Mars Harmon, Asst. Photo Editor
After the success of Molière’s classic play “Tartuffe” last spring, assistant director of theatre, Dr. Aviva Neff, directed Denison students in a production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Performances ran from March 5-8 in Sharon Martin Hall in the Eisner Center for Performing Arts.
As the lights went up for Macbeth, a large set was revealed, the highest platform reaching 10 feet above the ground. Audience members were immediately drawn into the play, the set complete with a cave, stairs, a lit-up throne, and a wooden hand.
Ava King ‘27, who played Lady Macbeth, described the unique mood of Denison’s production.
“It’s always a little unexpected to see how a Shakespeare show gets cut since most often they are not done in their entirety. Doing a folk/horror version of the show was really unexpected for me, but has turned out to be really eerie in a fabulous way,” she said.
The rehearsal period for Macbeth began in late January. King said, “The most difficult part has been continuing to push myself to make new discoveries about my character…even toward the end of the process. [What has been] especially interesting has been how we are all continuously working on our physical and vocal choices throughout the show.”
The two leads were King and Henry Bailey ‘26, who played Macbeth. They both had understudies who learned all of the lines and blocking for their respective characters.
Stunt work happened multiple times throughout Macbeth. The play started out with sword fighting and continued into act two when Macbeth is killed by Macduff.
Tionna Wear ‘28 played Malcom, the eldest son of King Duncan. She said that all the stunt work was thoroughly rehearsed: “All of my choreography is different movements…we rehearse it slowly, and then we move to a faster speed. So, everything is just completely planned.”
The fights were choreographed by Leo Santucci, a fight director hired for the production. He is an armorer, semi-competitive fencer, and actor from the central Ohio area. The fight scenes were also captained by Allison Lutz ‘27.
“She also takes a lot of care to make sure everyone feels comfortable and that no one gets injured. She’s very willing, even if we’re going over time, to stop and make us restart if she feels like something doesn’t look right,” Wear said, describing Lutz’s role.
The lights in Macbeth tell their own story, from the bright overhead lighting on Lady Macbeth as she dies to the intense red that fills the stage as Macbeth is killed.
The lighting is credited to the department’s resident theatrical designer, Abbey Lynn Smith.
Erica Janmey ‘28 ran lights for the production.
“With the show having around 500 light cues, there is a lot to take in lighting-wise,” she said. “There are LED strips in some of the cracks on the set that really make the set feel more eerie. There are also shadows in the backdrop that are meant to look like woods, and I think that is a brilliant way to make the set come to life.”
The story was also expressed through props and physical attributes of the show.
“A lot of [what helped convey the story] was sort of scene cues, when they had blood on their hands—specifically Lady Macbeth when she was going insane,” said August Kantor ‘29, who attended the play.
“From the torches to Macbeth’s head, every individual prop piece adds to the story and makes it feel even more powerful. I think that the costuming is really important in this production, [and] since many of the actors play multiple roles, it is crucial that the audience is able to distinguish the difference between the characters. Similarly, after Banquo’s death, his shirt is soaked in blood. I think the costume shop did a fantastic job with that,” said Janmey.
All these design elements came together to create Neff’s adaptation of Macbeth.
“I really liked the laying design overall, and my favorite scene was when MacDuff killed Macbeth,” Kantor said. “The lighting design was really cool, because I feel like it conveyed a lot of the internal feelings [of the characters].”
Mars Harmon / The Denisonian
At left, Henry Bailey ‘26 and Ryan Becherer ‘26, played Macbeth and Macduff, respectively. In order to perform this fight scene, which resulted in Macbeth’s death, the two cast members had to practice fight choreography. Leo Santucci, a fight director from central Ohio, and Allison Lutz ‘27 helped train the entire cast to safely fight for the show. At right, Ava King ‘27, who played Lady Macbeth, crowns Macbeth during a