West Chester University’s production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” wrapped up on this past Saturday. Having recently concluded this fantastic production, several members of the cast were asked these three questions:
a) How familiar were the cast members with acting in Shakespeare’s plays? And how did that level of familiarity affect their experience with this production of “Macbeth”?
b) How did the heavy metal aesthetic affect your approach to acting out Shakespearean dialogue?
c) What was your favorite part of preparing for this production?
The cast members’ responses are recorded below.
Sarah Ford
Malcom
I have never performed in a Shakespeare play before, so I wasn’t familiar at all on how to act in a Shakespeare show. My lack of Shakespeare productions made this process a huge learning experience, and I gained a lot of knowledge from my director, professors and cast mates.
The heavy metal music surprisingly made me feel more connected and in tune with the lines. The intensity of this show’s actions and dialogue fit perfectly with heavy metal music.
My favorite part of preparing for this show was learning about my character and doing the research on what my actions and dialogue were. It was a challenge to completely understand what my character was thinking and saying, but the research showed me that Shakespeare’s characters are just like modern day humans, which was an interesting discovery to make.
Noah Erlemann
Duncan
As a whole, we did not have much experience with acting in a Shakespeare play, most of us it was our first time. This was a new experience for all of us. I believe that most of us not being familiar with being in a production helped us grow more as an ensemble and made us collaborate together as a whole to do the work needed for a Shakespeare play, and I believe we got pretty far.
The heavy metal aesthetic was a nice touch to the play as a whole. Nowadays, people do not put out a Shakespeare play that uses that time’s setting, clothes, etc. It can get bland and boring. We put a modern twist to our production which adds angst and momentum. There is never a dull moment in “Macbeth” due to the use of our incredible rock music/sounds and the spectacular lighting that goes into that.
My favorite part about preparing for this production was definitely meeting and collaborating with a bunch of new people. Since I am a first year freshman, I am new to everything WCU has offered to me. Having such an open and accepting cast the last month has really made the process and the show itself something special.
Chloe Hyde
Second witch
I read “Macbeth” in high school my junior year, but it wasn’t really acting. It was more so a read-through of the play. Since it was for an English class, we analyzed the script a bit. So when we began the show here, I understood the script and what the characters were saying. It didn’t feel or sound like just a bunch of Shakespeare nonsense.
It actually affected the witches a little bit. We ended up chanting one of our spells to the beat of the music, which was pretty neat. I also feel like it allowed me to get more into character because the witches are going to be scary, and the music is very fitting to that aesthetic.
My favorite part of preparing for the production was probably once we started rehearsing with our actual costumes for the show. We got a better sense of what we were going to look like but also feel like on stage, and that’s when I really began to get into character.
Lionel McCulloch
Seyton and other roles
My understanding from rehearsal is that not too many of the cast members have worked on many Shakespeare plays. I think only one other cast member had done much Shakespeare before. I think the unfamiliarity with the language, with the rhythms of speech, and perhaps with the big soliloquies, has made working on the show a bit daunting for the cast. They have worked really hard, though, and I am excited to see where we get with it.
Interestingly, all of the productions of “Macbeth” I have done have had a heavy metal music score. I think the play, with its edgy violence and the energy of witchcraft, kind of lends itself to that style. Heavy metal is famous for violent performances and music that is intense and driven. Macbeth is intense and driven; Lady Macbeth is psycho driven. The music didn’t change how I worked on my role, but I think if I was doing one of the principal parts, it might have pushed me to talk faster and be more intense in my performance (which it did when I played Macduff at Steel River).
I love John’s physical style as a director and how he has us work really hard on our physical approach to the role. I also really admire Leonard Kelly’s knowledge of Shakespeare and in particular loved their lesson on how to say “oh.” I had already been taught much of what both of these great directors were sharing, but it was awesome to find that the lessons I had learned before are college work! Since I know the play so well, and my part is small, I got to use this show to work on my listening skills and bringing a character to life without speaking. I love getting small roles that I can really bring to life. With loud, pounding music as the background, my goal is to blend in with the style and just love being a support to the leads and the story.
Erica Barnes
Donalbain and waiting gentlewoman
Up until “Macbeth,” I’ve been blessed enough to participate in a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as a puppeteer and a dancer extra in an outdoor performance of scenes from “Romeo and Juliet.” In both of these roles, I had no speaking part, so coming into this production, I didn’t really know what to expect as far as speaking in iambic pentameter and expanded verse went. However, thanks to our wonderful voice and speech coach, professor Leonard Kelly, we have been able to work with the text instead of being afraid of it, making it into our own words rather than just reciting lines from a play.
The heavy metal aesthetic didn’t really affect my personal acting out of Shakespearean dialogue just because my characters aren’t really affected either way. In addition, the heavy metal aesthetic is generated primarily through the lights and sound, which didn’t come into play until the week of tech. It does, however, make all the fights really cool to watch.
My favorite part of preparing for this production would probably have to be all the yoga, seven-minute workouts, running, vocal warmups and combat training that our director, John Bellomo, had us do pretty much before every rehearsal. It was hard sometimes to be so physical, but the training only made us stronger and therefore better and more invested actors. It was also a lot of fun goofing off with old and new friends as we played games like “Keepie Uppie” and engaged in spontaneous dance parties backstage.
Christoforos Sassaris is a fourth-year student majoring in English literature with a minor in computer science. PS868710@wcupa.edu
Contributions were made by the cast of WCU’s “Macbeth.”