聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽91直播 welcomes the Rustic Mechanicals back to campus for their 2025 Vaulting Ambition Tour, showcasing Shakespeare鈥檚 classic tragedy, Macbeth.聽 This performance will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 14th in Joni & Buck Smith Arts Forum in the Myles Center for the Arts, with a pre-show music jam beginning at 6:30 p.m.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Founded by Celi Oliveto in the summer of 2014, the Mechanicals is the only troupe of actors in the state of West Virginia dedicated to touring the works of William Shakespeare and other classical playwrights.聽 Macbeth showcases the real-life husband and wife and founders of the Rustic Mechanicals as General Macbeth and his passionately persuasive wife, whose vaulting ambition unravels their love and their lives as the power of a prophecy tempts them to accelerate their road to royalty.
Director of Macbeth Jim Warren, ecstatic to bring the magic of a tragedy to life in a unique way, says, 鈥淲hat an awesome challenge we have in carrying the torch (so to speak!) of doing Macbeth using Shakespeare鈥檚 staging conditions to gross-out, freak-out, surprise, delight, and scare our audiences without light boards, sound boards, or electric fog machines.聽 We will create a live, acoustic soundtrack: creepy sounds/voices that will help an audience imagine the heath, the castles, and the backdrop for the battles in ways that Shakespeare鈥檚 company did for the play鈥檚 first audiences… and underneath it all has to be love!聽 If our production is not filled with big love, the story, the tragedy doesn鈥檛 work.聽 I am completely bored by and intolerant of theatre, TV, and film where I don鈥檛 care about the characters.鈥
The crew include Director Jim Warren; Voice & Text Coach Bridget Rue Esterhuizen; Fight Choreographer Millie Omps; Dramaturg John S. Shirley; Production Designer Jason A. Young; and Production and Tour Manager Niki DeWitt.聽 The cast include Jason A. Young, Joshua Brooks, Stephen Phillips, Sinead Tobin, Asa Krinov, Aaron Harris, Seret Cole, and Iris Kolenich.
Assistant Professor of Theatre and Film at 91直播 Lonnie Martin contributes, 鈥淚t鈥檚 always an honor to have the Mechanicals visit Elkins!聽 Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥楽cottish Play鈥 is one of my favorites of the bard.聽 Jason, Sarah, and their team are always so inventive, so I鈥檓 really excited to see what they do with this one.鈥
The Mechanicals will be touring Macbeth throughout the spring and fall months for schools and educational purposes, along with a short tour of the historical play Henry V in the summer.聽 The Mechanicals focus on making Shakespeare鈥檚 plays accessible to modern audiences by utilizing dynamic and extreme casting techniques paired with Shakespeare鈥檚 staging conditions.聽 For more information on booking these touring shows, you can email vtcrusticmechanicals@gmail.com.
All tickets are $15, but faculty, staff, and students from 91直播 will be admitted free!聽 Tickets can be purchased at the Mechanicals website: our.show/rmmbde.聽 Be sure to follow this event and others that the Mechanicals present by keeping up with their Facebook page at
