Vending-machine Hamlet

When you enter the theatrical world created by Dov Weinstein, you have to be ready to accept a few things:

• That a jewelry box can be a house.

• That a glass of water can be a brook.

• That an inch-high plastic ninja can play Hamlet.

Shakespeare probably didn't have a toy in mind for the title role when he penned his vengeful tale. But that was before a frustrated, 20-something actor decided it was time someone performed classical theater with a cast that can fit in a suitcase.

Tiny Ninja Theater - now an international touring company - is presenting its latest production at Performance Space 122 (PS122) in Manhattan this month. "Hamlet" is the third major Shakespeare work the plastic cast has taken on, having already conquered "Macbeth" and "Romeo and Juliet" since its debut in 2000. A simple principle guides the troupe: "There are no small parts, only small actors."

"They don't complain, they're very hard workers," deadpans Mr. Weinstein on opening night, Oct. 28, after shedding the dark shirt and overalls he wears over street clothes for the performance. "Sometimes you can push them too hard. But they'll leave you in the lurch, too.... If I forget a line, they're not going to cue me, you know?"

For each production, Weinstein condenses Shakespeare's text, "casts" the ninjas and assorted dime-store figures, and voices all the characters. As a one-man operation, he also must move the figures around on a series of small sets. His theatrical creations are part of a trend in combining puppetry and stage productions, but they also introduce Shakespeare to people who might not otherwise see it. The shows appeal to opera lovers and children, acting pros and schoolteachers.

"It's not just a gimmick. It makes Shakespeare so accessible. And [Weinstein's] abridgement is unbelievable. He really tells the story in many ways better than some [full] productions," says Brandy Sullivan, one of the founders of The Have Nots! Comedy Improv, a Charleston, S.C., group that helps select theater performers for that city's Piccolo Spoleto Festival each year. They've twice tapped Weinstein, in 2001 and 2002. "[His] is a very unique and important adaptation," she adds.

Weinstein's partnership with the ninjas grew out of his frustration with the New York acting scene. He arrived with hopes of doing collaborative physical theater, but ended up trying to make a living as an actor. He wasn't satisfied with the quality of work he was doing or with the opportunities. So he decided to try something different.

"I was always interested in original work, original puppetry, and that sort of thing," he says. "I saw these tiny ninjas in vending machines outside bodegas, supermarkets ... and no one was using them to do classical theater. So I sort of took it upon myself."

The idea went from concept to reality when he applied to perform "Macbeth" with tiny ninjas for the 2000 New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). He was accepted, and quit an office job to create the show.

Having his brightly colored figures perform tragedies, rather than comedy, was an obvious choice, he explains. "I think they're only good at drama," he says of his players. "Because one of the things that makes Tiny Ninja Theater what it is, is the contrasts."

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