Theresa Lauricella — 'I Took Thee For Thy Better': The Prestige of Polonius

It is widely accepted that Hamlet stabbed Polonius mistaking him for King Claudius, but perhaps his execution was not in error. The crime scene within Queen Gertrude’s chamber needs to be more fully examined. In revisiting this cold case, both killer and victim motivation is exposed. Approaching the text from a director’s perspective, this presentation will examine the crime scene and track events that lead the characters to their fateful moment. A great deal of the text will be explored through scansion and rhetoric revealing a missing connection in the Hamlet and Polonius relationship. Shifting the prism on the events in Gertrude’s chamber allows a new light, a new perspective to emerge, an interpretation that may embed Hamlet to Oxford and Polonius to Burghley.

This talk was presented on October 11, 2018, at the SOF Annual Conference in Oakland, California.

Theresa Lauricella has an M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism and a B.A. in Theatre from Ohio University. Currently, Theresa is Associate Professor of Theatre and Program Coordinator for Theatre and Music at Clark State Community College and serves as the Artistic Director and Producer to the Theatre Program. Prior to Clark State, Theresa worked as Company Manager for the Human Race Theatre Company. She is a DayTony Award recipient in Direction for her production of The Foreigner by Larry Shue. Her recent directing credits include The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl and a stage adaptation of The Great Gatsby by Simon Levy for Clark State and Much Ado About Nothing for Wittenberg University. Theresa lives in Springfield, Ohio with her husband, Joe, and their two daughters, Sidonie and Claudia.