Hamlet, Act III (abridged)
To be, or not to be.
Two scenes from Act III of Shakespeare's Hamlet, abridged for a twenty-minute live reading: the nunnery scene and the closet scene. Public-domain text. Hamlet is a featured talent role; the rest of the cast is drawn from the queue; an AI narrator sets each scene.
Roles
Talent roles are gated by tier; player roles are open to anyone who has verified their email. Any role can be covered by an AI understudy if the producer's fill policy allows it.
- HamletTalent · needs Featured+
You are Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Two big scenes: the soliloquy and Ophelia, then your mother's closet. Take your time on the soliloquy; the prompter will wait for you.
Understudy persona: Hamlet — quick, bitter, brilliant; swings from stillness to fury
- OpheliaPlayer · open
You love Hamlet and have been told to return his letters while your father listens. Start obedient, end broken.
- ClaudiusPlayer · open
You are the king, and a murderer, and you are watching your nephew for signs he knows. Smooth on the outside.
- PoloniusPlayer · open
You are the royal adviser: wordy, certain, always hiding behind something. In scene two you hide behind the wrong curtain.
- GertrudePlayer · open
You are the queen and Hamlet's mother. You begin scolding and end shattered. Let him land every blow.
- NarratorAlways AI
Scenes
The running order. Each scene is a list of cues the host steps through.
- Scene 1 — A room in the castle33 cues
- Scene 4 — The Queen's closet33 cues
- Curtain call3 cues
This format needs at least 2 humans in the cast. A producer cannot air it with fewer, whatever the fill policy.