Macbeth

Notes from the Director

Macbeth is set in a dark, mystical world where murder is a lesser evil than failure to achieve the crown. It is a tragedy of character and moral order, of greed and ambition that shows Macbeth trapped in a downward spiral of increasing evil. In this adaptation by Erin Merritt, the three witches transform into all of the characters in the play, with the exception of Macbeth and Malcolm. This twist to the structure opens up entirely new questions and perspectives on this classic play. The witches are at the core of our play actively controlling Macbeth’s fate, and not just prophesying Macbeth’s rise and fall. They are then, not just three women, but resemble more the three goddesses of destiny, the Three Fates, known to the Greeks as the Moerae and to the Romans as the Parcae. This literary device conjures up intriguing thoughts. Could Macbeth’s friends, family and lover be merely mirages, confections of the witches, and the means to Macbeth’s end? Would that justify his actions or absolve him of guilt? Or perhaps Macbeth has created the witches in his mind as justification for the wicked deeds that he commits. It is not my intention to answer these questions, but rather it is my hope to inspire new questions and reveal new layers to this classic play. I do feel that one point is clear, however, that to Macbeth, the characters are indeed not what they seem. This adds an astonishingly tragic layer to an already extremely tragic play.  

My vision was to create a show that envelops the audience in a surreal mood by creating fantastic imagery and juxtaposing ideas that seem to contradict each other. The lighting design demonstrates this concept in that rather than combating the projections, it embraces them and uses them as an extension of the lighting concept as a whole. Lights and projections—once were thought of as enemies to each other, but here they are friends. The set furthers the surreal atmosphere by pushing together metals and natural substances, mashing textures together, and at times becoming one with the actor rather than providing a mere backdrop. Actors colliding with the set, once thought of as a dangerous occurrence, now prove to be a useful theatrical tool.   

The inspirations for this version of Macbeth are varied. They include mask work, Butoh, Indian shadow theatre, German silent film, old mud show circus, traditional Elizabethan theatrical conventions, and a no-holds-barred approach to violence. Science was also an unexpected muse. As I was directing the witch scenes, it occurred to me that as the witches morphed from character to character, they were multiplying… They were enveloping Macbeth’s reality like disease, a cancer, dividing again and again. When we looked up images of cancer cell division, we opened up a whole new chapter in our creative process. The images were beautiful, frightening, magical, and illustrated exactly what was happening to the body of this play and to the witches. This piece of the puzzle was the inspiration that was needed to bring together all of the elements we were working with—the projections, the fabric, the movement, the lighting, and the adaptation came together to become a whole. I am tremendously proud and excited to present… Macbeth!
 

Bios

Cast
Treacy Corrigan (Witch 3) did her training at The Gaiety School of Acting, in Ireland. She has worked with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Rhinoceros, Thrillpeddlers, Rough Tongue, Boxcar and others.

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (Witch 2) was last seen with Woman's Will as Dukes Buckingham and Orsino in Richard III and Twelfth Night, respectively. She has appeared in the Bay Area with Lamplighters as various virtuous maidens, as Paquette in Candide, and Queenie in Show Boat; with TheatreFirst in Map of the World and World Music; with Solano College in Intimate Apparel as Mayme (ARTY award, best supporting actress); with ACT's First Look in The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry as Mary South; with Central Works as the title role in Andromache, and most recently as one of the 4 lovers in Midsummer/4. This summer, she completed American Soil, a local independent short film. Ms. Mbele-Mbong holds a BA in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College. She serves as Trustee on the Lamplighters Board of Directors, and as company member for Woman's Will.

Desiray McFall (Malcolm) has studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater and Laney College. Her performance experience includes The Rover and 365 Days/365 Plays with Woman's Will, The 3 Musketeers with Role Players, To Kill a Mockingbird with Broadway West and Under Milkwood with Shotgun Players. She has appeared in the Pepsi AMP Energy Drink commercial, several industrials and most recently Pennies for the Juggernaut, a web series.

Julia Mitchell (Witch 1) is thrilled to be making her debut with Woman's Will. A Berkeley native, Ms. Mitchell grew up studying dance and got her first taste of a love of acting from Mr. Felker's drama class at Willard Jr. High. She has since performed on many local stages, most recently as Sig in Freedomland with AtmosTheatre and Maria in Mill Valley Curtain Theatre's Twelfth Night. She has trained with ACT, SITI Company, Dave Maier, and Linda Lowry. Everything about gender-bending she learned from years performing as faux queen Windy Plains and drag king Paul Wanka. Now she's getting to learn a bit more. Thanks Erin, Joan, the great cast and crew, and CD for all the support.

Valerie Weak (Macbeth) has previously performed with Woman’s Will as
Silvius/Lord/LeBeau in As You Like It and as Thurio/Lucetta in Two Gentlemen of Verona, their very first project. She has also worked at Theatreworks, Shotgun Players, CenterREP and The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Some recent credits include: Viola in Twelfth Night for North Bay Shakespeare Festival, Harper in Far Away at Just Theater and Claire in Proof for Pacific Alliance. Valerie is also a theater educator and does voiceover, on-camera, and commercial print work. She trained at Skidmore College with Anne Bogart and the SITI company.

Production Staff
Joan Scout (Director) arrived in San Francisco eight years ago after earning her MFA in Directing/Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has actively pursued her directing career in the Bay Area by consistently producing and directing all-female productions such as Fool For Love and A Streetcar Named Desire. Ms. Scout also is passionate about new works and has directed Mary Knoll's Memoir of a Bar Room Floozy, Erin Blackwell's Fuse, and Dorothy Adams's Cracked.

