On Aug. 2, my husband and I attended a performance of Macbeth presented by the Maine Youth Summer Theater Institute ’02 at UM Machias. The play’s subtitle was “A Witches’ Tale”.

The ages of the student participants ranged from messengers running across the stage little enough to look like there should be a harassed nanny running along behind them, to maturing handsome young men with mature voices, not to mention beautiful young women, also with mature voices, who had great presence and enunciated beautifully so that anyone in the back row could hear.

Apparently anyone who wanted to could participate. If you were too little to speak a line, you could be a rock. As I remember it, however, almost every person had something to say – some a line, some a full actor’s part.

The scenes flowed from one to another, seemingly without effort. The witches were the glue that held the actions together. There was also an oboe played by a young woman off to the side who inserted musical phrases designed to fill spaces between scenes. I can’t describe how ingenious this was and how well it worked without being intrusive. The witches’ costumes were fantastic in their simplicity. The banquet scene was an amazing piece of staging. The “Out, out, damned spot” scene was also a stroke of genius.

From the directors, designers, and crew down to the smallest actors, the entire event was elegant. The time went so fast, the play flowed so well without a hitch, and when you realize that the whole performance was put together in two weeks, it is mind-boggling. This will be two nights, two weeks, a timeless span which neither the students nor the audience will forget.

Carol Stocking

Lubec