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  • 1.  Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-04-2018 11:27
    Hey team,

    I'm considering Macbeth for my high school's spring show next year. It will be our first Shakespearean plan in nearly 10 years, and it will be the first one I've ever directed. My question is: what are some recommendations for double casting this show? I know I'll be cutting it down (cutting out Hecate, for sure; still working on the rest) and I know the casting will be mostly gender blind (I've got roughly 3-4 boys, 13-15 girls in the program right now). But just some general double casting ideas would be immensely helpful! (plus, any other sage wisdom on putting on The Scottish Play for high school)

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    Kerry Jeffrey
    Vancouver, WA
    Skyview High School
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  • 2.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-04-2018 12:02
    I directed Macbeth 5 years ago, and we had a really great time! We set ours in the 1920s, and did it mafia style. It was a hit! I also cut the Hecate role, the Old Man part from Act 2 Scene 4, the doctor part from Act 4 Scene 3, and all of Act 5 Scene 2 (I think). It is on the shorter end as far as Shakespeare's plays go, so you don't need to cut too much.

    As far as casting goes, I double cast Lady Macbeth because I had two fantastic actresses to play her. They traded off during rehearsals and performance nights. It did make the rehearsal process a bit difficult to find time for both of them, but in the end I think it was a net positive for both of them, as they were able to compare notes and learn from each other, while still giving their own unique performances of the character. We also had a female Thane of Lennox and Thane of Angus, respectively.

    We also had a lot of fun with the superstition of not saying "Macbeth" inside the theatre. We had a rule that it could only be said by characters who had a line that said the name during the rehearsal process. Otherwise it was to be referred to as "The Scottish Play" or "Mackers" or "Mr. M." or "Lady M". Violation of this rule required throwing some change in a swear jar of sorts that was a piggy bank shaped like a skull. During tech week, I I emptied it out and put that money towards buying pizza for the cast. Fun times!

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    Christopher Hamilton
    Drama Teacher
    Kennewick WA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-04-2018 21:11
    I directed Macbeth a couple of summers ago with an all-female cast of 14 actors. It was a really great experience.

    I had to get my script down to an hour (part of a summer theatre festival with several shows running in rep), and since I only had 14 actors, I ended up cutting a large number of characters: Hecate, the Porter, the Old Man (I gave a few of his lines to Lennox), Third Murderer, the Lord in III.vi (cut this whole scene), Messenger 2 (from IV.ii -- the Lady Macduff scene), Menteith, Caithness, Siward, and Young Siward. I had 10 actors playing one role each and 4 playing the other 16 roles. It took a while to figure out all of the double-casting, but this is how I ended up breaking it down:

    Macbeth
    Lady Macbeth
    Macduff
    Malcolm
    Banquo
    Ross
    Lennox
    Witch 1
    Witch 2
    Witch 3
    Duncan/Second Murderer/Doctor
    Angus/First Murderer
    Lady Macduff/Gentlewoman/Messenger (I.v)/Servant (III.i, III.ii)/Seyton
    Sergeant/Donalbain/Fleance/Young Macduff/Servant (V.iii)/Messenger (V.v)

    In terms of large cuts, I cut all of III.v (the Hecate scene), III.vi, and V.vi. We went straight from the banquet scene to Macbeth's second meeting with the witches, which worked pretty well from a pacing perspective. I also made significant cuts to the Malcolm/Macduff scene -- Malcolm still questioned Macduff's loyalty a bit, but he didn't go down the road of pretending to be greedy and lecherous for several pages and then abruptly taking it all back!

    Please let me know if you have any other questions. Break a leg -- I'm sure you'll have a great time!

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    Elizabeth Berg
    Drama Teacher
    Ashland Public Schools -- Ashland Middle School
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-20-2018 01:00
    ​@Elizabeth Berg Thank you for your help! About how much did you cut out of the Malcom/Macduff conversation? Is there anything you'd recommend to trim it down?​

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    Kerry Jeffrey
    Vancouver WA
    Skyview High School
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-05-2018 15:03
    Macbeth is a really tight play by Shakespeare standards. Cutting Hecate and the extra witches is an easy decision (they were almost certainly added later). After that, you will mostly want to trim scenes down more than make big cuts (although I agree that you can lift a lot of the characters from Act V). Doubling wise: the above suggestions are great. Once you establish Macbeth, Lady, Macduff, Banquo, and Malcolm as your main characters and Lenox and Ross as constant supporting characters, everyone else can be doubled and tripled. We assume, for example, that the witches were doubled with the murderers originally (although the witches are meaty enough to stand alone). I agree that the Malcolm Macduff scene is long and can stand to be cut down. I personally would keep the porter because he is the only comedy, but he is very hard so the actor needs to be strong. 

    Be creative and have fun. I once cast the witches all as Lady Macbeth- they would switch out on Macbeth throughout the play. Our central idea was that the play is a nightmare- it was a fun outgrowth of that. 


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    William Addis
    Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
    Westtown School
    West Chester PA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-06-2018 09:09
    ​Good morning all,

    Great discussion. Elizabeth, love the breakdown. I have staged the "play beginning with the letter M" many times. I have only double cast the secondary roles, as I have never two students that I felt could handle the lead roles and chemistry is so important between the two.

    I love the idea of the 20's, brilliant. I may have to try that the next time I stage the production.

    Best of luck!

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    Crit Fisher
    Lighting/Sound Designer
    New Albany High School
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Double Casting Macbeth

    Posted 06-06-2018 10:20
    Thank you, everyone, for your ideas! This is very helpful!

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    Kerry Jeffrey
    Skyview High School
    Vancouver WA
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    Original Message


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