“Heightened visuals matched with heightened text to create an intimate experience of three women kicking ass.”
This is how playwright and director Phillip Psutka describes his unique expanding of Shakespeare in Weird: The Witches of Macbeth, boiling and bubbling onto the Gladstone Theatre stage Wednesday night.
If you think you know Macbeth (errr...The Scottish Play for all you superstitious folk) from stage left to stage right, it's time to look above. Psutka’s makes the Bard’s characters truly soar as Weird goes vertical. These witches are not just huddled and cackling around their cauldron, they twist, twirl and move through the air with haunting imagery.
Theatre Arcturus's Weird is like what might have happened if Shakespeare and James Anthony Bailey could have developed a production with Cirque du Soleil.
With some of the hurly-burly done in rehearsals, I had a chance to chat about the show with Psutka as well as the Weird Sisters themselves Lindsay Bellaire, Lauren Fields, and Emily Hughes.
Andre Gagne: I always enjoy when people expand on Shakespeare's works like you are doing here. What was the nucleus behind the idea to pen Weird?
Phillip Psutka: When we first started Arcturus, we were looking for a story to take inspiration from that would allow the aerial arts to be incorporated into the world of the show in an almost literal way. Loving Shakespeare, the Witches were a natural fit as the silks could be a physical manifestation of their power that they pull from the natural world around them to execute their charms.
Did you find it difficult to weave your words around Shakespeare's for, what I have read, is a pretty seamless blending?
Phillip Psutka: Man, that was scary! Our first version of Weird only used text that was already found in Macbeth (i.e. other characters’ lines), but the response from the audience was that the story wasn’t clear. So I took the story that we had established, expanded upon it, and banged out the first draft of an (80%) original script around Shakespeare’s text in two weeks, due to the fact that we were beginning rehearsals for the next run the following month. I think that’s when I learned that I work well with hard, intense deadlines and that strict parameters help me get out of my own way.
What impressed you most about the script upon first reading it?
Lauren Fields: Phil’s ability to write the emotional journey of 3 completely different women.
Emily Hughes: The fluidity with which Phil has integrated his own text with the original Shakespearean text is incredible. He's done an amazing job expanding this story in a way that's really believable.
What was it about the Weird Sisters you found made you want to focus on those particular characters out of, say, the others in Shakespeare's works you could have?
Phillip Psutka: Their story had lots of untold potential. The silks could be integrated into the world of the play in a seamless and believable way. Everyone loves witches (as we’ve learned from hearing audience feedback).
It’s three women making mistakes, taking massive action to right their situation, and kicking ass.
These are some of the most iconic characters in literature. What are some of the elements you brought in to put your own slant on the Weird Sisters?
Lauren Fields: Witch 2 has a lot of my own personality. Finding complete joy in every activity and managing to find the fun in every situation is something that comes very naturally to me, and as an actress I take a lot of inspiration from challenging stereotypes about characters like the witches. Stereotypically the witches are frightening, creepy, and scary. I found a lot of joy in challenging that stereotype.
Emily Hughes: I'd say it's all in the writing and the silks. Phil's writing really humanizes the witches in a way I haven't seen before, making them literal sisters who's sibling squabbles get them into a mess when they try to mess with fate. This really gives these characters some meat beyond what you'd see in a staging of Macbeth and as such gives us all a lot more juicy backstory to draw from. They're fallible and I think, as such, more relatable. And then, on the flip side, is the silks. It's really cool to use these as a real physical element to bring the charms to life. Circus is already this sort of superhuman thing and so it really helps elevate these human characters into the supernatural realm. So while the text grounds us, the silks contrast that and elevate us at the same time.
Now having portrayed them, why do you feel the world of the Weird Sisters are characters that can be expanded upon outside of the original play?
Lauren Fields: Macbeth would have been a completely different play had the witches not been involved. Part of what makes Macbeth so interesting as a play is how the women really drive the plot. The witches reveal to Macbeth that he’s going to be king, then lady Macbeth completely motivates the momentum of action afterward.
The men tend to take centre stage in a lot of the big Shakespeare plays, so it’s nice to give the supporting roles, especially the female roles, more of a voice. For Shakespeare’s supernatural beings, and even Shakespeare’s women, the witches are just the tip of a VERY large iceberg.
Emily Hughes: We're dealing with magic, so really anything is possible. Also people love the witches and they hold a fairly small, if significant, role in Macbeth, so why not see what happens with them in all that time between their scenes in the original story?
