I've just recently been in a production of Macbeth at school, and it
has been a most interesting experience for me and the rest of the
cast and crew. People becoming ill, fake blood everywhere, and other
strange occurrences which we should have expected considering the
stigma of the Scottish Play.

The play Macbeth has long been considered cursed, and merely speaking
the name in a theatre is considered bad luck, hence the euphemism,
'The Scottish Play'. We assumed we were safe, as we were in a
school, not a theatre. We were wrong. Apparently the presence of a
set makes a building a theatre, for, before long, the family members
of cast and crew were falling ill, some even in the hospital. Things
were getting weird.

Then the blood. Oh, the blood. Yet who would have thought the
bottle to have had so much blood in it. Our Tech Goddess, Amuntari, got us a bottle of fake blood, just one bottle, and before long, it was everywhere. Blood on costumes, blood on the stage, blood on the prop tables, on the props, everywhere. But that's nothing.

'A little water clears us of this deed.'

says Lady Macbeth.

Apparently not. As it turns out, the blood stains hands. After
performances, one could almost hear Vira, who played Lady Macbeth, thinking 'Out, damned spot! Out, I say!'

Now our production is over and done with, but Macbeth still seems to be everywhere. It's as if someone declared a Macbeth season and no
one bothered to tell me about it. First, a famous theatre company is
also doing Macbeth. No big deal. Next, an episode of Black Adder
airs in which Black Adder has a bit of fun with a pair of stuck up
actors by saying the name 'Macbeth' to them. Quite a coincidence. This morning I wake up and turn on the television for Saturday
morning cartoons and before I can change the channel, I realize I'm
watching a PBS kids show that just happened to be talking about
Macbeth today. Now I hear about a new movie, Scotland, P.A., which
is Macbeth set in Pennsylvania. Now this is weird.

I think it's Thursday. I know it's Saturday, but in a way it really
is Thursday. Only a Thursday would be so hard to get the hang of.

Spike Anderson

07.03.02 Front Page

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