TN Shakespeare Company Launches 6th Annual Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: MACBETH
Due to popular demand, the Series expands to three weeks this year, opening on October 6 outdoors at Wiseacre Brewery’s Broad Avenue location.
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 22, 2022
Returning for its sixth annual Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series, Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC) stages a mystical, modern-dress Macbeth in nine different outdoor venues throughout the Shelby County area from October 6-23.
The Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series is generously sponsored by Evans/Petree, P.C.
All performances are free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required. First come/first seated. Patrons are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket for seating, and to picnic.
Directed by Stephanie Shine, this 85-minute production of William Shakespeare's fierce tragedy features a six-actor ensemble that includes TSC veterans Michael Khanlarian and Lauren Gunn as the Macbeths performing as Shakespeare's players did while touring: with character and costume changes on-stage but with a full musical soundscape. The ensemble also includes Pershon Harper, Rose James, Kellan Oelkers, and Nicolas Dureaux Picou.
Due to popular demand, the Series expands to three weeks this year, opening on October 6 outdoors at Wiseacre Brewery's Broad Avenue location. New venues this season include outdoors at Bartlett Performing Arts Center, the Maria Montessori School Amphitheatre in Harbortown, the Overton Park Shell, and the happy return after five years to the south lawn at Dixon Gallery & Gardens. Returning venues include Collierville Town Square, International Harvester's Managerial Park in Lakeland, Overton Square's Chimes Amphitheatre, and Wiseacre Brewery's location on S. B.B. King Boulevard.
Macbeth is most associated with its witches, murders, and invention of the word "assassination," but Shakespeare's shortest tragedy is packed full of politics, prophecy, and psychological turmoil. TSC's production harkens to ghost stories told around a campfire in the darkness of the woods, with actors speaking of wickedness and power. The monster at the center of this tale, however, is not a supernatural force, but unbridled human ambition.
"Macbeth is an ever-timely play, which perhaps is what makes it so frightening," says Shine. "How many generations will see themselves in the story of a good person making self-serving choices that devastate their community? Fortunately, Shakespeare finishes this play with the possibility of a righted world and a mission for us to serve with the 'grace of grace.' I hope our audience is exhilarated by our facile cast as they weave a spell of deathly ambition and lead us back to the light. Watching these actors exercise their skill with enthusiasm and dexterity as they transform before one's eyes is an exceptional delight."
The production's design team includes Jeremy Allen Fisher (scenic and lighting design), Allison White (costume design), Joe Johnson (sound design), and Lauren Gunn (stage combat).
Outdoor Performance and Venue Schedule for Macbeth
Thursday, October 6 at 7:00 pm
Wiseacre Brewery, 2783 Broad Avenue
Friday, October 7 at 7:00 pm
International Harvester's Managerial Park in Lakeland
Sunday, October 9 at 3:00 pm
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park Avenue
Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 pm
The Maria Montessori School Amphitheater in Harbortown, 740 Harbor Bend Road
Friday, October 14 at 7:00 pm
Overton Square's Chimes Square Amphitheatre
Saturday, October 15 at 7:00 pm
Overton Square's Chimes Square Amphitheatre
Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 pm
Wiseacre Brewery, 398 S. B.B. King Boulevard
Friday, October 21 at 7:00 pm
Bartlett Performing Arts Center, 3663 Appling Road
Saturday, October 22 at 7:00 pm
Collierville Town Square, Historic Train Depot
Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 pm
Overton Park Shell, 1928 Poplar Avenue
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