We Players Present Interactive Production of MACBETH at Fort Point, Now thru 6/29
By: BWW News Desk May. 30, 2014
We Players, in partnership with the National Park Service / Golden Gate National Recreation Area will present a site-integrated production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at Fort Point, the civil war era fortress located beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. The production previews today, May 30 - June 1, then runs June 5 - June 29, 2014, Thursday through Sunday. Tickets are on sale at www.WePlayers.org. For press ticket reservations or for more information call 415.547.0189 or email press@weplayers.org.
We Players Creates Immersive Theatre with Integral "Audience Participation"
The immersive nature of We Players' work and its invitation for audiences to participate physically, emotionally, and sensorially with site-integrated theatre is at the core of We Players' mission. While We Players recognizes the function of traditions such as intermission and an opening house speech, the company chooses to build these elements into the production as seamlessly as possible, in an effort to keep its audiences immersed throughout. Intermission is an opportunity for audience members to take a breath and shift gears; We Players creates moments to enjoy warming refreshments and slow down while staying connected with place and story alike. Audience members, after receiving a warm cup of tea, move through an 'installation hallway' where they are privy to the otherwise private lives of the Weyard Sisters. Scenes such as this, which do not exist in the original play, can help to show the intimate relationship between the characters and the physical environment. Audiences are invited to engage and "participate" in Macbeth at Fort Point by attuning their senses to what is constantly happening around them, at all times. In this 2014 remount, audience participation is increased for the highly anticipated final battle between Macbeth and Macduff. We Players is eager to see how this informs audiences' relationship to this climatic moment in the story and to the fortress itself.
We Players' Processional Audience Experience
We Players aims to stretch the limits of audience vantage and narrative flow with its interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth by creating diverse opportunities for audience interaction and via the hallmark "processional" aspect of all We Players' site-integrated theatre productions. Each audience member is in a unique position and location in relationship to the action of the production -- hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, or smelling the elements of the play and place at different times than their fellow audience members. The audience of 150 is separated into two groups, and guided by We Players actors. The two audience groups move throughout Fort Point sometimes as one group, sometimes traveling via different routes and occasionally experiencing scenes "in rotation". During a rotation, an individual may hear the screams of a murder taking place in another part of Fort Point while watching the scene in which that murder is reported. Because the stage is multi-dimensional, directors are able to stage moments above, behind, and below the audience. They are able to infuse the space and the story with a tremendous amount of detail, so much so that audience members can't possibly see everything - even if they attend the show multiple times. We Players' audiences are immersed in the world of Macbeth's Scotland and surrounded by auditory and visual reminders of aspects of that world of which they will only catch pieces. The Weyard Sisters are nearly omnipresent throughout the entirety of the show; some audience members may be able to decipher the code these Sisters use to communicate with one another, or catch them spying from secluded corners.
MACBETH AT FORT POINT IN 2014: In its upcoming 2014 production, We Players shifts the perspective. Co-directors Ava Roy and John Hadden will explore this tale of blood and the thirst for power through the lens of the "old guard": warriors who have engaged in battle for decades; who are older than their young wives; who are the same age as their King. We Players believes this will provide new insights into the story and its portrayal. Founding Artistic Director, Ava Roy comments, "We are eager to dive even deeper into the richness of the text, the subtleties of the relationships between characters, and to search for further nuance in the language and in our connection with the very stones of the fortress."
ABOUT FORT POINT: Fort Point sits directly below the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge, at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay. Now a National Historic Site, Fort Point was completed in 1861 and used to defend and protect the San Francisco Bay against possible foreign invasion. Fort Point is a beautiful example of masterful masonry work, and thanks to Joseph Strauss, Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, who re-designed the construction of the bridge to preserve Fort Point, this monument is open to all. More information on Fort Point is available at www.nps.gov/fopo/.
ABOUT WE PLAYERS: San Francisco Magazine recently honored We Players with the "Best of the Bay" pick for their unique site-specific performance work and declared, "We Players didn't just break the fourth wall, it toppled the whole playhouse". According to Managing Director Lauren D. Chavez, "We Players' mission is to create site-integrated performances that transforms public spaces into realms of participatory theatre, in an effort to engage with history and the environment, build community, and inspire personal relationships with place." For more information, please visit www.weplayers.org.
We Players presents MACBETH at Fort Point
Co-directed by Ava Roy and John Hadden
Produced by Lauren D. Chavez and Ava Roy
Performance Dates:
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays June 5 - 29, 2014
Previews May 30, 31 (SOLD OUT) & June 1 (SOLD OUT)
Opening Reception June 5
Performance Times: All performances begin at 7:00PM
Performance Location: Fort Point, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 999 Marine Drive, San Francisco, CA 94129
Tickets (on sale at www.WePlayers.org): Previews $30; Thursdays $45; Fridays & Sundays $60; and Saturdays $75
Information, group sales and educational opportunities:
Phone: 415.547.0189
Email: reservations@weplayers.org
Website: www.WePlayers.org
Pictured: The Weyard Sisters: Julie Douglas, Maria Leigh, Caroline Parsons. Photo by Tracy Martin.
Comments
Videos