Actors Shakespeare Company at New Jersey City University will present “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare, as its second show of season 2011-2012, on March 16 – April 1. ASC resident artists Michael Basile and Denise Hurd will play the famous couple striving for power. ASC Producing Artistic Director Colette Rice will playmaster the classic tragedy.
Performances will be held on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. at NJCU’s West Side Theater, 285 West Side Ave., in Jersey City.
“‘Macbeth’ is one of Shakespeare’s most brutal and cynical stories where virtually nothing is as it appears,” said Rice. “Characters hurtle towards their own delusion and destruction.”
For its deluded hero, Rice has chosen veteran actor and NJCU professor of English Michael Basile, who believes Macbeth’s delusion to be fortuitous. “His fertile imagination produces a dagger before him, the very dagger he will use in five minutes to kill Duncan,” said Basile. “Some actors choose to approach the vision of a dagger fearfully, but I see it as fortunate…it’s exactly what Macbeth hoped to see.”
ASC at NJCU is also fortunate in its choice of Lady Macbeth, the driving force behind Macbeth’s rise to power. Resident artist Denise Hurd is ASC’s fight director, skilled in weaponry and a licensed fight choreographer, as well as one of its leading actresses. “I play Lady Macbeth,” said Hurd, with a twinkle in her eye, relishing the handling of the real daggers that will be used.
All ASC at NJCU shows begin with Bard Banter, a group discussion of the work about to be performed that is held in the lobby of the West Side Theater 30 minutes before curtain. Talkbacks, lively group discussions between audience and the cast, will be held after matinee performances on March 17, 18 and 24.
For more information about “Macbeth,” call ASC at NJCU at (201) 200-2390 or visit www.ascnj.org.
ASC at NJCU’s main stage, the 125-seat West Side Theater, is conveniently near Culver Avenue (on the NJCU campus), just minutes from Routes 440, 1-9 and 78. There is ample parking in the University’s lots on West Side Avenue. Public transportation is available by bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and Journal Square in Jersey City; and by Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to West Side Avenue. For further directions, visit www.ascnj.org.
The West Side Theater is wheelchair accessible. Large print programs and assisted listening devices are available. Some performances are audio described.