Macbeth Playbill by Becca and Avi

We chose to do a Playbill for a few reasons. First, it’s an element to the play that can’t be forgotten. Every time a play is scene, the audience receives a Playbill. Therefore, we believe it’s more connected to reality than doing a game or other formats. Second, it’s a straightforward way to explain the play and everything we have learned from it. Third, the creativity that can be expressed in a Playbill really appealed to us. There were so many ways to make it our own and it was fun to organize and format every included element.

Every element of our playbill relates back to the ideas and elements of Macbeth. First, our cover says that our version is shown at The Globe Theater. We decided on this theater because it was one of the main theaters that Shakespeare's plays were performed. As this is a Shakespeare play, we thought it would be a suitable stage. The image on our cover has an outline of Macbeth’s face. But there are more elements to the cover. First, there is a floating bloody dagger to represent the bloody dagger hallucination from act 2 scene 1. Second, there’s an image of a crown in the window to represent Macbeth’s longing to become king and how it is within reach. Third, in the other window there is a star and a fire. This represents the quote from Macbeth in act 1, scene 4 when he says “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”

Next, we chose the actors to play the characters. All of the actors were chosen based on the roles they typically play. Some actors are known to play leads well, so we chose them for Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo. Some actors are also good at playing certain types of roles. For instance, Donald Sutherland is playing King Duncan due to his past experiences of playing kings and because he looks older and wise. The actresses to play the witches were chosen due to their past experiences of playing witch-like roles.

Our ads were based on common things of the time. For example, one of our ads is for the “best ruffs in England”. A ruff is a piece of clothing, somewhat similar to a scarf, that both men and women wore in Elizabethan times. The second ad is for another Shakespeare play called, The Tempest. Typically playbills have ads for similar productions so we thought The Tempest would be perfect.   

Every act summary was written based on notes taken for each act. The main events were explained so that the reader can follow along through the play if they find themselves lost. We also explained crucial elements that could be easily missed. Costumes were chosen based on typical costumes in Shakespearean plays. Macbeth has an outfit for the beginning when he was a soldier, as this doesn’t require royal garb. When he is king he wears a crown and more royal looking capes. Lady Macbeth wears a gown the whole play, as this is common for a wealthy woman of the time. King Duncan wears a crown and royal cape for the extension of his life in the play. Malcolm, Donalbain, Banquo, and Fleance all wear similar clothing typical for a wealthy man of the time. As they aren’t kings, they don’t wear capes but since they’re wealthier they still wear nice clothing. The murderers all wear black clothing to show contrast with the other characters and disguise on their mission. The witches wear long black capes and have beards, as described in the first scene of the play.