A Young Hamlet on the Streets of Camden

Last fall, while listening to the car radio, I heard about an exciting video that had made its way to the home page of YouTube.  It featured an 18-year-old from Camden, standing in the middle of a deserted street corner performing a scene from Hamlet. 

I logged on, watched it, and was so impressed that we tracked the kid down and offered him a scholarship to our training program.  The only proviso was that he come in and audition.  He traveled to Manhattan a few weeks ago and gave one of the most astonishing auditions I have ever seen. 

My line of work demands that I audition hundreds of people each year, and over the past three decades, I have probably witnessed at least 15,000 auditions.  Most end up as deletions from the memory bank, but others are indelibly burned into my brain by virtue of the horror they elicited, or they are beautifully etched in by virtue of their brilliance.  Perhaps at another time I will share an audition horror story or two. 

For now, I thought I’d start on a high note and share this extraordinary and inspiring experience. 

The young man’s name is Craig Bazan. He graduated from high school last summer and spent this academic year attending a community college in Camden.

His audition wasn’t polished (in the traditional sense of the word as it is applied to acting). In fact, it was raw and lacking in technique.  But this kid was so invested in the story and language, so passionate about the task of bringing Shakespeare to life, so bold in his choices and his interpretation, and so physically and mentally committed, that the room’s energy was jolted into a kind of held-breath stasis. 

Six seasoned theatre professionals sat open jawed.  It was like watching the emergence of a new, young, Paul Robeson.  And I thought, “Oh, oh, oh …if only this level of passion, dedication and courage was the common trait, and not the rarity, what could we not achieve on this Earth!?” 

Craig will join us this summer as an acting apprentice on a full scholarship. He will receive intensive training over eleven weeks. Apprentices take classes, work on various crews, sometimes act in non-speaking or small roles on stage.

Finis for now.

Anon,   Bonnie J. Monte

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