Phillip, you are also fight director. Can you explain how you went about directing some of the more complex fight scenes?
Phillip Psutka: There’s one main fight when the three Sisters go head-to-head and the challenge was to keep the story clear, choreograph within the legs of the free-standing aerial rig on the stage safely, and create a natural flow so that each actor was able to weave in and out of the action smoothly. The most fun we had, though, was definitely adapting the style to reflect how the Witches would fight – how they would go after one another.
Has anything changed in the production since first brought to the stage that audiences can look for?
Phillip Psutka: Oh lots – even since we were in Ottawa in 2015 at the Fringe festival. Bits of dialogue has been added to clarify the story, the fight scene has changed and evolved, and there’s more aerial in the show now.
The production is pretty unique blending these classic characters alongside circus acts and combat. How do you find balance for all of these elements to work in flux?
Lindsay Bellaire: We find the balance by always returning to the story. The physical elements must always be serving to heighten or further the storytelling, supporting the dialogue. We've consistently asked ourselves, "what is the story in this moment" while choreographing any physical movement. Throughout the process, that has meant pulling back on choreography when we feel that the movement has become more about spectacle than story.
Phillip Psutka: As Lindsay mentioned, it’s a constant balance and we’ve learned a lot from our audiences. The most important thing is that the story is being told clearly and effectively to the audience, whether that means with dialogue, aerial choreography, or a combination of both. Also, we found that the aerial arts help the actors’ delivery of the dialogue in each moment because....
...it’s impossible not to breathe when they’re inverting, climbing, spinning, and dropping from the silks!
As some may be surprised to see acrobatics combined with The Bard, why did you feel to include them and what do you feel the aerial work adds to the production?
Lindsay Bellaire: The aerial work is a physical manifestation of the magic that the Witches are conjuring, so it occupies a very literal place in the show as the Sisters leave the ground and twist through the silks in order to weave their charms. These physical elements add a visceral tension and immediacy to the play, and an exciting element of spectacle that matches the language. We have paired heightened text with heightened physical storytelling.
Can you share what goes through your mind when you are not on the stage but ABOVE it?
Lauren Fields: Mainly just an entire internal monologue of “omg I feel like a badass hell yes holy shit I’m slipping ok grab that piece HECK YES NAILED IT wow this is fun oh no i didn’t wrap properly STILL LANDED IT OK ITS GOING TO BE FINE wow I feel amazing.”
Emily Hughes: I've been doing circus since I was a kid and performing professionally since I was 18 so being above the stage is actually the most natural thing for me. When I'm doing my job right the same things are going through my head above the stage as when I'm on it - I'm an actor playing a character, a character who is fully invested in the moment, connecting with my fellow performers and telling a story/creating a world for the audience.
Lindsay Bellaire: As a performer, there is always a part of your brain that is dedicated to safety. We have trained to a point where every movement has become instinct, and when something is different or off, even the slightest bit, we are immediately aware and able to correct or work with it. It's always safety first, so there is absolutely no room for phoning it in. This is a fast-paced show and we have trained ourselves to be present for every moment. So part of me is constantly checking in, making sure everything feels right, totally present, and the other part is free to play and respond to the silks and other actors.
Lindsay, as also Aerial Choreographer for the show, what went into the auditions to ensure you found the best three to bring the show to life on and above the stage?
Lindsay Bellaire: We began with Witch 1 - I've always played and developed that role as the co-creator, since the show was built around our combined skill sets. I grabbed that one from the beginning! To some extent, I feel that the script was inspired by the actors who were initially playing the roles, developing around us (not entirely, but to an extent). When we needed to re-cast, we held auditions that focused more on the actor's openness to play, as well as their general energy (as all three witches have a very distinct presence). Beyond the basic skills of acting and movement (aerial specifically for Witch 3), which we were able to assess through a monologue and some simple physical exercises, we looked for two things that we really value: Can they make decisions and incorporate direction with a sense of play, and do they bring a positive energy into the space? The truth is, every time we work with a new actor the play changes a bit as they bring themselves to the roles. It's incredibly exciting for us to witness and experience that process.
Can you share a little about rehearsals?
Lauren Fields: We’re all friends, which makes for some really great vulnerability on stage during the process. When we talk about the show and about certain scenes and moments, we all share our thoughts, everyone is listened to, we explore ideas, we build the show. We go hard and fast, hitting all of the physical bits until we all feel really grounded in the action of the piece, we have a big warm up, we run the show, we have a lot of laughs.
