Ashbrook Classic Theater Company to perform Shakespeare's Macbeth at The Ashland

The Ashbrook Classic Theater Company will present "MacBeth" at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday at The Ashland.

Admission is free.

The production is directed by Sabrina Maristela, the student programs coordinator of the Ashbrook Center. Students in leading roles are Heath Johnston, Leanna Uselton, Anna Bielawski and Ray Yeh.

Auditions for the show took place in May, meaning the leads have been preparing for about six months.

"Compared to other productions, that's a crazy long time," Maristela said. "But I like to take that much time because our rehearsal process is a little different. We start every show with a close reading of the text, as that's our rock throughout the whole process. The first two months or so were just us reading through the text, talking about the characters and the language, and deciding how we were going to approach the story."

The Ashbrook Classic Theater Company performed the Shakespeare classic in November at Ashland University's Studio Theatre. Maristela previously said the Ashbrook Classic Theater Company selected "MacBeth" because this year is the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, noting "MacBeth" was the president's favorite play.

"This year is the 160th anniversary of Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address' as well as the 40th anniversary of the Ashbrook Center," Maristela said. "So to celebrate the Ashbrook Center hosted an academic conference on all things Lincoln, and we've been lightly theming other student programs toward Lincoln. Macbeth was Lincoln's favorite Shakespeare play, so it seemed like the natural choice."

Maristela said "Macbeth" is the theater company's third production. Although it is a classical theater company and not a Shakespeare company, the Ashbrook Classic Theater Company has done two Shakespeare in the past. Both of them have been companies.

"Next semester we'll be doing a Greek comedy," she said.

Maristela added the cast is ecstatic to be performing at The Ashland this weekend.

"When they first walked into the theater, some of them actually gasped at how amazing of a space it is, and now that we've started rehearsals there in earnest, I just keep overhearing them talk about how nice the space is both as a performer and as a spectator," she said.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashbrook Classic Theater Company is performing Shakespeare's Macbeth