More Macbeth Rehearsals


Macbeth fight choreography


We are continuing to rehearse Macbeth at Sweet Briar College. Last night we worked on the two fights; the first is between Young Siward and Macbeth, and the second is between Macduff and Macbeth. The fight choreographer, John Paul Scheidler , came down from Staunton last night (he is a member of the Blackfriars company, and I saw him perform Laertes in Hamlet last summer, which I wrote about here).
I had written to him about the dramatic story that wanted the fights to tell:

Here is what I have in mind dramatically for the two fights.
The first is between Macbeth and Young Siward. I would like Young Siward to be full of adolescent energy and enthusiasm, but way over her head. Lots of swinging about to little effect, while Macbeth moves little, parries easily, waits for Young Siward to tire herself, then ruthlessly kills her. The fight should not last long, and it should look very mismatched.
The fight beween Macduff and Macbeth I want Macbeth to start out extremely confident, thinking he is charmed and can't lose, so while Macduff starts out by charging him, Macbeth at first drives him back and even disarms him - overconfidence lets him give Macduff another chance, even maybe so much confidence as he says "I bear a charmed life" etc, that he opens himself up so that Macduff draws blood on his arm at "untimely ripped". This makes Macbeth - who we are playing as extremely superstitious - lose his will to fight initially - and even kneeling and offering his sword in surrender at "I'll not fight with thee". But Macduff, who does not want Macbeth's surrender goads him by calling him a coward until Macbeth decides to go down fighting, regains fury if not confidence, then the fight goes more evenly for a time but slowly Macduff drives Macbeth upstage until Macbeth is trapped upstage, and eventually does something to give him a chance to duck out of an upstage archway.

The fights that he choreographed last night were fascinating to watch - Scheidler was an excellent teacher - very clear, very energetic, very patient. He emphasized safety over and over, teaching them to always make eye contact to ensure their partner is clear before making any moves, always show with the point the direction you will be going, and always breathe - don't hold your breath - so you do not tire unnecessarily.

The fight with Young Siward starts with Young Siward charging Macbeth, who draws blood on her leg then pushess her to one side, pursues her, hits her in the jaw with the pommel, knocking her down onto a platform, then goes for the kill by driving the sword downward. He showed them how to do this so that the pommel never actually touches her, and Macbeth covers the tip of the sword with his hand during the kill, so there is never actually any danger. It was very well staged, and should be an exciting fight, while remaining safe to the actors.
Then he choreographed the Macbeth-Macduff fight. It was in four stages - the first stage has Macduff come to Macbeth, center, who diverts the energy to the side making Macduff end up to stage left. Macbeth moves in, engaging him and taking his sword, while Macduff retreats further left. Macbeth disdainfully drops Macduff's sword, allowing him to regain it while Macbeth walks away with his back to Macduff up a short stairway. The second stage goes from Macduff following up, feinting to one side while drawing blood on Macbeth's arm on the other side. Macbeth loses heart, offers to surrender. The third stage starts with Macduff goading Macbeth to fight from atop the two foot platform - Macbeth engages him on the stairs and fights his way up, but Macduff manages to grab Macbeth's wounded arm and squeeze it, causing Macbeth to retreat to the upper platform. The final stage begins when Macduff engages Macbeth on the stairs, Macbeth manages to parry downward, giving him time to duck out the archway ahead of Macduff, who follows out. Because there are no walls, we can see Macduff raise his sword for the kill (only his arm and sword are visisble) and hear Macbeth cry out as the fight ends.

Posted: Thu - September 29, 2005 at 09:38 AM          

©