Behind the Scenes: Macbeth

Macbeth was not only the play that started my love-affair with drama - it was also the first play I ever directed. (Well, co-directed, actually - there were 5 of us directing. Yes, it was madness...but such a glorious madness!) It was with a brand-new high school drama group composed of students from the Rio Grande Enrichment Studies program here in Albuquerque. I had just graduated from the program the previous year, and I was invited come back and help direct their production of Macbeth, since I'd studied Shakespeare both in high school and college. It was amazing and exciting, and we made plenty of mistakes, but that just proved to be a great learning experience! I already knew most of the actors and directors, and my younger sister was playing Ross. I got to fill in on a few bit parts, I believe Mentieth/Caithness (we combined their parts), Angus, and all three "ghosts," which was great fun. I think we collectively held out breaths throughout the entire play (especially after how badly dress rehearsal went) and, once it was over, breathe a collective sigh of relief and exclaimed, "I can't believe we actually pulled that off!" That play launched the Merely Players Acting Troupe (which is still performing, although I haven't worked with them in years), my own forays into directing, and at least two young ladies' decisions to pursue a career in theater.

There are always plenty of amusing moments behind the scenes, especially during rehearsal, and one such moment from Macbeth always stands out in my mind. We were working with the young man who was playing Macduff (I'll call him "Sam," although that's not his real name) on Act IV, Scene 3, when Ross comes to Macduff in England to inform him that Macbeth has fallen upon his castle and killed his wife and children. Upon delivery of these terrible tidings, "Macduff" was supposed to fall upon his knees and groan in despair as he delivered his lines. Being only fifteen or sixteen years of age and having no wife or children to lose, Sam was understandably having trouble appearing properly grief-stricken at the news, and we kept asking him to do it over, trying to get that emotion correct. On the last try, he sank upon his knees and uttered a loud groan before gasping out his lines in a pained voice, while tears shone in his eyes. "Great job, Sam!" we cheered. "You've finally got it."

"No," he gasped in reply, "I stabbed myself in the stomach with the hilt of my sword when I went down. The tears of pain are real!"

I'm not sure if that quite counts as method acting, but...hey, whatever works, right?

Source for this photo

"I have no words:
My voice is in my sword: thou bloodier villain
Than terms can give thee out!"

-Macduff, Act V, Scene 8

Begin at the beginning...

Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is always a good place to start. ;-) I've been interested in drama since I was little, but it was Shakespeare who really made me fall in love with literature. It was my freshman year of high school, and I was taking my very first literature class. (Homeschooled, for those of you who don't know. I took enrichment classes all throughout high school. I'm sure this will come up again.) We read a few other classics, and then we were assigned to read Macbeth. It probably wasn't the first play I'd ever read, but it was the first Shakespeare play, which opened up a whole new world for me. I was captivated. Witches, portents, plots, murder, guilt, betrayal, foreshadowing, revenge - my brain teemed with all these elements as I lived and breathed in the world of Scottish kings and noblemen. I was both enthralled and horrified by the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I volunteered to read aloud every chance I got - I even dressed up in a medieval dress I owned and wore it to class one week so I could be more "in character." (Yep, I was THAT kid. Okay, deep down, I guess I still am). Reading Macbeth was a defining moment in my life. It was the impetus that would later propel me to both my decision to study literature and my decision to teach drama. I believe that's why, even if it's not considered his "best" or "greatest" work, Macbeth will always be my favorite of all Shakespeare's plays.

Oh yes - did I mention he invented his own words? One more reason why Shakespeare is awesome. Here are just a few example of common words coined by The Bard.

‎20 Words We Owe to William Shakespeare:

1. Addiction: Othello, Act II, Scene II

2. Arch-villain: Timon of Athens, Act V, Scene I

3. Assassination: Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII

4. Bedazzled: The Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene V

5. Belongings: Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene I

6. Cold-blooded: King John, Act III, Scene I

7. Dishearten: Henry V, Act IV, Scene I

8. Eventful: As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

9. Eyeball: The Tempest, Act I, Scene II

10. Fashionable: Troilus and Cressida, Act III, Scene III

11. Half-blooded/hot-blooded: King Lear, Act V, Scene III/ Act III, Scene III

12. Inaudible: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act V, Scene III

13. Ladybird: Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene III

14. Manager: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V, Scene I

15. Multitudinous: Macbeth, Act II, Scene II

16. New-fangled: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act I, Scene I

17. Pageantry: Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act V, Scene II

18. Scuffle: Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene I

19. Swagger: Henry V, Act II, Scene IV/A Midsummer Night’s

20. Uncomfortable: Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene V

For a more detailed explanation, and to view each word in context, visit this site.