Erin Merritt (Adaptor) For Woman’s Will, Artistic Director Erin Merritt has directed ten productions and created three adaptations: Good Person of Szechuan; hamlet, the melancholy dame; and this Macbeth, which was a commission for Santa Rosa’s Loading Zone  theater company. As actor, director and theatre teacher/lecturer, Ms. Merritt has worked in the Bay Area and beyond with Woman’s Will and such companies as Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Shotgun Players, Center REPertory Company, Pacific Repertory Theatre, Willows Theatre Company, Unconditional Theatre, Washington’s Interplayers Ensemble, CSUEB, San Francisco Elder Hostel and school districts all along the West Coast. Her Logical Brecht: what he did, why he did it, how we do it has been used as a text at Reed College since 1990.

Tammy Berlin (Costume Designer) began her life in the theatre in Chicago where she was the Artistic Director of Heroes Inc. Ensemble and Transient Theatre, and the Managing Director of The Playwrites' Center. This is her sixth show with Woman's Will, having also costumed Lord of the Flies, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Antigone and Good Person of Schezuan. Elsewhere in the Bay Area she has designed for TheatreFIRST, Oakland Public Theatre, Wilde Irish, Second Wind and Masquers, and she is the resident costume designer for Central Works.

Stephanie Buchner (Lighting Design) is thrilled to be working with Women's Will for a second time. Her lighting was seen in last year's Antigone. Her recent designs include: Love Person at Marin Theatre Company, Postcards from Mexico and GREEN/ A Force of Nature for Dance Monks, Fe in the Desert for Campo Santo, Mike Daisey's Great Men of Genius at Berkeley Rep, Playboy of the Western World, Dear Liar and Fools in the Forest at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Sleepy, Impact's Briefs: Sinfully Delicious and Cartoon! at Impact Theatre. 

Alicia Coombes (Stage Manager) is currently the artistic assistant and literary manager at Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley. She has worked with several theatres in the bay area including Word for Word, Marin Theatre Company and El Teatro de la Esperanza, wearing many different hats along the way: stage manager, dramaturg, props assistant, and costume assistant. She is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University, with a focus on Dramaturgy and Play Development. 

Carla Pantoja (Fight Choreographer) is happy to return as a fight choreographer for Woman’s Will again! A former Woman’s Will company member, she has choreographed fights for Killing my Lobster, Palo Alto Players, Teatro Vision, and San Francisco Shakespeare’s Midnight Shakespeare Program, as well as countless school productions in the Bay Area. She enjoys teaching children the joys of beating each other up without getting hurt and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and Theatre Bay Area. Ms. Pantoja was most recently seen in Ubu for President with Shotgun Players at John Hinkel Park. She is now playing the title role in La Llarona at Salinas’ Western Stage. She received her training through the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat, Academy of the Sword, and Actions Actors Society.

Jacquelyn Scott (Set and Props Designer), a company member with Woman’s Will, is thrilled to be designing again for them, having done Good Person of Szechuan, Antigone and Romeo and Juliet. She works as a scenic designer and propsmaster throughout the Bay Area, and is a recent Landisman Fellowship recipient. Previous credits include Octopus and Monkey Room (Magic Theatre); Ubu for President and Mrs. Warren's Profession (Shotgun Players); Metamorphoses, and Bat Boy The Musical (USF); Sergeant Musgrave's Dance and Nathan the Wise (TheatreFIRST), and production design for Lucky Dragon Productions' die Mekaniks short film. Special thanks to R for, well, science.

Lauren Steiner-Scout (Movement Coach) is a choreographer, physical comedienne, aerialist, dancer, and director. She is the artistic director of Eat Cake Productions, a San Francisco-based aerial dance and physical theatre company. Check them out at: www.eatcakeproductions.com.

Whaddya Gonna Do About It? Productions (Video Projections) was officially formed in 2000 in the state of Michigan by John Madden. Whaddya Gonna Do has produced Art Shows, Fundraisers, Music, Film, Cinema, and Television in Michigan, Texas, New York, and California. Currently, Whaddya Gonna Do is based in gorgeous San Francisco, CA, where the company produces both original work and work for hire, with a focus on fostering the good work environment that gives rise to the best in creative excellence.

Claire Zawa (Assistant Director) is very excited to work on this production with Woman's Will.  Other AD credits: 9 Parts of Desire with Joanna Settle & The Busy World is Hushed with Kimberly Senior for NEXT Theatre, Hundred Dresses with Allison Narver for Seattle Children's Theatre. Ms. Zawa's other hat is as an Equity Stage Manager; some favorites: CATHAY: Three Tales of China at Seattle Rep, Kennedy Center, New Victory Theatre, Vienna Festival, Austria; Native Son & Heartbreak House at INTIMAN; Crumbs are also Bread at Washington Ensemble Theatre (WET Collaborator); and BIRO and Frankenocchio at The Empty Space Theatre.

Press

Pat Craig of Oakland Tribune wrote: "a remarkably evocative and emotionally satisfying production... There is a real magic between Weak and Mbele-Mbong...": read his review.

PlayShakespeare.com says "All-in-all, it's a pretty straight production, and a straight production is really hard to do when you've only got five women playing all the parts. But they do it, and it's a testament to what this little fearless troupe is all about." Read the whole review.

Members of the Press can download print-quality photos from our password-protected press page.

All photos by Elizabeth Allen.