July 28, 2004

Riverside Shakespeare stages 'Macbeth' in Hannah Park

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       Herald contributing writer
      The bucolic surroundings - the flowing river, lush grass and whispering trees - faded as the dark drama of "Macbeth" unfolded in Hannah Park Sunday evening.
      Gripping the audience of more than 100 people, William Shakespeare's tale of power and prophecy, betrayal and retribution wove its spell. Carried by the skilled acting of the Riverside Shakespeare company, many of whom are veterans of the Old Town Playhouse and elsewhere, the cast includes Brian Dungjen as Macbeth, Michelle Perez as Lady Macbeth and Tom Czarny as MacDuff.
      After four years of presenting Shakespeare's rollicking comedies, this summer Riverside Shakespeare detoured into evil, madness and mayhem for it's three-weekend run.
      "It's fun, playing bad is more fun than playing good," Dungjen noted. "People might admire or applaud the good character more but for an actor, playing the evil or devious person is just great fun."
      An actor for two decades who has a theater degree, Dungjen eagerly embraced what he terms a 'choice Shakespearean role.' The richly textured archaic language of The Bard's writings has also fascinated him for years.
      "You start reciting those lines and it is so beautiful and you start wondering, 'Gee, why don't we speak like this now?'­" Dungjen said. "The way the sentences are structured, the word order is different than people are used to. It is a beautiful way to express yourself."
      Bringing theater outdoors harks back to Shakespeare's roots, when open air venues and daytime presentations were a necessity. However, modern day noises sometimes provide a discordant symphony as a background noise. Dungjen noted that the actors compensate by playing their role broadly while still preserving as many subtleties as possible.
      "Playing Shakespeare outside is the hardest thing, it does affect your characterization," he said. "Because there's no reverberation [provided by walls] the sound goes out all 360 degrees."
      Michelle Perez portrayed the Lady Macbeth, whose burning ambition for power prompts her husband to kill his king, to murder his best friend and family. Lady Macbeth's participation in the deeds eventually drives her to madness - spawning one of the most famous lines in literature: "Out, damned spot! out I say!" - and suicide.
      Perez said characters such as Lady Macbeth transcend Shakespeare's time, noting parallels with strong women of the modern era who struggle with ambition and power.
      "It's fun to think about what Shakespeare was saying that many hundreds of years ago, and how really ahead of his time he was," said Perez, who previously appeared in the 2002 Riverside Shakespeare production of 'As You Like It.' "Because there's some very modern lessons to be taken from it, just very basic human lessons of greed and being a good human being."
      Director Phil Murphy honed the five-act play with a careful eye, winnowing out some lengthy dialogue to keep the pace moving. He also felt that despite the sunny, park-like stage, the presentation of "Macbeth" honors the play's serious mood and still entertains.
      "It's kind of tough, there are certain things that are just the realities of the situation, some of the more brooding aspects of the play," he said. "But at the same time, it's like anything else that's of a classical nature, it has a timelessness within its structure, its dialogue and its characters, that speaks beyond the darkness."
      Dungjen and Jill Beauchamp, a local drama teacher and actress, co-founded Riverside Shakespeare five years ago. They presented "Love's Labor Lost" in 2000, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 2001, "As You Like It" in 2002 and "Twelfth Night" in 2003. They are co-producing "Macbeth" this year, although Beauchamp took a year off from acting in the production.
      "We're both huge Shakespeare fans and it was an added benefit that Shakespeare doesn't charge any royalties," Dungjen said, who had eyed Hannah Park for years as a outdoor theater. "A happy combination of both of us having the time to spend and the desire to do something along this vein and the perfect venue to do it in."
      "Macbeth" will be presented on the following dates: Sunday, August 1; Saturday, August 7 and Sunday August 8. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at Hannah Park, Sixth and Union streets. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.