Macbeth

Staging Issues

In this section you will find:

Notes from rehearsals of the current production of Macbeth

An improvisation exercise

Objectives

To gain a thorough knowledge of act 1 scene 3 through practical

work

To encourage students to think as actors and directors in their

approach to a scene from a Shakespeare play

To work together creatively in groups

Before trying this improvisation exercise, you might like to read the section on WITCHCRAFT in the section for TEACHERS.

In this extract from her rehearsal diary, Jacqui O'Hanlon (Education Creative Support Leader) describes improvisations based on the first entrance of the witches in Act 1 scene 1.

Week One. 5th January 2004.
In the rehearsal room there are:

Two rails of costumes. A mixture of military heavy jackets and long

coats (Edwardian?). Women's dresses (late Victorian/early

Edwardian). Extreme contrast between men's clothes and women's

clothes

Several large trunks

A cauldron

An assortment of daggers

A crown

Skulls

Canes

Masks

We read through the first witches' scene and talked about what a brilliant way it is to start a play. Then the director, Dominic Cooke, got the company into groups of 3 and asked them to create their own version of the first scene using any props or costumes they could find in the rehearsal room. None of the women chose to wear any of the dresses, but the long military coats proved very popular.

All the improvisations used modern technology in some way. The first group interpreted the scene as a full blown CBS news bulletin like those we've seen recently in the Iraq war. The bloody Captain became a chief of staff recounting recent events. Ross became a general who arrives fresh from the battle field pointing to a map on the wall to illustrate where the fighting has been happening.

9th January
In the afternoon, we looked at the improvisations that the actors had worked on the previous day (Act 1 scene 3 in which Macbeth and Banquo meet the Weird Sisters)

Group 1 had Macbeth and Banquo driving a car and the witches setting up a road block to stop them. When the witches disappeared, they left behind a bag. Macbeth found it during his soliloquy, opened it and discovered a crown. He brought out the crown on the line "…horrible imaginings…" It was a really chilling, powerful moment.

Group 2 set their improvisation on a London Underground train and performed in traverse with a Voice Over announcing all the station stops - including Forres. The witches in the scene found a wonderful rhythm for "…the charms wound up…" and really extended the 'sssss' sound in the word 'peace'. The actor playing Macbeth in this improvisation sat amongst the passengers for his soliloquy, speaking naturalistically to them.

Group 3 incorporated a lot of sound and was very influenced by the Capoeira work the company had been doing. The witches created disturbing, jangling, metallic sounds which continued throughout the scene, even after the witches had disappeared. This improvisation was very physical, with the witches grabbing hold of Macbeth and Banquo, barring their way and continuing to grab and hold them throughout the scene.

try this
Read Act 1 scene 3. In groups of 5 improvise Macbeth's first meeting with the Weird Sisters. Students might like to think about:

How you would like to perform the scene

- with the audience on three sides?
- in the round?
- using different floor levels?

Creating atmosphere on the heath. In groups, ask

- where are the characters at this point in the play?
- what is the weather like?
- what time of year is it?
- what time of day is it?
- what is the situation? The Scots have been fighting invading forces. What are the witches doing on the heath, near the scene of a battle?
- what sounds can you hear? What do the witches sound like? Can you hear military drums in the distance? Are you going to create the sound of thunder?

The Weird Sisters - what do they look like? How do they move? What

do they sound like?

Macbeth and Banquo are returning victorious from battle - what

mood are they in? Does their mood change when they encounter the

witches?

The Weird Sisters' predictions - they tell Macbeth that he will not only

be Thane of Glamis but Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. How

does he react? They tell Banquo that whilst he will not be king, his

descendants will (James VI of Scotland believed, erroneously, that

he was a direct descendant of Banquo)

What effect would you like the scene to have on the audience?


			In this section you will find: Notes from rehearsals of the current production of Macbeth An improvisation exercise To gain a thorough knowledge of act 1 scene 3 through practical work To encourage students to think as actors and directors in their approach to a scene from a Shakespeare play To work together creatively in groups Before trying this improvisation exercise, you might like to read the section on WITCHCRAFT in the section for TEACHERS. In this extract from her rehearsal diary, Jacqui O'Hanlon (Education Creative Support Leader) describes improvisations based on the first entrance of the witches in Act 1 scene 1. In the rehearsal room there are: Two rails of costumes. A mixture of military heavy jackets and long coats (Edwardian?). Women's dresses (late Victorian/early Edwardian). Extreme contrast between men's clothes and women's clothes Several large trunks A cauldron An assortment of daggers A crown Skulls Canes Masks We read through the first witches' scene and talked about what a brilliant way it is to start a play. Then the director, Dominic Cooke, got the company into groups of 3 and asked them to create their own version of the first scene using any props or costumes they could find in the rehearsal room. None of the women chose to wear any of the dresses, but the long military coats proved very popular. All the improvisations used modern technology in some way. The first group interpreted the scene as a full blown CBS news bulletin like those we've seen recently in the Iraq war. The bloody Captain became a chief of staff recounting recent events. Ross became a general who arrives fresh from the battle field pointing to a map on the wall to illustrate where the fighting has been happening. In the afternoon, we looked at the improvisations that the actors had worked on the previous day (Act 1 scene 3 in which Macbeth and Banquo meet the Weird Sisters) Group 1 had Macbeth and Banquo driving a car and the witches setting up a road block to stop them. When the witches disappeared, they left behind a bag. Macbeth found it during his soliloquy, opened it and discovered a crown. He brought out the crown on the line "…horrible imaginings…" It was a really chilling, powerful moment. Group 2 set their improvisation on a London Underground train and performed in traverse with a Voice Over announcing all the station stops - including Forres. The witches in the scene found a wonderful rhythm for "…the charms wound up…" and really extended the 'sssss' sound in the word 'peace'. The actor playing Macbeth in this improvisation sat amongst the passengers for his soliloquy, speaking naturalistically to them. Group 3 incorporated a lot of sound and was very influenced by the Capoeira work the company had been doing. The witches created disturbing, jangling, metallic sounds which continued throughout the scene, even after the witches had disappeared. This improvisation was very physical, with the witches grabbing hold of Macbeth and Banquo, barring their way and continuing to grab and hold them throughout the scene. Read Act 1 scene 3. In groups of 5 improvise Macbeth's first meeting with the Weird Sisters. Students might like to think about: How you would like to perform the scene - with the audience on three sides? - in the round? - using different floor levels? Creating atmosphere on the heath. In groups, ask - where are the characters at this point in the play? - what is the weather like? - what time of year is it? - what time of day is it? - what is the situation? The Scots have been fighting invading forces. What are the witches doing on the heath, near the scene of a battle? - what sounds can you hear? What do the witches sound like? Can you hear military drums in the distance? Are you going to create the sound of thunder? The Weird Sisters - what do they look like? How do they move? What do they sound like? Macbeth and Banquo are returning victorious from battle - what mood are they in? Does their mood change when they encounter the witches? The Weird Sisters' predictions - they tell Macbeth that he will not only be Thane of Glamis but Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. How does he react? They tell Banquo that whilst he will not be king, his descendants will (James VI of Scotland believed, erroneously, that he was a direct descendant of Banquo) What effect would you like the scene to have on the audience?