Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sarah Sneesby
My Roles:
Assistant Director, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, COVID Protocol Manager
DIRECTOR - SARAH SNEESBY
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS - ANDREW ROBLYER & ALRIC DAVIS
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER - JOSEPH URICK
COMPOSER - COFFEE GUZMAN
LIGHTING & SOUND DESIGN - ANDREW ROBLYER
COSTUME DESIGN - MELANIE GARVY & KATHERINE RINALDI
PROPS & ARMOR - S&D CUSTOM PROPS AND COSTUMES
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRPAPHER - PIN LIM
Why This Show?
After my own production of Macbeth, originally slated to open in April 2020, was shut down, I resigned myself to not being able to dig into this work from the Bard for another few years. Then, in fall 2021, I saw a Facebook post from a director, talking about their willingness to pay for childcare during rehearsals so that parents (especially moms) could still participate in theatre. I was immediately struck by the actualized value of equity in that stance, and reached out to speak with her. We hit it off immediately and realized we could help support one another quite well; she had just completed an MFA in Movement Direction in the UK, but had little directing experience, whereas I did not have an MFA, but 16 years of directing experience. These days I’m jumping at chances to help support women and people of color in theatre, and so I jumped at the chance to work with her!
Lessons Learned
I worried a bit about my ability to take the assistant role, simply because it’s not my usual role, but I found that I enjoyed it immensely, not least because it quickly became clear that Sarah was laser focused on healthy rehearsal environments and equity in the theatrical space just like I was. We trusted each other easily and found that we worked well together. Having been in the directing seat helped me be a more effective assistant director because I was better able to understand how and where I could help support her without her having to ask, and I also knew when to back off and let her make the decisions for her company and show.
Concept
Sarah brought a wonderful vision into this project, namely keeping it set in 11th century Scotland, but redefining and reimagining what that time period would be like. The themes of the production were determined through work with the ensemble, asking them to bring in their own personal and cultural influences and ideas. This ultimately led to focuses on the blending of African culture with Scottish culture, themes related to religion (Catholicism and stricture vs the Druidic freedom), and political power. Sarah brought a heavy movement-focus to the work, while I focused on the text and emotional “blocking” of the characters.