Step into the world of Hamlet like never before with two actors who know a thing or two about bringing characters to life—on stage and in video games!

In this edition of SVS Q&A, we chat with Evelyn Huynh, one of SVS' amazing production photographers and an actor who is taking on the role of Ophelia, and Jeff Kramer, the ComedySportz San Jose CEO stepping into the throne as Claudius.

Both have lent their voices to video game characters, but for Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s upcoming FREE staged reading of Hamlet on March 23rd, they’re swapping the recording booth for the stage.

What’s it like shifting from digital realms to Shakespeare’s Denmark?

Read on to find out!

What are you most looking forward to in portraying the role of Ophelia?

This will be the third time I’ve played Ophelia in some form as an actor and is probably the most complete version of her character I’ll get to portray. I am excited to explore her complicated relationships with the men in her life and go on a journey that ultimately leads her to reclaim her agency on her terms. But you know, with a drunkenly mad and tragic sort of vibe.

Many SVS patrons know you as a stellar production photographer, but newer audiences will soon see your acting talents! Would you rather perfect a group photo only for someone to blink at the last second or deliver a monologue, only for your scene partner to forget their next line?

What’s funny is that I have had to spend time perfecting group photos and fixing closed eyes in post-processing. More than once. What’s great about that process is how magical digital photo editing tools are these days and how the luxury of time allows me to make those edits work in my favor. Meanwhile, I’m less of a fan of having to fake my way through missed lines.

How has your process as a photographer most significantly changed since snapping photos of an SVS show for the first time? And when was that?

I’ve gone through several camera upgrades since I first started and learned a lot about how various camera settings affect the look and feel of a captured moment. Improvements in camera technology have significantly helped my ability to snap scenes as the directors and designers meant for them to look. The first show I photographed for the company was in 2012 when SVS was Shady Shakespeare, and it was The Lion in Winter.

You have voiced some fun characters like Auran in the 2016 Marvel Avengers Academy video game and several characters in Sega’s Virtua Quest. Any advice for someone trying to wet their beak in the world of voice acting?

Audition, audition, audition. And then do as Elsa does in Frozen and let it go. You’ll get passed over more often than you book when you first start out. And even when you are more seasoned! Don’t get hung up waiting for it or let it get you down if they pass on you. Sometimes a client just has something very specific in mind that no matter how good you are, just doesn’t fit their needs. It can be anything from the pitch of your voice, the way you delivered one phrase from your audition piece, your booking rate, the timing of when you submit your audition, or a multitude of other reasons. Competition is fierce, but so are you if you’re committing to pursue the industry. So, you just have to keep going for it.

What Bay Area production are you next photographing?

The next production I’ll be photographing after appearing in the March staged reading production of ShakesBEERience: Hamlet is another Shakespeare piece: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Sunnyvale Community Players, which opens April 12th.

Is this the first time you’ve appeared in a production of Hamlet?

I played Polonius in a production at City Lights Theater Company.

Most people would say Claudius is the villain in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But some might argue that Hamlet behaves villainously too. Do you see Claudius as the hero, villain, or just misunderstood?

Oh, he’s definitely the villain. But it’s not interesting if he’s just pure evil. I see him more like Macbeth. He was a decent man when he was younger, but was jealous of his brother on the throne, and that jealousy and ambition drove him to do what he did. Hamlet is definitely not villainous. He makes some fatal mistakes but all in the name of avenging his father. And to be honest, if I was visited by the ghost of my father, I don’t think I’d be making a lot of rational decisions.

Other than your upcoming appearance, which past ShakesBEERience role is your favorite?

For comedy, my favorite was playing Stephano in The Tempest along with my ComedySportz pals Derek McCaw as Trinculo and Gendell Hing Hernandez as Caliban. And in the tragedy category, Macbeth in SVS' 2024 ShakesBEERience with Doll Piccotto as an awesomely powerful Lady Macbeth.

What was your favorite line of dialogue to record as the voice of Francis York Morgan in the open-world survival horror game Deadly Premonition?

"Call me York." I must have recorded that 100 times between the first game and the sequel.

What can SVS audiences see you in after our March 23rd show?

Come see me doing improv at ComedySportz.