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Theater department presents Macbeth
March 9, 2010
When the curtain goes up on any theater production, the attention turns to the talented actors on the stage.
But when the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University theater department's production of Macbeth opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 18 at the Gorecki Family Theater, Benedicta Arts Center of the College of Saint Benedict, there are plenty of talented students behind the scenes creating memorable images and sounds that come to life on the stage.
For the CSB/SJU production, William Shakespeare's famous tragedy has been transplanted from its usual setting in Scotland to the late 1700s-early 1800s in what is now West Virginia. That required some interesting challenges to the crew, and the results are stunning.
• The complex lighting on a "non-realistic" set was designed by SJU junior theater major Phil Jorgenson. Jorgenson uses many colors and intensities of light as well as side lighting to create flashing lightening, wood fires and mystic illusions.
• The period weapons (rifles, muskets and knives) are being designed and built by SJU senior theater major Kurt Oostra.
• The complex sound system is being created by SJU senior Kevin Springer. Although Springer has designed the sound for several theater productions at CSB and SJU, "this is the most complex," said Macbeth director Kaarin Johnston, professor of theater at CSB and SJU. "The sounds of West Virginia wildlife can be heard throughout the performance."
• The props (such as bowls, food and the spinning wheel) are being designed or collected and repaired by SJU junior Pat Campbell. "One of his major projects was casting the face of Mason Mahoney (who plays Macbeth) so that 'Macbeth's head' can be held up onstage after the character's head is cut off," Johnston said.
Jorgenson, Oostra and Campbell were all part of the production team that helped stage SJU junior illusionist Jared Sherlock's show, Night Games, Jan. 22-23 at Escher Auditorium. Sherlock, incidentally, performs the role of "Drunken Porter" in the play.
Johnston said the performance will be entered in the associate production category in the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) so that the student designs can be judged in the regional ACTF competition in January 2011, in Ames, Iowa. It also means that a faculty member from another college or university will meet with the students and staff after a performance and talk about what the respondent experienced as an audience member.
Performance times and dates are at 7:30 p.m. March 18-20 and 7:30 p.m. March 24-27. The running time of the show is approximately two hours and 10 minutes, with an intermission.
Tickets for Macbeth are $12 for adults and seniors, and $6 for students and youth. They are available by calling the Fine Arts Programming Box Office at 320-363-5777, or visit www.csbsju.edu/finearts.