Enter the Reader, Stage Right

"All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their entrances, and their exits,
And one man in his time plays many parts."

I was once declared by a drama student to be a "Shakespeare freak" - a title I wear with pride! However, there are many, many other authors and dramatic works I love as well. This blog is dedicated to all of them, and to you, my reader, be you an aspiring actor, director, costumer, stagehand, lighting technician, props master, or audience member!

Friday, February 22, 2013

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?


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

-Macduff, Act V, Scene 8


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