Graduate students from Mary Baldwin University’s M.Litt/MFA program in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance will present dual productions of Shakespeare’s tragedyMacbethAugust 25-29 at the Old Masonic Building located at 12 W. Beverley St. in downtown Staunton.
Shakespeare’sMacbethtells the story of a young couple’s treacherous rise through the ranks of Scottish society to become king and queen. Written for King James, the play tracks the Macbeths through their conspiracy, multiple murders, and questions of conscience.
Macbethis directed by Jeremy Fiebig, a directing-track M.Litt student at Mary Baldwin. Fiebig directs two distinct productions of Macbeth during the late-August run in part to extend his research into the original staging practices lauded at the Blackfriars Playhouse. “We’re trying to determine how actors would have moved onstage in the Globe and Blackfriars at the height of the English Renaissance,” says Fiebig, “With the Blackfriars Playhouse here and the Globe Playhouse on the horizon, we’re looking to answer questions that may help to distinguish the work at each venue to a greater degree.”
Both productions share a core group of ten cast members, each of whom adopts two sets of roles – one for each production. Their first set of roles combine to form the Angus cast headed by M.Litt students Rob Gibbs and Lesley Larsen as the Macbeths, explores the elements of audience incorporation one might see at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. Meanwhile, the cast’s second set of roles form Banquo cast, headed by Laura Flanagan and Jennifer L. Hall as the Macbeths. Banquo cast focuses on the audience exclusion that might take place should the King or a member of the nobility attend the play.
The cast includes M.Litt student actors Evan Crump, Jeremy Fiebig, Laura Flanagan, Rob Gibbs, Jennifer L. Hall, Jason ‘Jay’ Knowlton, Lesley Larsen, Lori Larson, Ann Pleiss, and Nicole Royse.
Tickets are available for a suggested donation of $5 and may be purchased by calling Jeremy Fiebig at (540) 886-8648 or by visiting https://jeremy_fiebig.tripod.com .Macbethruns Wednesday-Sunday, August 25-29. Angus cast performs Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. each evening. Banquo cast performs Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.