Open Arms: An Interview with the Assistant Director of MACBETH, Natalie Gee

Meet Tyasia, a member of CSC NextGen!

Tyasia (aka Asia)

Grade: 11

Hobbies/Interests: I like singing, acting, dancing, basketball, step-team, writing, poetry, musical theatre, community service, and voiceovers.

What aspects of theatre are you most interested in? I am most interested in themes that are portrayed in a piece.

What parts of the MACBETH rehearsal process are you most interested in telling other students about? The ensemble process and how much fun it will be!

Anything else we should know? I love musicals! I can’t wait to see what CSC will do next!

Asia recently assistant directed a production of the musical INTO THE WOODS at her high school. She so enjoyed the experience that she wanted to meet with a fellow assistant director and learn more! She had the opportunity to speak with Natalie about her role as Assistant Director for MACBETH. Here's what Nat had to say!

Natalie (aka Nat)

What are the job responsibilities of an assistant director? To be the director's second pair of eyes and in taking detailed notes that capture the positive yet also the weaknesses in the text, performances, and the production as a whole. To ensure the director's artistic vision is clearly understood and investigated by the actors. To be able to contribute your own personal ideas to the team and offer other choices for the actors on how to see, feel and play with the text in rehearsals. Allow the actors to feel comfortable to explore and take risks during rehearsals.

How did you get the job of being an assistant director? I was very lucky that back in January 2011 I began an internship with CSC and have been fortunate to work with them on and off since then. I met Tony Speciale, the director of Macbeth, through CSC and we became friends. I told Tony I would always love to work with him one day and he called me up a few weeks before rehearsals for Mackers begun and asked if I'd be interested in being Assistant Director for the production. Of course, I accepted with open arms.

What is your working relationship like with Tony, the director? Tony is a wonderful director, his vision is so unique and captivating. Tony is not territorial about his work and was really supportive in my ideas and interpretation, it was an absolute joy to see him work and be able to give my opinions. It was great to have such trust between us.

What is the best part of your job? So many things!! Getting to work with such a passionate director and cast. I love being able to go on a journey with an actor and mentor them through their choices and ideas about a character. Directing an actor and pushing them to commit and go deeper with their acting is very exciting and inspiring.

What is your connection with the actors? What is it like to work with a large ensemble? The actors were all very talented and committed. It was wonderful to work with such a open minded and playful cast. At first, I have to be honest, I was intimidated by such a large cast (20 actors) but when you realize everyone is committed and wants the best for the production you become like a family and trust in one another that you're doing your best to make Mackers a fun and exciting show. I hope you enjoyed it.

Post-Show Workshops

Fortunately for student audiences, the fun doesn't end at the curtain call of MACBETH. Schools traveling to CSC have the option of staying for a post-show workshop led by the cast. Below are some pictures from last Thursday. Schools in attendance were Harlem Academy, The Packer School, and Frances Perkins Academy.

The post-show workshop begins with a Q&A with the cast. Students have the opportunity to ask questions specific to the play, to acting, and to the technical aspects of the production. Many students ask questions to actors about their characters. Some of the questions from Thursday included, "How easy is it to play off a mistake in Shakespeare?", "What is the blood made of?", "What are your favorite lines from the play?", and "How do you get the helmet to glow?".

The MACBETH cast during the Q&A. 

The second part in the workshop is led by cast member Casey, the fight choreographer for MACBETH. He breaks down a portion of the final fight sequence between Macduff and Macbeth step-by-step for the student audience. It's really neat to learn the tricks! Most importantly, Casey talks about safety with fight choreography. He is a trained professional, and his job is to not only choreograph and teach an authentic looking fight for the actors, but also to ensure that it is executed safely and no one gets hurt. "Kids, don't try this at home!", he always says!

Matt (Macduff) ducks while Dan (Macbeth) swings his dagger. Casey (Lenox and fight choreographer) looks on and talks the audience through the fight. 

The third and final part of the workshop is an exchange of Shakespearean insults. Yes, you read that right! Did you know that Shakespeare is credited for having created hundreds of popular words in the English language? During Thursday's workshop, Ito (Hecate) chimed in that Shakespeare invented the word "swagger" so Shakespeare is the "original swag"!

A Packer student hurls an insult across the stage.

Two Harlem Academy students have fun creating the most heinous Shakespearean insult yet!

Even teachers get to play! Students from Harlem Academy cheer on their teacher.

"I'm Enough" - an interview with actress Ito Aghayere, playing Hecate in MACBETH

ITO, ITO, ITO

I don't know what initially makes her so unapproachable to me, but she was. Before we sat down and she started speaking, I was scared to talk to her. I had a "game plan" that was simple and to the point.

This article was written
by Christina, a member
 of CSC NextGen.

