The opening of Biola Theatre’s 2022-2023 season began this weekend with a rousing performance of a Shakespeare classic “Macbeth.” Directed by senior cinema and media arts major Bradley Plausse, the production welcomed the performing arts back to Biola’s campus in a significant way. For the first time since 2019, Biola Theatre will have a full and uninhibited year of productions, which presents a unique opportunity for growth from performers, directors and the department. Perhaps returning to some of theatre’s most famous roots will bring more eyes to the importance of the performing arts on campus, and the talented performers that call Biola home.
FROM TEXT TO SCREEN TO STAGE
Plausse’s take on Macbeth is, in his own words, not one with an agenda for modernization or adaptation. The director’s vision of staying true to the language is seen as the actors speak the original text. What is most intriguing about Plausse’s direction for the production, however, is how his filmmaking background clearly has a hand in crafting this newest version.
“Surprise ensues when I explain that there is no twist,” Plausse said. “We are performing the language—just the language of the author.”
The use of practical effects like stage blood and live percussion instruments, as well as more advanced lighting techniques, are indicative of the director’s screen background. Specific bits of staging and even sword fighting prove that Plausse has a flair for the dramatic, but in a way that allows both the original language and the actors to shine.
“It was definitely fun to learn alongside him,” junior theatre major Caitlyn Hinson, who plays a witch in “Macbeth,” said. “I think I got a little bit of a glimpse into a director’s mind from a screen perspective.”
First-year business major Jacob Cohen, who plays the role of Malcolm, also pointed out the unique elements that transferred from the screen to the stage.
“There is definitely a CMA element that isn’t usually there, so that was a bit of a learning curve,” Cohen said.
REACHING THE AUDIENCE
The most important element of any play is reaching the audience — this is where the performances shine most brightly. While a production from Biola Theatre certainly features the talents of its own majors and minors, its ability to reach an audience comes from the fact that it brings people of all backgrounds and majors together to tell a story.
As a non-theatre major, Jacob Cohen also shed light on how Biola Theatre has allowed him to try something new and thrive in it: “That’s one of the things that Biola has provided. It’s kind of like Ratatouille, ‘anyone can cook’, anybody can act. They accepted me into the group and I gave it my all.”
The theatre majors also have the ability to be more hands-on within the department, as Caitlyn Hinson, one of the first theatre majors back in 2020, also explained.
“It’s been really cool to see some things that I had a hand in creating in the program extend to new freshmen,” said Hinson.
Hinson also celebrated the fact that she’s “gotten to see first-hand how much interest in theater has grown at Biola. People really are coming and supporting more than they even were at the beginning of last year.”
SIGNS OF THINGS TO COME
Macbeth is just the beginning of what will surely be a standout year for the Biola Theatre department, its actors, and anyone else who decides to take a stab at acting or even directing. The intrigue around theatre and the performing arts as a whole is on the upswing at Biola, especially after the especially after the pandemic-induced pause. It created a need for authenticity and experience, and Biola Theatre and Biola Theatre fits the bill.
