Junkyard Shakespeare presentssweet prince |
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William Shakespeare |
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*Equity Member appearing with permission of Actors' Equity association without benefit of an Equity contract in this Off-Off Broadway production
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ABOUT THE SHOW
sweet prince is a one-woman, hour-long theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This production uses a pared-down version of Shakespeare's script to investigate depression, what it means to be “mad,” and grief. At the same time, it joyfully invites members of the audience to participate as the missing characters, disrupting the separation of actor and audience, and challenging bystanders to become participants
“For this show, I'm performing Hamlet in a way I've never seen done before. It's an experiment - one I cannot do on my own. Shakespeare is meant to be heard, in an action of exchange, from actor to audience and back again. It is beautiful and messy. It looks different every night. When I speak Shakespeare, I access the outer expanses of my emotional being. It is the thing I love most deeply in the world - and sharing it with an audience gives my life purpose. I hope when you leave a performance of sweet prince you find yourself considering areas of your life where you might feel a desire to take more action, or live with more purpose.
sweet prince is a one-woman Hamlet. Kind of. Ready to play?”
~ Hilary Dennis
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Cast
Creative Team
Hilary Dennis (she/her) *
Stephan Wolfert (he/him)
Costanza Bugiani (she/her)
Junkyard Shakespeare - unprocessed theatre
Meet the Company
Hilary Dennis (she/her) *
Hilary Dennis is an Equity actor and producer based in Northampton, MA. Past theatre credits include Hamlet at Edinburgh Fringe (New York Circus Project), 750% (The Secret Theatre), Timeshare (The Tank), As You Like It (Junkyard Shakespeare), Misconceptions (Blessed Unrest), Hamlet (La MaMa ETC), The Winter's Tale (Rude Grooms), Macbeth (The Workroom), and numerous productions with Elsewhere Shakespeare. In 2023, she founded Junkyard Shakespeare, "unprocessed theatre" that prioritizes paying actors a living wage. Before pursuing acting professionally, she was an organic farmer. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Spanish from NYU. www.hilarygdennis.com
Hilary Dennis (she/her) *
~see above~
Stephan Wolfert (he/him)
Stephan Wolfert is a military veteran who transitioned from a career in the armed forces to a life in theater after experiencing Shakespeare’s Richard III. Stephan earned his MFA from Trinity Rep Conservatory and created the military segments for the Tony Award-winning Broadway production Movin’ Out. He has performed off-Broadway in critically acclaimed, award-winning productions of Hamlet, Saint Joan, The Seagull, Sense & Sensibility, and his solo show Cry Havoc! In 2024, Stephan obtained his MSW and a Certificate in Trauma Practice from Simmons University, accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). While DE-CRUIT is based in NYC, Stephan resides in Prague. He has been published in art and science as the co-creator of DE-CRUIT®, a program designed to alleviate trauma symptoms through a combination of Shakespeare and science. Stephan has received several honors, including the American Group Psychotherapy Association's Aaron Stein Award and the Max Gabriel Award from the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI).
Bluesky: @de-cruit.bsky.social
www.decruit.org
Costanza Bugiani (she/her)
Costanza Bugiani is an Italian theatre-maker who moved to the U.S. five years ago. She co-founded Teatro del Mantice acting company based in Florence. She co-produced sweet prince (2025) and Hamlet (La Mama ETC, 2022) with Junkyard Shakespeare. She worked as Covid Safety manager for multiple productions and theaters during the Covid era (Paper Mill Playhouse, 2022), worked as a temporary intern at The Tank (2023), and attended the Summer Intensive Program at Atlantic Acting School (2024). She currently works as associate producer for In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY and as assistant producer of The International Human Rights Art Festival. She’ll be back on stage as part of the cast of Scattered Seeds of Troy by Farm Arts Collective this Fall!
Junkyard Shakespeare - unprocessed theatre
Junkyard Shakespeare is a place where we explore the raw nutrition for life: emotion, poetry and presence. Human connection. No spectacle. Junkyard Shakespeare is raw, dirty and delicious - just like a carrot right out of the field. In the Junkyard, small groups of actors come together to create bare-bones, clear, text-driven 90-minute versions of Shakespeare’s plays in one week. Performances have accommodated 12-99 audience members in varying locations (from La MaMa ETC in NYC to a backyard in Western Massachusetts). https://www.hilarygdennis.com/junkyardshakespeare
Photos
Photo Credits Daniel Madsen
Photo Credits Daniel Madsen
Photo Credits Daniel Madsen
Photo Credits Daniel Madsen
About The Production
The production has been made possible thanks to generous donors that helped the team create and present the show at The Workroom at 33 Hawley St in Northampton in February 2025.
Junkyard Shakespeare has been also supported by Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA, who provided a home for a week-long residency in March 2026 that gave time and space to develop a new version of the performance.
Thank you, Elsewhere Shakespeare, for making us part of the North County Shakespeare Festival 2026! Honored to be featured alongside such incredible artists.
