Shakespeare & Company showcases power and shame in "Macbeth"

12:00AM / Monday, June 03, 2002Print Story | Email Story

Shakespeare & Company critically-acclaimed actor Dan McCleary (last year's Coriolanus) will take the daggers in the title role of William Shakespeare's murderous tale of lustful power and vaulting ambition: Macbeth. Award-winning Artistic Director Tina Packer, with Associate Director and Fight Choreographer Tony Simotes, brings one of Shakespeare's most popular and bloody tragedies to Founders' Theatre from June 12 through August 31. Press Opening is Wednesday, June 19 at 8 pm. "What causes people to do violent acts?" posited Packer to her cast this past week in rehearsal. "Can there be any insights that may help look at these painful, terrible acts through performances of a Shakespeare play? There are, of course, many many answers to the first question - all of which we are doing our best to immerse ourselves in. And I hope by using Will Shakespeare's psychological and political knowledge there may be a way of perceiving these acts that give us some insight. "In any case, this was our motive in choosing to do Macbeth. The shocks of the last year cannot be ignored. It is only possible to keep asking questions about it so that through wisdom we can see what to do. An artist's job is to ask the questions. A politician's job is to try and find the practical solutions. Macbeth is a dark play, but one made sublime by the poetry and the struggle. Macbeth is no ordinary killer. He has the soul of a poet and a love for life, and yet he ends up becoming one of the great tyrants, killing people, personally and politically. Shakespeare maps his decline in minute detail, including his private ambitions, which play a major part in his tyranny; and to quote Amos Oz: "'Poets undertake to do what is beyond the power of the politicians, to delve into the depths of the other's soul, to voice his fears and traumas, to concern themselves not with questions of borders and arrangements but with questions of suspicions and anxieties.'" Packer's Macbeth, a Bare Bard-style production that focuses on Shakespeare's text, is similar to Shakespeare's own touring productions, which took to the countryside when the plague shook London and closed down the theatres. Written around 1606, Macbeth is Shakespeare's most intensive study of evil at work in the individual and in the world at large. In their quest for power, Macbeth and his Queen let nothing stand in their way. Blind ambition, remorseless treachery, and supernatural soliciting combine to create one of the most harrowing and compelling stories in western civilization. "This play is about the machinations of our minds -- what allows us to take a step away from our humanity," says Simotes. "It is possible for an honorable person to do a dishonorable thing, for a compassionate person to be capable of cruelty." Shakespeare's Macbeth is the good Thane of Glamis who, before the start of the play, has just put down a rebellion against Scotland and its King Duncan. Macbeth and his close friend Banquo are met by a supernatural soliciting of witches that foretell Macbeth shall be promoted to Thane of Cawdor, and ultimately to king. They prophecy Banquo's children shall become kings. Macbeth's thoughts surprisingly and immediately question the murderous nature of such promotions, but his personal ambition and passionate love for his ambitious wife won't allow the bloody thought to dissipate. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, takes a bond of fate with the evil forces of nature, forces she feels her husband cannot call upon in order to "do the deed" if killing Duncan. Together, they murder Duncan in his sleep in their own house and begin trying to cover up their deed. This begins a bloody succession of murders, which includes those of Banquo, Lady Macduff, and Macduff's children. Both the Macbeths deal with their guilt and shame differently: Lady Macbeth going mad and dying, Macbeth struggling to gloss his fear with fury and bury his shame with death. It isn't until Macduff receives news of his family's slaughter that he returns to combat Macbeth, who believes the witches' prophesy that he will not die until Birnam Wood marches toward his castle or until a man not born of woman confronts him. Macduff and Malcolm's (son of Duncan) armies hew down branches and march in camouflage toward Dunsinane, and Macduff, exposing himself as "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, cows Macbeth into fighting as a mortal man and dying his mortal "dusty death." Malcolm then is crowned rightful king, but without evidence of how he will now rule Scotland or if Macbeth's lessons have been learned. The eight-member cast includes Dan McCleary as Macbeth/Macduff's young child, Carolyn Roberts as Lady Macbeth/Murderer, Henry David Clarke as Malcolm/Murderer, Jennie Israel as Lady Macduff/Seyton, Jason Asprey as Macduff/Murderer, Michael Hammond as Duncan/Porter/Old Man, Johnny Lee Davenport as Banquo/Doctor, and Judith McSpadden as Fleance/Ross. Each actor plays multiple roles, including the fabled Weird Sisters, who in this production are more Macbeth's personal projections of modern-day power and fear than gown-clad spooks. The costumes are designed by Govanne Lohbauer, set design by Judy Gailen, properties by Carrie Capizzano, with sound designed by Mark Huang, and lighting by Karen Perlow. The cast, examining a number of essays on violence, shame, and fear, especially including those of Dr. James Gilligan, is exploring the role of violence in society and how/why it has manifested itself through the ages. "Many things have shifted for us since the tragedies of September 11," says Simotes, "including the way we think about violence and how we bring it into the rehearsal. Leading a fight class used to be much lighter for me, and more about the craft itself. It's a deeper emotional connection both physically and psychologically because the work is now a reflection of what is happening in the world today. As artists we have a responsibility not only to understand the violence within us but how this power can corrupt and devastate a family, a society, a nation. This time, the process has been much more visceral for myself and the company. The violence is a very fertile place for us to be working right now. We take care of each other, but we must tell a story of blood." "I'd like to think that if we can dive into the 'blood' deeply enough," says McCleary, "and study the unconscious of the fearful, shamed, love-lorn self, then we can begin to ask the brutal questions in a non-blameful way, in a way the actors and the audience can collectively hear, consider, and feel our grief together and then resolve to heal. It is a high calling, we take it seriously, and we're chomping at the bit to start this visceral debate with an audience." At a Glance Production: Macbeth in Founders' Theatre Directors: Tina Packer and Tony Simotes Cast: Jason Asprey, Henry David Clarke, Johnny Lee Davenport, Michael Hammond, Jennie Israel, Dan McCleary, Judith McSpadden, and Carolyn Roberts. Costume Designer: Govane Lohbauer Fight Choreography: Tony Simotes Lighting Designer: Karen Perlow Properties: Carrie Capizano Scenic Designer: Judy Gailen Sound Designer: Mark Huang Dates: Previews: June 12-16 at 8:00 pm Press Opening: June 19 at 8:00 pm. Tickets: $10.00-$45.00 in three reserved seating sections; Student, Senior, and Group Rates available. Box Office: (413) 637-3353; www.shakespeare.org.

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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:32PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course.

The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication.

"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."

LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates.

"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.

The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.

"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back.

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