‘The Scottish Play’ To Be Staged Oct. 22-25
(Left: CATCO Costume Director Tatjana Longerot teaches Capital Theatre students the art of makeup application for their upcoming production of Macbeth.)
Capital University Theatre Director William Kennedy isn’t much impressed by superstition — especially the one that for many years has frightened thespians into reciting lines from “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” and running around the outside of a theatre three times before re-entering the build just for having dared to speak the name of “The Scottish King” while in the theatre, even if by accident.
What he does believe in, though, is self-fulfilling prophecy. So just to be safe (and to minimize the distraction an air of spookiness can bring to rehearsals), Kennedy told a white lie to his theatre students during their first rehearsal of what will be the first Shakespearean tragedy to be staged at Capital in Kennedy’s 15 years here.
Capital University Theatre will present “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Thursday, Oct. 22, through Sunday, Oct. 25, in the Cabaret Theatre.
“Backstage superstition is an interesting part of theatrical history, which is why I teach it,” Kennedy said of the long-held and relatively well-documented superstition that Macbeth is a cursed play sure to doom any actor that speaks the name of the play while inside the theatre. Hence the alternative names “The Scottish Play” or “The Scottish King.”
So he told them he had undergone a complicated sequence of cleansing rituals and training, therefore absolving them all from the curse. “Which is all a bunch of bunk,” he confessed.
The superstition comes from the claim that the three witches scene includes the recitation of actual spells, and that the inclusion of the character Hecate intensifies the curse. If one dares to recite lines, or even worse the name of the play, while inside the theatre, a complicated cleansing ritual must be followed before the actor can return to the theatre.
Never shying away from a challenge (and despite the Shakespearean scholar in him that doubts the character was included in the original work), Kennedy left Hecate in, using doubling to allow the audience the opportunity to draw an interesting parallel between Hecate and Lady Macbeth.
Embracing the wealth talent in the central Ohio arts community, Capital’s production of Macbeth is enriched by the creative talents of Tatjana Longerot, CATCO’s costume studio manager/costume designer, who created the plaster mask of Macbeth and trained the cast in the art of makeup application. Recent Capital graduate Doug Gibbons returned to coach the actors in stage combat.
Performances are set for 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, through Saturday, Oct. 24. There will be a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 25. All University Theatre performances are given in the Cabaret Theatre, located in the lower level of the Harry C. Moores Campus Center on Capital’s main campus, 1 College and Main, in Bexley. Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. They’re free for students with a current Capital I.D. For more information, call 614-236-7174.
Located in the Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood of Bexley, Capital University is a private, four-year undergraduate institution and graduate school. Capital prepares students for meaningful lives and purposeful careers through a relevant liberal arts core curriculum and deep professional programs taught by a renowned faculty that engages students. Capital consistently is ranked among the top master’s universities in the Midwest. Influenced by its Lutheran heritage, Capital places great emphasis on the free and open exchange of ideas, seeking out diverse perspectives, active participation in society, leadership and service. It is the oldest and one of the largest universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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Contact: Nichole Johnson
Director of media relations and communications
Capital University
614-236-6945
Cell: 614-440-9158