POWER DECEPTION MURDER

Halloween might be over, but the Department of Theatre and Drama is keeping the devilish spirit alive with its presentation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," opening at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.\nA story filled with witches, sword fights and murderers, "Macbeth" is not for the faint of heart. It remains one of Shakespeare's most notable tragedies, mixing in supernatural elements with reality, creating a dark, unsettling aura that has drawn in audiences for centuries. The theatre department's production is prepared to do just that.\nWith an incredibly talented cast and production team, director Dale McFadden said he is confident "Macbeth" will appeal to students.\n"It's one of the most accessible plays of ambition, retribution and downfall, and also explores questions of power and leadership," McFadden said. "It's very striking."\nSeveral nationally and internationally renowned artists have been brought in to help produce "Macbeth."\nProfessional fight director Neil Massey, who has directed fights for theaters all over the country, has worked with the cast to create the bloody battles and sword fights; Julia Lynn Powell, a prop craft artisan from Milwaukee, collaborated with properties master Leslie Hammond to make the contents of the witches' brew as well as the head of Macbeth that appears at the end of the show. Also a part of the production team is IU School of Music's own Adam Schweigert, a graduate student in electronic and computer music composition. Schweigert's work has been used internationally, and for "Macbeth," he created the sounds to accompany the dark scenery and underline the secret, deceptive ways of the characters.\nThe cast is composed of a variety of graduate and undergraduate students and reflects the wealth of talent in the theatre department. \n"The cast consists of 34 students, which is the largest nonmusical cast we've had in the 21 years I have been here," McFadden said. "They've been great to work with."\n"Macbeth" is the thesis project for two actors, Scot Purkeypile, who plays the title character, and Vanessa Ballam, who takes on the role of Lady Macbeth. The core of the cast is made up of graduate theatre students, with Eric Friedman as Macduff, Chris Hatch as Banquo and John Maness as King Duncan.\nMacbeth is also the thesis project for Carmen Killam, a third-year master's of fine arts costume design student. She has previously designed costumes for primarily contemporary pieces, but for "Macbeth" she has had the freedom to draw inspiration from many different sources to create a bold look for the show.\n"It's just one of those things you can do with Shakespeare -- experiment with different concepts," Killam said with a smile. "We wanted to create our own world, our own period."\nKillam cites designer Alexander McQueen as a key influence on her creations, as well as Asian influences she took from "Throne of Blood," the Japanese film adaptation of "Macbeth." \n"Most of the characters are in muted colors, but with such a play of power in the show, for some we decided to use red as a predominant color," Killam said. "It's a striking color that emphasizes and represents that powerful meaning. For King Duncan, I wanted the colors of his costumes to display what it is that Macbeth is striving for."\nNot to be overshadowed by the design work is the element of a Shakespearean play that makes it timeless -- the language. Joan Pong Linton of the Department of English will give a pre-show talk, "Riddling Macbeth: Shakespearean Tragedy and the Power of Words" at 3 p.m. today to address Shakespeare's use of language in "Macbeth."\n"The title 'Riddling Macbeth' plays on several things," Linton said. "The words the weird sisters (witches) speak to Macbeth seem at first like riddles, but when they come true, Macbeth returns to them and interprets the riddles in a such a way that gives him the confidence to go on and serve his ambition."\nLinton also said speaking with double meanings, or amphibious speech, was traditional of the rhetoric during the Elizabethan period when Shakespeare wrote "Macbeth." This use of language to create double meanings is evident in "Macbeth" and adds to the theme of reality versus fantasy, which is also shown in the soliloquies of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. \n"The soliloquies are very character revealing; Macbeth plotting to himself really shows the difference between how he appears and the reality of what he is planning to do," Linton said.\n"Macbeth" opens at 7:30 tonight in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre and plays tomorrow night and November 14 to 19. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and senior citizens. Student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before each performance for $10 cash with a valid student ID. Call the IU Auditorium Box Office 855-1103 to order tickets.