Spare Shakespeare presents "Macbeth"

Unfortunately, we did not have our usual Shakespeare in the Park this year, which had been at Shell Lumber each January. But Spare Shakespeare is offering a production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" at the Miami Theater Center in North Miami. The production is June 14 and 15. Miami Theater Center (formerly the Playground Theater) is a non-profit organization with a vision to engage with the community and support local artists and talent. MTC’s Artistic Director is Stephanie Ansin. Her team is dedicated to creating original productions in their intimate Art Deco Theater.

Using high tech projections, original music and an army of actors, this Macbeth, directed by Chaille Stovall, is a multimedia and multi sensory experience. Chaille, a Coconut Grove local, gathered together a team of artists, craftspeople, costumers and CGI artists in an effort to present classical Shakespeare combined with high tech magic and original music. This current production is composed moslty of student and recent graduate actors from New World School of the Arts, FIU, FAU and even an actor from the National Theater of Ghana.

Chaille's mother, Colleen Stovall, has been running Shakespeare in the Park  for 10 years, hosting events at Peacock Park, Shell Lumber and Hollywood Young Arts Circle.

The director recently travelled to London to further his study of Shakespeare and became obsessed with the rich history behind the play. “Macbeth reflects King James’ obsession with the occult and the nation’s horror and fascination with the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ (where the entire parliament, house of Lords and the Royal family was almost blown to kingdom come in 1605), through the lens of an ancient tale of regicide and the macabre.” Said Chaille.

“I have been working on this production for over a year. It’s been pretty intense and now we are only a few weeks away from opening night. At any given time, there are 20 actors, 5 designers and a couple of artists in my house. A good friend of mine is a super-talented artist and he is creating the art for the projections… he is now living in my guest room. My back yard has been turned into a sewing shop, and I’m not sure if I have gotten any sleep in the past week or not,” he laughs. “I can sleep after we close the show.”

The production is designed to be classical Shakespeare on the stage, and a fascinating collage of original art and video clips that will blur the lines between the stage and the screen. 

Joey Costello and Nick Santana are providing stage combat direction for the major broad sword battles that anchor the play in the blood-thirsty dark ages on the dank and misty moors of Scotland. 

The two shows are Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15 at 7:00 pm both nights. Miami Theater Center is located at 9806 NE 2nd Avenue, North Miami.


Tickets are $20 for General Admission; $15 for students with ID; $17 for seniors. Group discounts are available. For tickets: spareshakespeare.ticketleap.com

For info, please email: spare.shakespeare@gmail.com

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