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Shakespeare in Buttonwood Park, New Bedford’s free Shakespeare event, is holding open auditions for its second summer. The announcement of Macbeth follows the event’s successful launch last summer with a performance of Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare in Buttonwood marks the second collaboration between the City of New Bedford including the New Bedford Free Public Library, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Beaches, and Mayor’s Office, and local fringe theater company, The Glass Horse Project.
Macbeth tells the story of a young general who, by the prophecy of three witches, sets out to become the King of Scotland. “You always want to produce something relevant,” Founding Artistic Director of Glass Horse Project Korey Pimental says. “I think it’s is a story about how far we’ll go to fulfill our desires, which is always an interesting thing to explore and dig deeper into.”
Last summer’s adaptation and production of Romeo & Juliet brought New Bedford to a post-apocalyptic matriarchal society where class and gender lines divided the two lovers. This year, Shakespeare in Buttonwood takes the city audience to the highlands of Scotland for a more “traditional” production of the Bard’s tragedy.
Alyssa Steen, who audiences may remember as scene-stealing Mercutio from last year’s production, trades jumping out of a trash can for the director’s seat in this year’s production.
“Macbeth is a very dark show from start to finish,” Steen said as she glanced up from editing the script for this year’s production. “From start to finish we have war, betrayal, and political chaos. The thing about it though, is that the audience can view those themes through an objective lens while still having them be relatable. There’s a magnetic pull to the difficult things in life we try to understand. Theatre helps us make that connection, and I’m beyond thrilled to help bring it to life.”
“My favorite thing about theater as a craft and an entity is the communal aspect of it. Everyone coming together, putting their trust in each other, and working together to create magic,” remarks Pimental. Last year’s launch included a one-day showing of Romeo & Juliet and 140 people attended the production. “Last year, we did the show with nine actors. I’m hoping to see friendly returning faces and a bunch of new ones coming to try something they may have never thought to try before. Shakespeare in the Park, as an entity, is about community and working together to create some magic, so I’m excited to see where this year will take both the production and the event.” he adds.
Open auditions for Shakespeare in Buttonwood’s production of Macbeth will be held on Saturday, May 19 at The New Bedford Free Public Library on 613 Pleasant St in New Bedford. Everyone is welcome to audition. General auditions are 11 am to 3 pm and as needed callbacks are from 4-5pm on the same night; please come prepared with a Shakespearean monologue, not exceeding one minute in length. Although it is preferred the monologue is memorized, it is not necessary. The performances will be in the middle of August, with an exact date to be announced. The date will be provided during auditions to prospective actors. Rehearsals will be every Saturday from 1 to 5 at the New Bedford Free Public Library. Please send any questions to theglasshorseproject@gmail.com, or find The Glass Horse Project on Facebook.
