Dacha Theatre’s Shakespeare Dice version of “Hamlet” is coming to Bainbridge Island for a special one-day-only performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 25 at Rolling Bay Hall.
Dacha is a theatre company based in Seattle that specializes in site-specific productions, immersive spectacles and original work. The group’s first Bainbridge production was an avant-garde take on a freshly translated Russian version of “The Snow Queen,” produced with the Lesser-Known Players, and they then returned last March to produce a Shakespeare Dice version of “Twelfth Night, or What You Will.”
In “Shakespeare Dice,” eight actors learn the entire script of “Hamlet” and then every night the audience rolls the dice to determine who plays what part and the show goes on.
Shakespeare Dice explores the intersection between improvisation and scripted theatre, and the producers believe that by rolling the dice, a space is created in which every moment of discovery onstage happens genuinely in that instant — empowering the audience to discover and create the story along with the performers.
“After the success of our run last year, we are doing the dice format again,” said Dacha founder/spokeswoman Kate Drummond. “Seven actors have learned the entire script of ‘Hamlet,’ and each night the audience rolls the dice to determine who plays who.”
Tickets are on sale now at www.dachatheatre.com. Tickets start at $15, with a pay-what-you-can option available (email dachatheatre@gmail.com for details).
Additionally, there is another, somewhat unique Bainbridge tie-in for the Rolling Bay show.
“In addition to being a performer and ensemble-director for ‘Shakespeare Dice: Hamlet,’ I am also a faculty member at Bainbridge Performing Arts and am currently directing the Teen Shakes production of Tom Stoppard’s’ 15-Minute Hamlet,” Drummond said. “My cast of teenagers … will be attending a rehearsal for ‘Dice,’ as well as seeing the show as a part of their rehearsal process, and the ‘Dice’ cast will be connecting with my BPA students in a unique opportunity for them to see professional actors playing with the same text they’re currently learning.”