Photo by Krister Strandskov
DMACC Theatre performed Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Ankeny Campus Black Box Theater; in all, there were seven showings beginning March 6, and returning March 26 after spring break.
The play is more commonly called “The Scottish Play” by those in the theatre because of a supposed curse resulting from saying the original title. If a person is to say the name of the play, the person must leave the room or building, turn around three times, curse, quote Hamlet, then knock and humbly ask to be let in. This is said to remove the curse, and the production will be fine. The Hamlet quote that must be said is “Angels and Ministers of grace defend us!”
The curse came about because historians argued that Shakespeare wrote “actual” witches’ spells into the text of Macbeth. There have been many stories of accidents that have happened over the years during different productions. There has been speculation on why these accidents happen, either there is a curse or the low lighting, and superstition contributes to odd things occurring.
DMACC Theatre Professor Carl Lindberg said the cast and crew have been cautious about saying the title of the play. Some people refuse to say it in the theater, and some refuse to say it anywhere or even type it. Behind the scenes, the actors worked very hard to produce this play, making the best they could.
DMACC used the original language of the play, which made the play harder to understand, but the actors, knowing this, spoke clearly and loudly enough so that they would be understood even with the original phrasing.
Photo by Krister Strandskov
The dramatic lighting made the scenes more compelling. The theater was always in almost complete darkness, with light only being on the actors speaking. The play was made to look more modern, but still was accurate to the original and gave it a true Shakespearean feel.
Personally, I was really excited about DMACC doing this play and going to watch it. I can say that after watching it, I was not disappointed. The cast and crew did an amazing job putting on this play. Everyone involved worked so hard on producing it, and it really shows. Using light to convey the actions and words of the characters was really cool to see. I also personally loved the design of the poster as well. In the end, DMACC’s “Macbeth” was definitely worth watching.
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