Upcoming play a production of women born

Marcella Veneziale Staff Writer

“How does a woman play MacDuff or Macbeth?” This was the question on the mind of Gwen Ellis ’08, who plays the part of Macbeth in the drama department’s production of one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays. Taking a unique approach, the Experimental Theater of Vassar College will stage the play with an all-female cast. Through camaraderie, long hours and hard physical work, the cast and crew have brought together a powerful production.

Last spring, the drama department wanted to stage a Shakespeare play in the fall semester, but was
unsure which of the bard’s works to produce. An alumna proposed “Macbeth,” and Associate Professor of Drama Christopher Grabowski was chosen to direct. Grabowski, no stranger to Shakespeare plays, staged several of Shakespeare’s works at Vassar in 2000.

Seven senior drama majors and one senior independent major—Ellis, Kate Abbruzzese, Toni Baum, Rachel Christopher, Poornima Kirby, Nesa Levy, Gwen Lawson and RaMina Mirmortazavi—act in the play and will complete their senior projects with this production. Ellis plays the lead role of Macbeth, and Abbruzzese plays Lady Macbeth.

Assistant Director Nate Silver ’10 said that the entire cast has shown enormous commitment to putting on a first-rate production, and the senior members have been exceptional. “[The cast] has taken on a huge responsibility,” said Silver. “More than half the cast is seniors, and their energy is driving the production forward.”

The most distinctive aspect of this production, however, is the all-female cast. “You can’t ignore that [the cast is] all women,” said Ellis. But this casting was not intentional. At the end of last semester, Grabowski put out a note to all rising seniors interested in “Macbeth.”

Considerably more female students expressed interest in doing the play. “Nine students showed up, one man and eight women,” said Grabowski. When the male actor decided to do a different production, “it became clear that it was going to be a women’s production of ‘Macbeth’,” said Grabowski.

According to Grabowski, the drama department casts women in men’s roles regularly for logistical reasons. There are a limited number of female acting parts because a majority of roles are written for men, and women usually outnumber men in the drama department.

The cast members have turned their attention to bringing a new facet to the familiar characters of “Macbeth.” “When [women] are in a Shakespeare play, they’re always playing a role that was written for a 16-year-old boy,” said Grabowski. “Their psyche isn’t as complicated as you’d want it to be.”

Therefore Ellis and Abbruzzese appreciate the opportunity to play roles that they might otherwise never be cast in. “The play has lots of blood and sex. [It explores] the way men and women deal with sex, but with [a cast of] only women,” said Abbruzzese. The all-female cast will offer “innovative and creative” interpretations of this well-known Shakespeare work, said Ellis.

Grabowski takes pride in Experimental Theater’s unique approach to “Macbeth.” “I don’t want to disguise the fact that they’re women,” he said. “They aren’t apologizing in any way for their long hair or female bodies.” However, Grabowski hopes that audiences appreciate the story and the acting rather than fixating on the sex of the actors.

Another dimension of this production of “Macbeth” is the intense physicality demanded of the actresses. All cast members trained extensively with combat choreographer Julianna Allen ’09 to handle genuine swords and shields in the battle scenes. Before the cast members were given real broad swords, they were put to work on an exercise regimen. “We’ve gone on amazing runs at the [Vassar] Farm,” said Abbruzzese, who added that the play emphasizes athleticism and the body’s movement.
“It’s a show about female power,” said Silver.

To bring out the nuances of Shakespeare’s text, the cast will exercise their creativity on a relatively spare stage with simple props such as found objects, and pieces created by cast members.

The theme for all of this year’s drama department productions is “An Exploration of Sustainability.” Grabowski said that the “Macbeth” crew is concerned with the amount of energy wasted by drama productions, especially due to stage lighting. In this production, minimal lighting is used, and the actors will work the lights. Additionally, all used batteries will either be recycled or recharged for use in future productions.

The spirit of the cast members holds the production together. “There’s no competition, no negative feelings. It’s very supportive,” said Ellis.

The cast also appreciates the unusual acting opportunity that the production provides. “It’s a cool opportunity not to just be the love interest or the wife. Not everyone is an ingénue,” said Abbruzzese.

“Macbeth,” presented by the Experimental Theater of Vassar College, will run Oct. 4, 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. in the Powerhouse Theater. To reserve seats, contact the Powerhouse at (845) 437-5584 or by e-mail at boxoffice@vassar.edu.