Last week, Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre reintroduced their educational outreach program back into Omaha area schools with the opening of McMillan’s Macbeth, a production developed with Lions’ Pride, the after school program at McMillan Magnet School in North Omaha. The theatre said the objective of the program “is still designed to foster a more solid understanding and appreciation of the classics through performance.”
DeJuan Reddick, the new site director for Lions’ Pride, contacted the Brigit Saint Brigit theatre during his first week as the new site director and initiated a partnership between The Brigit Saint Brigit and The Rose Theater for the performance project.
“The students at McMillan don’t currently have drama as a choice in their curriculum.” Reddick said. “It is my belief that the study of the theatrical arts provides them with an outlet for internal exploration and creative expression and promotes positive social interaction.”
The BSB staff worked with the students on character development, performance, and stage combat/fight choreography on Mondays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Rose has been helping the students develop special scenery and effects for the play as well as staging the famous cauldron scene from Shakespeare’s great tragedy.
The idea for the script began during a meeting between the two theatres and developed into what they now refer to as McMillan’s Macbeth. At the opening of the play, the teacher, played by Kathryn Stahl, one of the teaching artists from the Rose, tells the students, “Your test over Macbeth is tomorrow. Today, we’ll review.”
The action of the play then moves back and forth between the classroom, where they are reviewing for the test to selected scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Twelve students in the Lions’ Pride program will be participating in the play and one of the opening scenes will include students from Miss Wendy Jones’ dance program, A Step Above the Rest, another activity available to the students in the Lions’ Pride Program.
The performances of McMillan’s Macbeth will continue on Friday, December 20th at 6:30pm in McMillan Magnet Schools auditorium located at 3802 Redick Avenue. The performance is free and open to the public.
Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to coldcream@thereader.com