At Little Rock Catholic High School, in Father Tribou’s English Literature class, we were expected to memorize and recite Hamlet’s soliloquy, to perform it before our fellow students. “To be, or not to be…” I can hear it in my head to this day. That play has always been special to me. When The Rep charged me with creating an original poster for their 2010 production of “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” I was gobsmacked. Agonized over it. But time was short. Here’s what I came up with. Yorick as Hamlet, wearing the mantle of his legacy as a shadowy crown in the shape of the castle ramparts. Doesn’t the Prince look into his own eyes in the empty orbits of Yorick’s skull? I wanted to try adding Hamlet’s hand lifting the skull, but we were out of time. Today, on therep.org site, you can find a glimpse of this poster and the one I made for “A Raisin in the Sun,” as depicted by the cast members on the walls backstage. When you have the opportunity to wander the stairways and hallways behind the stage at The Rep, you’ll be greeted by a pictorial history that is a marvel to behold. It should become a museum. I am honored that 17 years of my posters are inscribed on those walls, drawn, painted and autographed by the cast members of each production. Poor Hamlet, they chose to omit the crown and only depict a skull. Poor Yorick prevails.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
