After performing Macbeth for more than 14,000 students in schools throughout Pennsylvania, the professional actors on the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s Linny Fowler WillPower Tour returned to Center Valley and delivered their set and costumes to a group of 39 students at Southern Lehigh High School who will perform their own version of the same production for the community, under the direction of PSF’s education director, Erin Mullen.

The public is invited to attend this incarnation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the SLHS auditorium on Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $7; students and senior citizens can purchase tickets for $5. All tickets may be purchased at the door. Audiences are welcome to stay for a brief talkback session with the student performers and their director following each performance. A free performance for senior citizens residing in the Southern Lehigh School District will be given Thursday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m.

The performances culminate an intensive after-school program called “PlayPower,” the brainchild of PSF’s Education Director Erin Mullen, who directed the professional touring production. “The students are rising to the challenge and deftly handling Shakespeare’s language,” she says. “They have worked hard in rehearsals for the past four weeks, and they expect the very best from each other and from themselves. The quality of their acting continues to impress me,” she says. “They don’t settle. They are constantly examining Shakespeare’s text to wring more out of it. Something very extraordinary is happening with this partnership between PSF and Southern Lehigh!”

Rather than relegate the costumes and set from the WillPower Tour to storage, the SLHS students are giving them a second life. The young cast prepared for this experience by attending the “home” performance of the WillPower Tour on the campus of DeSales University in October. When the tour concluded on November 16, the professional actors transferred the costumes, props, and set to Southern Lehigh for the students’ production. Costumes were designed by the resident costume designer for the DeSales Theatre program, Amy Lobmeyer. The set was conceived by five-time Emmy award winner Bob Phillips, who designed PSF’s set for The Winter’s Tale this past summer.

Leading the cast as the doomed Scottish king and queen are Genevieve Gillespie as Macbeth and Anna Newman as Lady Macbeth. Both girls are juniors at Southern Lehigh. Director Erin Mullen says she did not set out to do a “female” version of Macbeth: “I told the students that the people most suited and skilled for the roles would be cast, regardless of gender. I just wanted to give all the students a crack at these great roles. Knowing the roles could go either way made everyone work that much harder on their auditions.”

Gender-blind casting is nothing new in Shakespeare’s plays; since women weren’t allowed on stage in the 16th century, all roles were played by men. A woman playing a male role is not new, either, as legendary stage actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Sarah Siddons portrayed Hamlet in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively. Says Mullen, “The students are learning that the play has a rich and colorful history, and that Shakespeare’s work crosses all sorts of boundaries.”

Seniors in the cast include Olivia Arena-Miller (Macduff), Amanda Duelfer (Duncan), Jonathan Vega (Donalbain), Jordan Koch (Porter), and Steven Daniel and Heather Hofstetter (Soldiers).

The PlayPower program meets specific Pennsylvania State educational standards, including Production, Performance of Theatre; Historical and Cultural Contexts, Critical Response, and Aesthetic Response. “Students told me that they aced their Macbeth tests and quizzes in English class because of their involvement with this remarkable program,” says Mullen.

“Seeing everyone act out the roles and the way Erin makes sure we know what we are saying really helps. It makes [the play] come to life,” said SLHS senior Jordan Koch, who plays the role of the Porter.

Macbeth begins and ends its reign at Southern Lehigh High School, 5800 Main Street, Center Valley, PA on November 30 and December 1 at 8:00 p.m. and December 2 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $7 for the general public, $5 for students and senior citizens, and can be purchased at the door. A complimentary performance for senior citizens residing in the Southern Lehigh School District will be given on Thursday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth and a professional, not-for-profit theatre company. An independent 501 c 3 organization, PSF receives support from DeSales University and relies on contributions from individuals, government agencies, corporations and foundations. PSF is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America.