Full of Sound and Fury; Macbeth through the looking glass

UCLA AUD 289.1 | 10F | Burke, Cuff, Payne

Tim Callan

Hana Kim

Josh Robinson

Pablo Santiago

DRAMATURGICAL NOTES Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Issues related to the decomposition of the mental state of an eponymous character are recurrent in Shake-

speare’s plays, and our staging concept for Macbeth supports this tradition. Macbeth is ostensibly a play

about guilt, and takes de rigeur tropes of theatrical drama during Shakespeare’s time (Revenge Tragedy)

and critiques them through the portrayal of the destructive effects they have on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

In this way, Shakespeare offers a critique of a contemporary form of mediation by injecting it with certain

aspects of reality.

We declare this to be the basis for our interpretation of Macbeth. In our staging, the themes of insanity

and character devolution are retained, but in this case, the dereliction of the original state of our Macbeth is

amplified—in our Macbeth, he is a lone character on stage, the events in the play are mediated by the play’s

only prop, a reflective cube. Each of the four vertical surfaces that define the cube are rear projected with

the characters, actions and scenes of the play, and our character both observes and interacts with the events

that unfold on screen. He holds dialogue with the projected characters, and interacts physically with the

cube, turning it and unfolding its surfaces to create different configurations on stage that enable different

scenes. In such a way, our Macbeth, although he is actually Macbeth in the context of this play, is not in the

context of history or life in general. This play becomes another in a series but at the same time a separate,

unique, and individual recategorization.

Through reiteration and self-reference our Macbeth openly questions historicism and the realization of

self. The surfaces’ dual condition of being both projected upon as well as reflective indicates their symbolic

multivalence and are a reference to an intrinsic state of media’s both reflective and projective relationship

with culture. Simultaneously, this duality brings forward and illustrates the multiplicitous nature of man-

kind’s image of itself. That this media-object is the only prop on stage calls to question the predominance of

the mediated scene in our world, and asks to what extent this image comprises our total reality. The simple

repetition of the panels begs to be considered in the minimalist context, a vision of a comprehensible truth,

but this vision is immediately fractured by the mirrors unceasing inclusion of everything, including the audi-

ence in this case. This fracturing is then compounded by the inclusion of projected media. All of these layers

of representation are closely tied to Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra. In this way the minimalist quest

to pare down elements in search of the essential only implodes infinitely.

The play contains no clear answer to whether these are visions, hallucinations, or virtual interactions.

Is the lone character insane, or is he merely a representation of contemporary man, saturated with outside

images whose origins are ambiguous and impossible to know? This question brings our Macbeth to a head.

The obvious layering of representation, the symbols of symbols, the reflection of a thing, which is actually

some other thing, the simulacra confronts Macbeth and the audience. It divides attentions and intentions,

it confounds. The minimalism, on the other hand, retains. The audience in the mirror, not their reflection,

the actor not “Macbeth,” the projector and not the projections are actual things. They are not of the play and

yet they are inextricable from it. The manner of this realization is one in which whether or not we know the

purpose of a thing does not preclude a lack of meaning. It is the basis of our Macbeth as a tragedy, for he

succumbs to this unknown, equating the signification of nothing to the actuality of nothing, and never seeing

through the looking glass.

THE LOOKING GLASS,

reflective cube

180 degree door hinges

latch

Rosco Shrink Mirror

A

A

Hitachi CP-A200 or equivalent

plan cut at 3’-0”

Rear elevation in unfolded state

section A-A

(possible)

PUPPETING STRATEGY,

according to Macbeth’s emotional connec-

tion to other characters

Lady Macbeth as a reflection of Macbeth himself,two faces should see each other, strong narcissistic love

configuration for three witches, three murderers mirror for Duncan mirror for Banquo

STORYBOARD The cube sits upstage center during the preshow. The audience can see it. Minimal lighting.

