We sat down with Kate Maguire, Artistic Director/CEO, and Eric Hill, Director, to talk about BTF’s upcoming production of Macbeth. Here’s what they had to say!
Why Macbeth? Why now?
Kate Maguire, Artistic Director/CEO: We’ve wanted to do Macbeth for years. We have this fantastic Shakespeare director in our company, it makes sense to do it. What is really interesting about Macbeth is the theme of the struggle for power in a culture of violence. This play deals with that theme directly and swiftly. All signs pointed to yes for this show – we have these two great actors I wanted to play Lord and Lady Macbeth. CJ Wilson and Keira Naughton are incredible artists and I was excited to get them on board for the show. Eric has also done the show before.
Eric Hill, Director: Knowing the play so well means that I get to work more quickly on it. We only have a three week rehearsal process, so an in-depth knowledge of the show is good. In addition, I’m working with these actors I know very well and the company is so unified that the rehearsal process isn’t just actors learning lines. Any director will tell you that they want to spend all their time in rehearsals with actors who already know their lines. These guys come into the process already invested – they know all their lines and they’re ready to go. We can delve more into the text and the play itself when we start from that advanced point. So I’ve done the show before, yes. It all helps to expedite the memorization and groundwork and lets us get into the good stuff.
Tell us about the company of actors and how that affects the show.
Kate: When I came to Stockbridge 16 years ago, I wanted to build a creative company that could work on theatre together and create their own artistic language and family. I believed that kind of company would be the most successful at producing great theatre in a short rehearsal period. We started gathering talented directors that have stayed with us year to year – Anders Cato, Eric Hill, John Rando. Next we brought in designers, then actors. It’s not just the same actors year to year, though. It’s important to bring in new actors as well as keeping the veterans. We’re a summer theatre – everyone leaves during the year and discovers new things, only to come back to BTF and pump that excitement back into their work here. We are lucky enough to be here at this point with a team that trusts each other and works efficiently.
Eric: The most important part to their camaraderie, however, is not lines, blocking, or costumes. Everyone is really involved with BTF. They come here ready to work, and because of that we have fun. We delve into the show right away without wasting time and make sure we have a good time. Another good part about having this group of actors in Macbeth that I’ve worked with before is something Kate was talking about – we have an artistic language. The actors know what I’m talking about when I explain something, so we share a lexicon of words to use while we work. We work together, we’re not separate artists who happen to be in the same rehearsal space.
Eric, what about your training background are you bringing to Macbeth?
Eric: Well, I always use Tadashi Suzuki’s teachings without specifically meaning to. They are such a part of what I do that my work will always be influenced by him. We’re experimenting with Butoh in this show, a Japanese dance form. Butoh means “dance of darkness” and it has witch-like elements that will serve as a vocabulary for the three witches’ movement. Then the language will create a structure around the Butoh. It’s like an East-West infusion.