Emily Hughes: The fun thing about this rehearsal process is that it’s been a bit different every time. Often we’ve had long breaks in between so we all come back with new knowledge and skills and this brings a new perspective to the work. We always spend a good chunk of time at the beginning of each process reacquainting ourselves with the physical aspects of the work, namely the fight and the charms, and there’s usually some room in this time to tweak things and make sure it’s still serving the story in the ways we want it to. When I first came into the show a lot of it had already been set, but previously there had only been Lindsay who had any aerial experience so I definitely got to have a lot of input into the various charms and Lindsay and I spent quite a bit of our own time working out all of the duo stuff that we do on the silks. Once we’ve solidified the physical again we usually work scene by scene and dive into the blocking, characters and text - this is another opportunity to delve deeper each time. Then we’ll do several runs of the whole show which I find is really important as it’s such a whirlwind and we have to make sure we can keep up with it after time away!
Lindsay Bellaire: We like to work on our feet as much as possible. We always start by bringing something in, like the script or choreography, and refining and evolving from there with as little time spent sitting down as possible. Everyone has contributed to the show, either through choreography or personal choices with their character, and Phil serves to refine, specify and tie the story together. Lisa has visually memorized our choreography and works in tandem with us from the booth. We are collaborative, but we all know our specific responsibilities.
What do you feel you most learned from one another?
Lauren Fields: Because I’m not nearly at the level that Emily (3) and Lindsay (1) are at, I learn so much by watching them do their aerial bits. They’ve both taught me so much about the world of aerial work, and I’ve absolutely loved working with them.
Emily Hughes: Oh I’m learning so much all the time! I do a lot of circus with theatrical aspects mixed into it, but this is the most acting-based project that is a constant in my artistic practice, so I feel like I’m always learning the same acting things again and again: listening, being in the moment, connecting with my scene partners. It’s interesting because I feel like we all really connect with some deep aspects of our characters and so I feel like I learn a lot of the same lessons from my fellow actors that my character learns from her sisters. From Witch 1 (Lindsay) I take ambition and conviction in my beliefs. From Witch 2 (Lauren) I take enthusiasm and generosity. Also they are both just so lovely and open on stage and off, we really feel like family. I also like to think of our Stage Manager, Lisa, as Hecate. She is all-knowing and has the power!
Lindsay Bellaire: We have a lot of fun together! It takes a lot of trust and a strong connection to perform a show like this together, and I really feel like we have each other's backs. There's definitely a little piece of each of us in our characters, too. Through working with them, I have learned to always, above all else, find them on stage and connect. No matter what kind of night you're having, there is stability, strength, energy and truth to be found there.
Favorite moment from the show?
Lauren Fields: The “double double toil and trouble” charm. The most demanding for me, and also the most rewarding.
Emily Hughes: When we do the "Sleep No More" bit. There's also a new bit of choreography that I was asked to develop for this latest rehearsal period that I'm really feeling... but maybe just because it's new.
Lindsay Bellaire: The moments change slightly every night as we try to maintain a sense of play, so I would say it's any moment where I have succeeded in connecting with Emily and Lauren, and where something surprising has resulted.
What do you think will amaze audiences most about Weird?
Lauren Fields: I hope that everyone who is familiar enough with Macbeth recognizes all of the shoutouts that we give to the original piece. We all took a lot of time to make sure that when we harken back to the original script it’s very specific, either in word choice or in action. The devil is in the details and I hope that the audience will be able to point certain things out.
Emily Hughes: It really depends on the audience and what their prior experience is with this kind of work. If they've never seen circus before it'll definitely be the aerial silks, but sometimes I still get people coming up to me saying "...but how do you remember all those lines???" Hopefully they'll be wowed by the way that theatre and circus blends together to tell a seamless story.
Lindsay Bellaire: This is a tight show that moves fast and our timing is critical to the flow. I think audiences will be amazed by the precision and pace. We're working hard up there and there's no hiding!
Weird: The Witches of Macbeth
Presented by: Theatre Kraken The Gladstone Theatre January 30–February 9, 2019 Tuesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Written and Directed by Phillip Psutka Co-Creator: Lindsay Bellaire
Fight Director: Phillip Psutka Aerial Choreography: Lindsay Bellaire, Emily Hughes Composer: Rachel C Leger Stage Manager: Lisa Sciannella
Cast: Lindsay Bellaire, Lauren Fields, Emily Hughes