Spring Break
Maximum Impact With A Minimalist Stage
Carolyn Morway
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Focus
"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" One of the many memorable quotations in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" was brilliantly shrieked by Heddy Lahmann, who played Lady Macbeth opening night, as she rubbed her hands together vigorously and sank to the stage floor bemoaning her murderous guilt.
There were numerous scenes in which the talented cast, under director Paul Barnes, effectively reached out to the audience sitting in the Nafe Katter Theatre and entranced them with the characters' bloodthirsty thoughts, deceiving schemes and overwhelming anguish.
"I really liked the casting of Macduff [played by Nicholas Dillenburg] and I liked the journey from the beginning to the end and I loved the Witches!" said Mallory Cunningham, an 8th-semester acting major.
The play, made possible by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), UConn School of Fine Arts and the Department of Dramatic Arts, also used a clever, minimalist stage set-up. The use of wooden pikes, some with severed heads impaled on top, dark stage lighting and few props added to the dark and tragic tone.
"I liked the set. It mirrored the barbaric theme of the play quite accurately," said Brian Oleksiw, a 4th-semester English education major from Central Connecticut State University.
"Macbeth" is set in both ancient Scotland and Britain; however, the play also incorporated the setting of a dark otherworld through the ingenious use of trap doors and smoke as well as great performances by Lauretta Pope, Teddy Yudain and Alysa Auriemma, who played the three witches. "Macbeth" will continue playing through March 4, and is an on-campus show that is not to be missed.
"I liked it a lot. It's a really great theater. I didn't even know it was here," said Jonny Schreiber, a 4th-semester English major. "It's great, you can go and have an evening of culture."
The winning combination of persuasive acting and excellent staging makes for a very enjoyable and entertaining rendition of one of Shakespeare's best-known tragedies.
There were numerous scenes in which the talented cast, under director Paul Barnes, effectively reached out to the audience sitting in the Nafe Katter Theatre and entranced them with the characters' bloodthirsty thoughts, deceiving schemes and overwhelming anguish.
"I really liked the casting of Macduff [played by Nicholas Dillenburg] and I liked the journey from the beginning to the end and I loved the Witches!" said Mallory Cunningham, an 8th-semester acting major.
The play, made possible by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), UConn School of Fine Arts and the Department of Dramatic Arts, also used a clever, minimalist stage set-up. The use of wooden pikes, some with severed heads impaled on top, dark stage lighting and few props added to the dark and tragic tone.
"I liked the set. It mirrored the barbaric theme of the play quite accurately," said Brian Oleksiw, a 4th-semester English education major from Central Connecticut State University.
"Macbeth" is set in both ancient Scotland and Britain; however, the play also incorporated the setting of a dark otherworld through the ingenious use of trap doors and smoke as well as great performances by Lauretta Pope, Teddy Yudain and Alysa Auriemma, who played the three witches. "Macbeth" will continue playing through March 4, and is an on-campus show that is not to be missed.
"I liked it a lot. It's a really great theater. I didn't even know it was here," said Jonny Schreiber, a 4th-semester English major. "It's great, you can go and have an evening of culture."
The winning combination of persuasive acting and excellent staging makes for a very enjoyable and entertaining rendition of one of Shakespeare's best-known tragedies.
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