theater company will open a three-night production of Hamlet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the high school.

"They are really hungry to have theater," said Gloria Dossett, the show's director, about North Augusta residents and the arts council. "They said, 'We'll give you space and offer marketing.' They put us under their wing."

The troupe will offer the play much as William Shakespeare would have doneit, with limited sets and contemporary dress.

"It's definitely about the acting," said Ms. Dossett, who is head of Augusta Preparatory Day School's theater department.

The newly upgraded theater is perfect for Shakespeare, she added.

"It's a wonderful space," she said. "It's intimate, but you can fit 400 people in there."

Among the 30-member cast and crew is Julie Gazda, Hammond Hill Elementary School's art teacher and a member of the North Augusta Cultural Arts Council.

Gazda is making her acting debut in the role of Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. She was asked to take the role after the original cast member had to pull out of the show.

"I'm used to working in the sets and scenery," said Gazda.

However, she's not nervous about her role at all.

"I'm kind of a ham really," she said.

The new theater company was formed to fill a void for professional actors in the community, Dossett said.

"There are lots of actors out of work," she said.

The professional company also offers aspiring actors something that is difficult to come by - a professional credit on their resume.

The theater group will perform only occasionally, hence the name.

"It will be when the stars line up and we have the right play," she said.

Hamlet will run through Saturday. Tickets, available only at the door, are $8 for children and $10 for adults.