Sunday, March 29, students and community members gathered at East Tennessee State University’s Bud Frank Cinema for a special showing of “Hamlet” through National Theatre Live. As a performance, the show blended theatre and film in a way that highlighted both academic collaboration and community engagement. The screening was part of a broader effort to reintroduce National Theatre Live programming to the cinema while aligning with current coursework at ETSU.

“We had been thinking of bringing back National Theatre Live, and it was a good fit with the current Basler Chair, Steve Maurice Jones, who is teaching a class on Shakespeare with Dr. Josh Reid in Literature and Language,” said Dr. Chelsea Wessels, director of the Bud Frank Cinema.

Showing this event also succeeded in attracting new attendees to the cinema, something that Wessels hopes will continue.

Contributed

“We were thrilled to have some new faces in the crowd, but now, we hope they come back to see something else,” Dr. Wessels said.

She also described the introduction as “really special,” underscoring its impact on the event. While the Bud Frank Cinema is typically known for film screenings, hosting recorded stage productions is not new. This format allows audiences to experience high-quality theatrical performances in a more accessible setting.

“We’ve actually done a National Theatre Live production before, where we screened Frankenstein back in 2023,” Dr. Wessels said. “These are plays that are captured for the cinema, so in terms of the screening logistics, it’s similar to any film that we show.”

Looking ahead, the Bud Frank Cinema has several events planned to close out the semester, including three screenings. 

“On April 17, we’ll premiere the Sundance award-winning Everybody to Kenmure Street, and on April 30, filmmaker Rory Fraser will be here with his film Old Times in Tennessee.”

Although summer programming is limited due to staffing constraints, the cinema is still planning to celebrate and take part in the Arthouse Theatre Day on July 30. 

As the semester comes to a close, events like “Hamlet”  demonstrate the Bud Frank Cinema’s role as a cultural and academic hub on campus, offering students and other members of the community an outlet for destressing. For future events, more information regarding the cinema and its showings, and information about the Film and Media Studies minor, feel free to contact Dr. Chelsea Wessels at wessels@etsu.edu.

Author