ELGIN — To see or not to see: that is the question.

The actors, of course, hope the answer is a resounding “yes,” as they prepare for “Hamlet” at the Jewel Theatre in Elgin.

Each year, Shakespearean expert Grant Turner works with students at La Grande High School. One challenge of teaching Shakespeare is hearing the language practiced and delivered as it was meant to be instead of reading words on a page. This year, Turner decided to give the students and the public a live action Hamlet.

“On a whim, especially because I had a ‘Hamlet’ in my back pocket, I decided I wanted to do a production,” Turner said.

That Hamlet is Hunter Adams. A veteran actor, Adams said he has developed a deep love for Shakespeare through his time working with Turner and with the material.

“It’s compelling and you have to understand what you’re doing at all times in order for it to come across. It challenges you intellectually and emotionally, and this show has definitely proved that to me if I didn’t know it before,” Adams said.

Part of the challenge is that Hamlet is so well-known. Adams said he is working to bring his own take on the character to life.

“A lot of people just think of this show as the tragedy and Hamlet as a tragic character. What they don’t realize is that there was a Hamlet before the play,” he said. “I like to think he was the very opposite of the way he is in the text where he was kind of energetic, aloof, very confident — I almost want to say cocky — and then he gets cut down into this shell of a human being who has to avenge his father’s murder.”

Designed for students, the production is accessible for Shakespearean novices and enjoyable for those experienced with Shakespeare as well.

“It’s going to be really clean, straight-forward. It’s a great primer for ‘Hamlet,’ and I’m really pleased with it,” Turner said.

The show is about two hours and 20 minutes and focuses on the main family plot of the story.

“It’s about as stripped down a production as you can imagine,” Turner said. “There are nine actors, and we’ve cut about two hours out of it, no set really, no costumes per se, other than what we pull out of our closet. We’re just going to tell a very simple, very straightforward story.”

The show will be produced for local high school students, and the public will be able to see the show on Friday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m., or Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. at the Jewel Theater in Elgin.

The show is free, but donations ($5 suggested) will be accepted.

The cast includes Hunter Adams, Logan Flynn, Grant Turner, Nicole Turner, Andy Spoehr-Labutta, Anne Turner, Nicholas Vece, Morgan Fields and Sam Miller.