Something Wicked This Way Comes: Shakespeare's Macbeth

Picture by: Will DeBlock

We just finished our first play of the Spring 2026 Semester: William Shakespeare’s Macbeth! Shows were March 28th at 2pm (ASL interpreted!)and 7pm, and March 29th at 2pm in Arts/West. We interviewed the cast and crew of this show to get an understanding behind the rehearsal process of this Shakespearean drama.

David Starkey who portrays the Scottish nobleman Ross talks about his experience rehearsing the play. Starkey says that his favorite part of the rehearsal process is running the show. Starkey noted, “Getting to try out different acting techniques and being present in the scene with others is a great feeling!” he added, “Being able to talk and hang out afterwards is also great.” Providing students as well as the Athens community with the opportunity to act in college is something LFC is proud of. We are so glad to have Starkey with us in LFC.

Along with discussing the rehearsal process, Starkey also spoke on his favorite part of being in LFC. “My favorite part of LFC is getting to perform with people I care about. We have a really good community where we try to make sure everyone feels included and, despite being in different shows, we can still come together as a company.” Community is an important aspect of LFC. We strive to provide a space where everyone feels safe and accepted for who they are.

Lizzie Fisher who plays several roles including Lady MacDuff and Hecate discussed some of her favorite parts of the rehearsal process. Similarly to Starkey, she said that she likes to run the show. Fisher stated, “I've loved tech week so far. Like every show, it can be stressful as opening approaches, but just being in costume as the show we've been working towards for months finally comes together is so satisfying, and being able to do this with my friends makes it even better.” Tech week is when shows start to feel complete. Seeing lights, costumes and various other aspects added to the rehearsal process makes everything come together and builds excitement for the cast and crew. 

Various cast members shared their favorite moments from rehearsal. Many of the cast members noted that they like sword fighting. Starkey shared, “My favorite moment in rehearsal was probably learning the sword fighting choreography! It was a lot of fun getting to swing them around and fight each other.”  Taryn Adamczyk—a member of the ensemble—said “[My favorite moment was] finding out Nate kills me sword fighting.” Simon Graham who plays Angus also added that his favorite rehearsal moment was learning sword fighting.

The directors also answered various questions about the show and their experiences with directing. Laura Church—Macbeth’s assistant director—was asked why they decided to assistant direct. “I have been an actor for almost 8 years at this point. Throughout my experience with that, I have always been fascinated with the more technical side of things. Directing felt like a great next step to further my theater experience. I am eager to continue directing both with LFC and the future theaters I am a part of.” LFC provides actors and crew members a great opportunity to try out directing. Trying out new things is a fundamental part of community theater.

Church was also asked about what they thought the hardest part of the directing process was so far. They said, “I think just getting out of my own head was a huge thing. The directing side of theater was all so new to me that I was often worried I was letting others down. Despite my tendency to worry, I think I was able to serve my cast well and I hope they feel so too.” We are so proud of Church for trying something new and we think that they have served their cast really well. 

Michael Zarefoss—Macbeth’s head director—was asked about why he wanted to direct. He explained, “I assistant directed LFC's production of The Outsiders last semester and figured I'd give head directing a shot. I love finding new ways to challenge myself and further contribute to this amazing community of people as best I can and trying out directing has been a natural progression of that idea.” We are so happy that Michael chose to direct this semester and was able to foster such a positive environment for his cast and crew to thrive in. 

Zarefoss was also asked about why he chose the show. He answered, “Macbeth was one of my top show picks to direct, not only for its notoriety and outstanding creative potential, but for how poignant a lot of the show's themes are with respect to our modern times. On top of the commentary it provides regarding political corruption and tyranny, it provides an important reflection on what we as people can become if we allow our innermost evils and desires to overwhelm us.” Macbeth is such a classic with themes that are still relevant to this day. This show went very well and are very proud of Zarefoss for his hard work.

In closing, we are so happy to conclude Macbeth on such a high note. Performances went amazing and we thank everyone in the cast and crew for their talents and hard work! Stay tuned for our next show, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors coming this weekend!