Carmen-Maria Mandley Will Employ Cross-Gender Casting in Her Interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

By Robert W. McDowell, Triangle Theater Review, E-mail: RobertM748@aol.com

Living up to its moniker, Raleigh, NC-based Bare Theatre will stage a no-frills production of Macbeth Oct. 26-29 at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. Director Carmen-maria Mandley will liberally employ cross-gender casting in her interpretation of this timeless tragedy of all-consuming ambition by celebrated English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

Mandley says, “I first read this play in high school. At that age, I was most interested in the Weird Sisters and the supernatural elements of the play.

“When I was in Massachusetts at Shakespeare & Company,” Mandley says, “I had a couple of turns with the play, working with the education program there. When I arrived in Raleigh, it was the first play I directed for the Storytellers program at Raleigh Little Theatre. We had the good fortune of taking it on a mini-tour. We performed it in the Gaddy-Goodwin Theatre [at RLT], then at the old Cameron Village Library, and then Kenny Gannon was wonderful enough to give us the theater at Peace College to do a night there. One of the young people that was in that show has now come full circle to be in this production as well.”

She adds, “I wanted to direct this piece with the company we have now at Bare Theatre. It suited and I believed would greatly challenge them. I also wanted to direct the show uncut—a first for me. We also use the text of the First Folio only, paying attention to the original spellings, punctuation, and such. It’s been a really intense and fun journey to unfold all of this.”

According to director Carmen-maria Mandley:

“The play takes place in Scotland. Duncan, the king of Scotland (Dean Rayburn), is at war with the king of Norway; and as the play opens, he learns of the bravery of Macbeth (Tony Hefner) in battle against a Scot who sided with Norway. At the same time, he hears of the treachery of the Thane of Cawdor, who was arrested. Duncan decides to give the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth.

“Macbeth and Banquo (Seth Blum), traveling home from the battle, meet weird sisters (Tara Pozo, Nick Fields, and Nancy Rich), who predict that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland, and that Banquo will be the father of kings. Macbeth and Banquo meet up with two nobles (Chuck Keith and Laura Jernigan), who inform them of Macbeth’s new title.

“Macbeth begins to examine strategical moves to aid his climb. Lady Macbeth (Rebecca Blum) receives a letter from Macbeth informing her of the weird sister’s prophecy and his new title. A servant (Ruth Berry) appears and tells her of Duncan’s approach. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, Lady Macbeth tells him that she will take care of all the details of Duncan’s murder. They will kill him while his drunken guards sleep, then plant incriminating evidence on [the guards].

“Once all is done, Duncan’s sons Malcolm (Jarrod Swart) and Donalbain (Heather Fisher) fearing that their lives are in danger, flee to England and Ireland. Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland.

“Macbeth hires two murderers (Nancy Rich and Joyce Davis) to kill Banquo and his son Fleance (Nick Fields) in an attempt to thwart the Weird Sister’s prophesy that Banquo will father kings. A third murderer (Sarah Schmitt) joins the other two on the heath.

“Macbeth throws a feast on the same night that Banquo is murdered, and many are in attendance (Missy Dapper, Chuck Keith, Laura Jernigan, Casey McQueary, Ruth Berry, and Jeff Buckner) and Banquo’s ghost appears to [Macbeth], sending him into frenzy. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover up for his odd behavior. Macbeth decides that he must revisit the witches to hear more of the future.

“Meanwhile, Macbeth’s thanes begin to turn from him, and Macduff (Heather Hackford) meets Malcolm in England to prepare an army to march on Scotland. Macbeth meets with the weird Sisters again to learn more of what is to come. Meanwhile, Macbeth has Macduff’s wife (Kacey Reynolds), whom [Macduff] has deserted, along with all his children (Matt Fields), murdered.

“Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and reveals her guilt to a watching doctor and a gentlewoman (Sarah Schmitt and Heather Fisher). Macbeth is preoccupied with battle preparations. He does not have time to prepare for what is to come of her. Meanwhile, the English army has reached Birnam Wood. During the battle outside the castle walls, Macbeth encounters Young Siward (Tara Pozo) the English general’s son (Sarah Schmitt). Macduff then challenges Macbeth. The end of the play unfolds.”

In addition to director Carmen-maria Mandley, the show’s creative team includes fight choreographer Jeff A. R. Jones, assistant fight choreographer Heather J. Hackford, technical director Dean Rayburn, lighting designer Andy Parks, costume designer Jeremy Clos, and stage manager Beth Rayburn. The show also features original music by Proxy and props by The Bukers.

Carmen-maria Mandley says, the show’s set will be a bare stage, and each character will wear “the coat of arms of his or her historical counterpart.”

Mandley adds, “As always, our major challenges have to do with an abbreviated rehearsal schedule and only having a one week run at Common Ground. In the near future we look forward to extending our runs.”

She says, “This play is not intended for small children. It has scenes of extreme violence.”

Mandley concludes, “This play has been a joy to work on. The twenty cast members and our wonderful artists working on our production team have risen to the challenge of this play with a deep desire to tell the purest form of the story. I can’t wait to get people in the seats.”

Bare Theatre presents Macbeth Thursday-Friday, Oct. 26-27, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 28, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. at Common Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd., Durham, North Carolina. $15 ($7 students, seniors, and active-duty military personnel). 919/771-3281 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/7226. Bare Theatre: http://www.baretheatre.org/next.html. Common Ground Theatre: http://www.cgtheatre.com/. Shakespeare Resources (courtesy University of Virginia): http://etext.virginia.edu/shakespeare/. E-Text (courtesy UVa): http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ShaMacF.html (1623 First Folio Edition) and http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MobMacb.html (1866 Globe Edition).

 

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