Department should opt for student

Artist-in-Residence of Theater and Dance Michael Early is playing the title role in the winter term production of Hamlet.  Although student actors in Hamlet find working with Early and four other professional performers to be a positive and rewarding learning experience, one question comes to mind: Why wasn't a student given the opportunity to play the role of Hamlet, considering that this is a college production?

Whether a student is capable of playing Hamlet effectively in this production is a question that will never be answered. The role of Hamlet is undoubtedly difficult and challenging, yet the Theater and Dance Department and Phoenix Rising Productions (Early is the founder and executive producer) should not underestimate the potential of students on campus to play the role. Actors and actresses outside of the college are at times asked to play older or younger roles in order to create a sense of realism on stage. However, in terms of age, Hamlet can realistically be played by a college-aged student.

The department should provide a student with the educational opportunity to play the role instead of simply casting a professional to master it. Perfection is not expected in a learning environment. Students interested in theater should be given the chance to play lead roles in any college production. If the department is striving to create an instructive curriculum for theater students, why is it condoning the casting of a title role outside of the college?

The student cast members have gained and benefited from working with a professional director and four professional actors, but the fact remains that a student actor was excluded from playing the title role. Is it more valuable to the college community to cast a professional in the title role or to cast a student? Oberlin is a learning institution, one that guides students to professionalism. Is it observation or hands-on experience that will help students take this step?