main content ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ to the Main Stage

What if the ability to know your future fell into your hands? Would violence and paranoia seep through the cracks of reality and take over rational thought? Would you betray your closest friends to seize the utmost power?

In early March, Lewis & Clark’s theatre department presented Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, on the Main Stage. Drawing from folk horror, pagan traditions, and horror film influences, the L&C production sought to blend and blur the lines between perception and reality. Through horror and mystery, the play unveiled the dynamics between gender, power, ambition, and human significance.

Rebecca Lingafelter, associate professor and chair of theatre, directed Macbeth. She said this year’s performance was “a nonstop explosion of dramatic action, extraordinary characters, and deep humanity amidst horror.” More than 30 students participated in the production, either on stage or behind the scenes.

Rebecca Lingafelter, associate professor and chair of theatreWhy Macbeth?

Shakespeare, says Lingafelter, “has the capacity to really stretch and expand the actor’s instruments,” which was one of her favorite aspects of the show to work on with students.

The decision for the theatre department to pursue Macbeth arose not only from Lingafelter’s passion for Shakespeare but also from the play’s relevance to current affairs. “The state of the world became really meaningful to our production,” she says. “The actors, like the characters in Macbeth, found themselves grappling with the question of how we hold on to our humanity during violent and chaotic times.”

Artistic Influences

The Lewis & Clark version of Macbeth, which came together in just five weeks, drew on current and past works of folk horror, including films such as Ari Aster’s Midsommar. Surprisingly, an image of the indie rock band Florence + The Machine, brought in by costume designer and instructor Jenny Ampersand, became “completely central to our show,” Lingafelter says.

Jenny Ampersand, costume designer and instructorAccording to Ampersand, the Macbeth production team had lots of opportunities to tap into a range of visual imagery and artistic works, including Scottish Highland traditional dress and cult fashion. “Weeding through and braiding the tendrils of visual connection between each of these areas of research was an exciting challenge,” she says.

In addition, partnering with guest artists and local theatre alumni helped to create a rich and supportive show environment. Together, the Macbeth crew had an exciting time playing with mystery, the element of surprise, the supernatural, and body horror.

The show itself was compositional in that it shifted throughout the rehearsal process through input from the cast and crew. Student ideas made their way from early rehearsals onto the stage, and their influence “determined the feeling and the overall way the audience moved through the play,” says Lingafelter.

Jazz Buskin BA ’27, who played the First Witch (Ross) and the First Murderer, says that their favorite part of being in such a collaborative and dynamic work was “engaging with other people’s creativity.” Buskin playfully warned playgoers to “expect a lot of fog, thunder and lightning, and even death.”

Tanner Hansen BA ’26 played Malcolm, the heir to the throne of Scotland. “The rehearsal process was a blast,” says Hansen. “We built this play from the bottom up. Everyone in the production cared about it so much and wanted to make it the best it could be.”

From exploring uprooted power dynamics to being jump-scared by flashing thunder and lightning, Macbeth was a memorable performance. “Together, we experienced a fictional story that helps us process our very real feelings,” says Lingafelter. She hopes the play accomplished what all good theatre does: provoke “a kind of catharsis, a kind of purging of our daily fears and anxieties about the world.”

Theatre Arts@LC