Jobsite Theater To Present MACBETH At The Straz Center Through February 9

Jobsite Theater will present Shakespeare's MACBETH on stage, January 17 - February 9 in the Jaeb Theater at the Straz Center, where Jobsite is resident theater company.

MACBETH stars the ensemble of Giles Davies (2024 Theatre Tampa Bay Award winner, Outstanding Actor in a Play), Katrina Stevenson, Cornelio Aguilera, Troy Padraic Brooks, Logan Franke, Mona Lim, Jared Sellick, Blake Smallen, and Katherine Yacko. It is helmed by six-time Best of the Bay Award-winning director David Jenkins with an original score by Jeremy Douglass, fight direction from D Granke, scenic design by Chris Giuffre, lights by Jo Averill-Snell, and costumes by Katrina Stevenson.

Director/adapter David Jenkins consistently stresses “you have to set Shakespeare somewhere” and is usually resistant to putting it in a very obvious place and time or doing something very modern with it that feels “ripped from the headlines.” Doing them in an Elizabethan style — likely what most people picture when they think Shakespeare — is also not attractive to him, as he even notes “Shakespeare didn't even do Shakespeare in period — they were out there wearing what was for them modern clothes.”

Jenkins is attracted to aesthetics an audience can grab on to as somehow familiar even when the play is not being set using a realistic style. For this MACBETH, he worked closely with the design team as they looked for a way to possibly set this “off-world,” drawing from Sci-Fi — perhaps Frank Herbert's Dune is the closest point of reference someone might most easily glom on to. “I think, visually, a style like this might break down some barriers or preconceived notions folks have about Shakespeare. People often feel intimidated by this stuff, but then I watch them binge hours and hours of content in the worlds of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones or Dune with no problem. If we can adopt an aesthetic that makes this stuff feel more accessible to folks from jump, why wouldn't we do that?”

In addition to the 17 public performances, Jobsite performs weekday field trip matinees of the show for regional high schools. Jobsite is a six-time finalist for the NEA's prestigious Shakespeare in American Communities Award.

MACBETH is part of Jobsite's 2024-25 season. A pass is currently available for $129.60 per person out the door with no added fees, unlimited free exchanges, and a new swap-a-show policy. Single tickets start at $42 before fees and increase by date based on on demand. Special preview performances will be held Jan. 15 and 16 at 7:30pm, standard shows are Thu. - Sat. at 7:30pm and Sun. 2pm. Tickets are available at the Straz website or Box Office window, or by calling 813.229.7827. More information on the production, including artist bios, may be found at Jobsite's website.

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