ACT1 SCENE III Enter the witches The show begins with Lightning and Thunder—they get the audience’s attention. Images of

the three witches are being projected on the cube, one per side. As the prophecies are being delivered the cube

begins to spin and travel downstage.

Third Witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”

As the cube arrives downstage it stops spinning. Macbeth comes downstage to the front of the box revealing he

was the one pushing the cube.

ACT III SCENE I Banquo is in the SL side of the “V” giving his speech. Macbeth is on the SR side of the “V”.

Banquo says, “… But that myself should be the root and father Of many kings. If there come truth

from them,-”

ACT III SCENE I Macbeth comes to center and pushes the screen flat. Now he can see Banquo and Lady Macbeth who ap-

pears.

Banquo says, “As far, my lord, as will fill up the time ‘Twixt this and supper: go not my horse the

better, I must become a borrower of the night for a dark hour or twain.”

ACT III SCENE I Then Banquo is gone. Macbeth pushes the “V” again to the opposite direction. He stands in the middle of

the space and converses with the projection of Lady Macbeth. At the end of ACT III, Macbeth straightens

the screens again.

ACT III SCENE II

SCENE III

(done simultaneously)

All 4 screens are extended into a line being dragged across the stage- SR to SL. On the screens are abstract-

ed images of soldiers looking for Banquo.

Sound: a repetitive and monotone bass note is heard. Whispers are heard with bits of dialogue from scene 3.

“...and near approaches the subject of our watch”

“A light, A light”

“O, treachery! - Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly, Thou mayst revenge. - O slave!”

ACT III SCENE II

SCENE III

(done simultaneously)

At this moment Macbeth pushes the screen where Banquo appeared and a

sound effect supports that moment Banquo is dead.

(Simultaneously) Macbeth and projection of Lady Macbeth carry on con-

versation of ACT III SCENE II.

Macbeth says, “...Thou marvell’s at my words: but hold thee still;

Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill: So prithee, go

with me.”

Once that happens Macbeth folds the screens back into a cube as if he is

trying to trap Banquo. When the cube is back together the murderers ap-

pear explaining that Fleance escape. Macbeth spins the cube. He knows

Fleance fled, he opens the cube looking for him obsessively. He keeps on

folding and unfolding the screens looking for him until the configuration is

like below.

ACT III SCENE IV Macbeth leans against the “V” configuration-exhausted. Lady Macbeth projection appears on the screen.

Lady Macbeth’s projection and Macbeth’s reflection are on top of each other. Macbeth delivers his lines as

if he is talking to others at a banquet. There is no response.

Macbeth says, “You know your own degrees, sit down: at first and last the hearty welcome.”

All we hear is the conversation between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Silent otherwise, as if the banquet is

not really happening.

ACT III SCENE IV

The ghost of Banquo appears on the screen intermittently.

Macbeth says, “Which of you have done this?”

Lady Macbeth says, “This is the very painting of your fear: This is

the air-drawn dagger which, you said, let you to Duncan...”

Eventually not only do we see Banquo’s projection going in and out and

switching screens, but now we also see Macbeth’s projection and some-

times dissolving between the two.

ACT III SCENE IV Macbeth has had enough. He reconfigures the cube and pushes it upstage violently.

All projection turn off. It is just a mirror cube. Macbeth collapses. We hear whispers of Lennox and Lord

casting suspicion on Macbeth.

Lennox says, “Fly to the court of England, and unfold his message ere he come; that a swift bless

ing may soon return to this our suffering country under a hand occurst.”

ACT III SCENE IV Macbeth leans against the “V” configuration-exhausted. Lady Macbeth projection appears on the screen.

Lady Macbeth’s projection and Macbeth’s reflection are on top of each other. Macbeth delivers his lines as

if he is talking to others at a banquet. There is no response.

Macbeth says, “You know your own degrees, sit down: at first and last the hearty welcome.”

All we hear is the conversation between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Silent otherwise, as if the banquet is

not really happening.