'Macbeth' to Windward doth come
By Sara Lin
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Alvin Chan, right, plays Macbeth, who sees an image of Lady Macbeth, played by Jennifer Robideau, urging him to commit murder in the classic play at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre.
Brad Goda 'Macbeth' Directed by Tony Pisculli Part of the 2003 Hawaii Shakespeare Festival 8 p.m. today, Saturday, Thursday and July 26, and 4 p.m. July 27 Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College $16 general, $14 seniors and military and $8 students; season tickets for all three plays are $36. 235-7433, etickethawaii.com Other plays in the series: "Henry IV, Part I": 8 p.m. July 25 and 31 and Aug. 2, 4 p.m. July 26 and Aug. 3. Directed by R. Kevin Doyle "Twelfth Night": 8 p.m. Aug. 1, 8 and 9, 4 p.m. Aug. 2, 10. Directed by Harry Wong III |
"I think a lot of people think of (Shakespeare) as some guy, some playwright, something that's supposed to be good for you. A lot of people go to see it just to see it," Pisculli said. "That's not what we think. We think he's a great storyteller."
A Shakespeare fan, Pisculli will direct "Macbeth," which opens today at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre. The play kicks off the 2003 Hawaii Shakespeare Festival; the other plays include "Henry IV, Part I" and "Twelfth Night."
"Macbeth" traditionally is a tale of ambition known for its fight scenes, witches and horror, murder and betrayal, but Pisculli is opting for a lighter tone.
"There's a lot of comedy in the play that's often overlooked," he said. He also pulls the focus away from the play's supernatural characters and puts more emphasis on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. "Instead of external supernatural horrors or fates, (the witches) are his internal demons. I think that's more appropriate for a modern audience."
Pisculli's Macbeth also includes three live drummers, known as Damned Spot Drums. The percussion trio features the odd and creepy sound effects of nearly two dozen instruments, including Korean buk, Brazilian berimbau and surdo, Thai gong, Indonesian angklungs and West African dundunba.
Acting in only his second Shakespeare play, 21-year-old Alvin Chan will play Macbeth. For both Chan and Pisculli, Shakespeare is a strong departure from their recent pasts.
"I hated Shakespeare until last summer. I only tried out because I wanted to see if I could do it," Chan said. "After that, it kind of grew on me."
The University of Hawai'i junior recently became a theater major, switching from visual arts.
He recalls his initial impressions of Shakespeare from high school. "Reading Shakespeare for an English class is totally different from performing it for theater. I didn't get too much out of it in English class, but being able to perform it and feel the emotions is a totally different experience," Chan said.
Pisculli, 40, a former program developer at Microsoft, moved to Hawai'i in 1993, "for the weather." Having never entertained the idea of working in theater, Pisculli came to Hawai'i to study physics and computer science. One summer, out of boredom, he took an acting class.
He was hooked.
In 1999, he earned his master's in directing from the University of Hawai'i and has since built a name as a fight-scene choreographer.
In the Paliku series, Pisculli will try to set the stage for the audience to think of Shakespeare as the storyteller — not Shakespeare, the standard high-school English-class read.
"Particularly for people who go there with trepidation about it being a cultural experience, or something that's 'good for them,' " Pisculli said. "I want them to have the same type of feeling as walking out of a good movie."
