Well, here we are. It’s 2019.
We have reached the future that Asimov and PKD and plenty of other fiction authors aimed for; Dreamed about; Hoped that humanity could achieve so much, by this calendar-occasion.
Somehow, we’re still painfully in the present. We are subject to our technology in a form closer to Orwell than to Asimov. And we haven’t reached the social or technological heights that influenced my childhood.
When I was brought on to this production team, it was just the seed of an idea. What about an all-female Macbeth? It was barely a concept. But this project has evolved so far from its original query, in a bar, after attending some Shakespeare, as plenty of New York musings do; As I sit here, in the nexus between callbacks and first rehearsal, all I have is anticipation. We’ve come a long way from summer 2018’s original thought, and I cannot express my gratitude for being invited to be part of this evolution. Kyla (our intrepid director) and I spent weeks looking at the script until my eyes hurt. We made changes. Those changes made changes. And then some changes on top of that. But only two constants kept us going:
1) Where does identity play into the text?
2) Can we keep the core intentions of this piece intact while bringing it into a more modern era of identity?
I’m delighted to say that we were able to get very affirmative replies to that during our workshop process. And I’m thankful for the constructive criticism we received during that stage of the process.
The light bulb that went off during our editing process about handling social media and how the manipulations of society make us so susceptible is something that has brought this project into a whole new world of ideas. I won’t spoil some of the surprises we have in store, but suffice it to say that the witches’ presence plays nicely into the inescapable clutches technology holds on each of us. Especially you, reading this blog post on your phone while your train takes you to your next destination. We want you to come see this production, and what these immensely creative actors are bringing to our project. Just as this piece evolved from an original idea to a workshop reading, M.Beth is going to change form once again, as eleven brilliant and powerful actors bring even more surprises and bold choices to the stage.
I can’t wait for you all to see what comes next.
Thank you all for your support. I’ll see you in the seats.