Shakespeare and Company wows students with “Macbeth” performance
By: Nolan Cleary
News Editor
“Macbeth,” an epic tragedy about nationalism and unchecked political ambition, was performed by Shakespeare and Company for the students of Hudson Valley Community College on Feb 18.
The play was presented by the National Endowment of the Arts, an independent government agency that seeks to pour funding into what they see as essential artistic projects.
Kirsten Peacock played Lady MacBeth, the future Queen of Scotland. O’Neil Delapenha played Lord McDuff, a beloved hero dedicated to his country, who is willing to put them first amongst all else.
Dara Brown played Lord Banquo, a man MacBeth views as his main obstacle to becoming King. Devante Owens played Duncan, a King who is targeted in a scheme by hisotherwise loyal advisor, Macbeth.
Julia de Avilez Rocha played Malcolm, the son of King Duncan who threatens the balance of power for Macbeth’s reign as King, while Nick Nuddler plays Macbeth, the title character who lusts for the power to overthrow Duncan and become King.
In some cases, the actors would have to play multiple roles during the performance. One
audience member asked whether the experience itself was like taking on multiple different
personas.
“I think [when] playing one character, it’s easier to follow my own story, but I love
the challenge of having to put on a bunch of different hats while switching around and being
able to invest in each of those characters,” Brown told the members of the audience.
The team also tried to make the show as sensory as possible, adding unique sound effects
and making the production design seem as wild as possible.
Nuddler said that this was all a part of a larger plan for the show.
“Our director, Kelly Galvin, she wanted to put together this very holistic non precious form of theater in setting this very ritualistic space, but other than that she wanted to have all the sound and sound design created around us,” said Nuddler.
Nuddler went on to show how the xylophone was used during the play, and how wind sound effects were created. He said this was to create “mysticism and a ritual space.”
The play also took on an interactive side, with multiple characters during the
performance making an effort to communicate with members of the audience.
Peacock said this was an integral part of storytelling for them.
“That’s actually a huge part of Shakespeare and Company,” Peacock said during the post show Q&A. “Engaging the audience as a 56th member of our company, that everyone that’s there is presently effective in our storytelling as well as just being present in the room… the story doesn’t exist into a void.”
Students at Hudson Valley Community College were floored by the performance.
“I really liked the stations they had in each corner,” said Addison Johnson, a theater arts student. “I was impressed, I was really impressed.”
Like Johnson, Wells Liscomb, a student pursuing a political science major, also said he was impressed, especially with the sound effects.
“I thought it was really cool that they did [the sound effects] onset and with real instruments instead of just playing it through a speaker,” Liscomb said.
Liscomb also said he’s a fan of the beloved story.
“The story’s great, it’s a classic,” he said.