Frankie Vondra named to cast and crew of BSC Theatre winter production of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"

2016 Dec 13

Bismarck State College presented its winter play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," Dec. 8-11 under the guest direction of Timothy Rosin, a BSC alumnus.

The cast and crew includes Frankie Vondra of Park River, N.D., in the role of Sound Designer. Vondra's theatrical background includes work on the BSC productions of "Legally Blonde: The Musical," "Spring Awakening," "Eurydice," and "Dog Sees God: Confessions of Teenage Blockhead," and Dakota Stage, Ltd.'s production of "A Little Bit of Magic." He was also a participant in the the 2015 and 2016 One-Act Play Festival and BSC's 2016 24-Hour Play Festival. .

The show's title is taken directly from the final scene of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." When it premiered in 1966, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" was a critical and commercial smash, and vaulted playwright Tom Stoppard to international acclaim, and won the author numerous international awards, including a Tony Award for Best Play in 1968. Considered a masterpiece of absurdism and a high water mark in the development of modern theatre, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" has enjoyed lengthy runs in the West End, on Broadway, and across the world in the 50 years since its debut.

The play, structured as the inverse of "Hamlet," concerns the misadventures and musings of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters from "Hamlet" who are childhood friends of the prince. The title characters are the leads, not supporting players, and Hamlet himself has only a small part. Despite asking some weighty questions, the show is still a comedy. Stoppard flippantly quipped that his show was about two friends who get invited to a castle, go on a boat ride and then die.

"This play has been a labor of love; the actors have all been some of the hardest working and most talented actors I've had the pleasure of working with," says Rosin.