No jokes, no laughing. Boy, was I wrong.

 "I act because it's a chance to be honest," she says so simply. As I talk to Ito I just remember how this was nothing like I expected. She was so honest and out there. There's no way to describe how unexpected our conversation was. "That moment before you get there,"  is her answer to the question of what's her favorite part of acting, "...Getting there. Doing what you want. Getting where you really want to be. That second before everything falls into place."

One role she would love to play that she hasn't yet is Harriet Tubman. Then she blows me away by saying something you don't really think about when you think about her. In a nutshell, Harriet Tubman started it all. She was the first African American women to do something huge, like the Underground Railroad, that really helped other African Americans. 

Then I asked her what was a role she really wanted but never got to play. As she answers I could see the passion in her eyes about a play called "The Suit" The part she wanted was 'the woman' (what a name for a character, I know.)

Ito at the opening night reception.

Then I just had to ask her about Macbeth, and how she felt about Shakespeare in general. Her first thoughts are as follows: "I thought it was for white people." But since then her views have changed. She praises the writing, and speaks about how his character are real, how he writes about people. Race and culture doesn't really matter, its just about the story line. She added that, "Shakespeare done conventionally is death." Her favorite play by him is HAMLET.


"What do you think about Macbeth? Because I hate him." I laughed. I can't stress how much this interview went nothing like I planned. She just wants me to quotes lines that I thought I would never hear her say. "Macbeth is... Saddam Hussein, the gang member, every bad person in the real world… but he's human." This is so true. He is the the backstabber, the fake friend, the gossip, the murderer. "I feel for him. With everything he goes thorough I feel for him as well… but that doesn't make me hate him less."

Her Role of Hecate is so odd. But in my eyes, so her. Even before I got to really talk to her and not fear from the side lines, I could tell. I asked her how she becomes the character Hecate. "First get rid of the 'witch' …I like to think about her as if she worked in finance… she would be a direct manger… she would set them straight." That IS what Hecate does, she sets the other witches straight.

Ito (Hecate in MACBETH) in rehearsal. Lauren (witch)
acts along with her in this scene.

I saw MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Classic Stage Company (which Ito also starred in, as Beatrice) and I saw one of her rehearsals for MACBETH. She always play roles where the character has a strong will and/or stands out a lot in my perspective. I asked her: is that the type of role you go for most of the time, or do the roles match your personality? She answers, "How to fill a role is 50% you and 50% character, meaning every role will be different". Depending on the way YOU, and the director, see the character, it will be different. What you bring to a character will be based off of you. "I have fun with them," she says.

Then I got a little personal. I asked her what her passions are. She said producing, business development, and marketing. She has to be great off that alone. But then she has a passion for her church, Liberty Church, she puts a lot of work into it. She also sings. But the thing that stands out the most to me is that she collects "jars of things". She loves to make time capsules. One of the projects she did made me actually start one! You take a jar and in it you put slips of paper with good things that happened on it over the year. You write down things that made you happy, memories, anything. And at the end of the year, you go back and read them, it's a cool way to relive those special moments.

What's the scariest part of an audition? "Getting past the fear of not getting the job."

What is the best/worst part of being an actor? She says the best would be being exhausted, being spent, knowing you put your all into everything you did for the show. And the worst would be juggling. 

We ended the interview with a question I love to ask everyone. It's my favorite question because it makes you look back on you, on what you wish you did differently. The question is: what is it you know now that you wish you knew when you started?  "I'm enough."

Let me tell you, Ito, you are. You are a beast. You go on that stage and people remember you. You are what I want to be.

An Interview with the Director

Now that MACBETH is in production, audiences might have some questions about the man who made it all happen...Director Tony Speciale! Below is an interview which can also be found in the MACBETH study guide.

CSC NextGen students meeting with MACBETH director Tony Speciale.

Why MACBETH? Why now?
Macbeth is one of the greatest tragedies in all literature. It’s also a perfect introduction for young audiences to Shakespeare because it’s fast, it’s furious, the language is accessible and there are no complicated subplots. It’s also a lot of fun to work on! The play is as brutal and relevant today as it was when first performed because human beings by nature are ambitious and deceptive creatures. We all have skeletons in our closets. We all are faced with moments in our lives when we have to make a choice that tests the boundaries of our individual morality and integrity. MACBETH is a warning, a wake-up call, reminding us that our actions have an undeniable cause and effect in the universe. You can’t compartmentalize who you are from what you do. Your actions determine your character. Karma is real and it’s accumulative. The remarkable thing about the character Macbeth is that we like and relate to him. He’s smart, he’s vulnerable, he’s a survivor yet he does wicked things. However, an audience shouldn’t walk away from the theatre wanting to be like the character Macbeth. Instead Macbeth should help us put into perspective the difficult choices we face in our own lives, bring forth an awareness of the mysterious forces at play in our own destinies, and perhaps most importantly, remind us that we are an active participant in how our futures unfold.

I’m pretty sure you have seen other Macbeth plays. What didn’t you like about some? How will you change it in your direction?
I’ve actually never seen MACBETH. I’ve only read it. For me part of the joy of working on Shakespeare is doing modern productions. I’m not interested in replicating Elizabethan productions because the reality is no one knows exactly how they did it back then! We have some ideas but the stagecraft was so different during Shakespeare’s time that it’s mostly guesswork. Personally I like fast, anachronistic, visceral productions of Shakespeare. Our production of MACBETH is a psychological thriller with fantastical moments of spectacle tossed in. It doesn’t take place in one particular time period or with a large conceptual twist. The play is largely about time and how time—or lack there of—weighs heavily in the choices we make, so it’s fitting that the play feels timeless.One of the unique things about doing a play at CSC is the intimacy of the space. The audience is really in on the action because they’re only a few feet away from the actors. It feels almost voyeuristic. I imagine this intimacy will allow for a microscopic look at Macbeth and his vulnerabilities. I think the goal is for the audience to care for him, even though he does horrific things. In many ways he’s a victim.

How did you decide the way you would portray the witches?
In every Shakespeare play there is a character or group of characters that pose an interpretative challenge for a modern director. In A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM it’s the fairies. In THE TEMPEST it’s the sprites. In MACBETH it’s the witches. Who are they? Why are they in the play? What kind of magic do they truly wield and why are they so invested in the character Macbeth? In our production, the witches represent the trapped souls of the widows of fallen soldiers. Their pain and loss compel them to set in motion a chain reaction of events through their power of prophecy and conjuration. One may also perceive them as figments of Macbeth’s imagination. One idea I’m interested in exploring is the notion that Macbeth is experiencing post-traumatic stress from his service in the military. He went through something life-altering on the battlefield and his psyche is irrevocably damaged. The witches represent a physical manifestation of his emotional and psychological disorder. His darkest secrets and desires are brought to the surface as a result. The witches only shine a light on what’s already there.

Which scene do you anticipate being the most challenging scene to direct?
I think Act V is going to be challenging. The play is episodic in nature but the final act has several short scenes that snap back and forth between locations (e.g. interior castle scenes followed by exterior wood scenes). I find it difficult in general to do battle scenes on stage. Films do them much more realistically. On stage I often see fight choreography that is either poorly executed or that is just weak and so abstract that it avoids the brutality of war completely. I’d like to have incredible moments of realistic fighting followed by more metaphoric and abstract movement that could only take place in the theatre. Shakespeare is poetic after all,and the theatre allows a production the opportunity to be larger than reality. And then there’s Macbeth’s severed head at the end. Not sure how we’re going to do that. Guess you’ll have to come see the production to find out!

Opening Night!

Friday was opening night for MACBETH! Congratulations to the cast, crew, artistic team, and everyone at CSC who worked their magic to make this happen!

Cast and crew members celebrating at the opening night reception.

Cast and crew members celebrating at the opening night reception.

Patrick (former Young Company member from ROMEO AND JULIET), Greg (future Young Company member) with Tony Speciale (Director) 

Tony Speciale (Director) with Kathleen Dorman (Education Manager, CSC)

Aviation High School

Last week concluded an in-school residency at Aviation HS in Queens. Teaching Artists, Matt and Lauren, worked with the students to develop short scenes from MACBETH. Everyone is excited to see the production very soon!

Students warming up their bodies in a physical exercise. Gettin' ready for some Shakespeare!

Students rehearsing their scene.

Look at these actors go!

Students presenting their rehearsed scene to the group.

Teaching Artists, Lauren and Matt, in action!

Meet Tyiesha!

Name: Tyiesha

Grade: 12 

Hobbies/Interests: I like singing, reading, acting, martial arts, and Girl Scouts.

What aspects of theatre are you most interested in? I am interested in casting, acting, directing, and set design. 

What parts of the MACBETH rehearsal process are you most interested in telling other students about? The directing and set design process.

 

Tyiesha had the opportunity to sit in on one of the final production meetings for MACBETH and observe the lighting designer. Here are some of her thoughts on the experience...

I never knew how interesting the lighting aspect of a show could be. Working on the lighting board was a new and fun experience. Until now I was unaware of how important lighting actually is. It can set the time of day, or night, of the play and can signify the atmosphere changing with each scene. There are so many different buttons and switches on the board that at first its rather confusing but it was easy to get a hang of it. With one board its possible to create hundreds of different scenarios all on one stage.



Asia, Tyiesha, John and Christopher (Lighting Designer and Props Master)



Working in the lighting booth!