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Dearest Shakespearian Lover,

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is defined by its themes of power, guilt, and fate vs free will, not to mention the parallels of betrayal, deception, and tyranny in the modern political scene. As one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, the success of Macbeth rises with the fall of many people he once called friends. Matching Macbeth’s honor and greed, Lady Macbeth is there to support her own endeavor in lusting for power, the one to finally convince him to take it for himself. Now the question is, was this his choice? Throughout the play, Macbeth is beckoned by the prophecy that the witches had left him, leading him to fulfill his own fate in the end.

Our club’s imagination of this play starts with the theme: Cyberpunk. Reimagining this early 15th-century play in a futuristic setting allows for our design team to take many creative liberties. From introducing AI in the witches to lighting up many of our actors, the Cyberpunk theme has us all chromed up!

I would like to first thank Aidan Owens for the inspiration when coming up with a theme, as well as Rina Haimson and Logan Delevan-Hoover for stopping me from cutting the entire script. I would also like to thank Ella Graziano for letting me wrap her into my little club as stage manager and Thomas Raff for being my rock throughout the entire process (and knowing how to give real acting notes). Lastly, a huge shout-out to Sil, my costume designer, for working endlessly on perfecting the image of the show.

Enjoy the theatrics,
Ema Rajala
 

Cast

Design Team

Meet the Company

Aidan Jagger Owens (he/him)

Macbeth

Aidan Owens is a senior economics major, as well as the club's treasurer. His past roles include Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar, Laertes in Hamlet, and Alonso in the Tempest. He would like to thank his family and friends for their support throughout the rehearsal process.

Katherine Gough (she/her)

Lady Macbeth

Katie is so excited to return to MDSP for her third mainstage production. She is a sophomore Marketing and Operations Management & Business Analytics double major with a lifelong love for theater and all things Shakespeare! Macbeth is one of her all time favorite shows and she is so excited to portray the fiercely cool (and deeply misunderstood) Lady M in this fantastic show. She would like to thank all her friends and family who have come out to see her!

Avi Waxman (he/him)

Banquo

Avi is a freshman majoring in computer engineering who played the ground-grabbing noble Gonzalo (Alternatively, Golanzo) last semester. Instead of spending his time, you know, doing his homework, he likes to be slaughtered viciously and fake his own death. A very strange man, indeed. He would like to give thanks to all of the wonderful people who have worked on this project, and doubly so for letting him into rehearsals (big mistake). Enjoy the show! :)

Lazar Bozic (any)

Macduff

Lazar Bozic is a Freshman Theater & Anthropology Major. You may know him from his performance as Antonio in The Tempest, or from shows such as She Loves Me, Peter & The Star-catcher, or The Plot Like Gravy Thickens. He would like to remind the audience to keep their thinking caps on and to refrain from reverting to their baser fish-like instincts. He would like to thank his friends, family, and his Fight-Club style imagined thematic parallel.

Edith Corey (she/her)

Witch I (Siri)/Soldier/Fight Captain

Edith is a junior pursuing a dual degree in psychology and criminology & criminal justice. This is her fifth show with MDSP. Her past roles include Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Ophelia in Hamlet, Cassius in Caesar, and Prospero in The Tempest. Edith has had so much fun making soup, gardening, and telling prophesies with her witchy sisters, Alexa (Melissa) and Cortana (Mary). She would tell you to enjoy the show, but she already knows that you will.

Melissa Szwed (she/her)

Witch II (Alexa)/Soldier

Melissa is a sophomore pursuing a double major in communications and theatre. This is her first show with MDSP. Outside of prophesying, Melissa regularly cooks soup with her sisters Siri (Edith) and Cortana (Mary) and manages their cooking blog Bubbles and Boils. She wants to thank the Shakesphere Players for being so kind and welcoming. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Mary McHale (she/they)

Witch III (Cortana)/Soldier

Mary is a freshman Theater major, and this is her first MDSP show! Last semester, they were Boreas in Ghostlight's production of Discus. Mary has had a delightful time stirring pots of stew, foraging for herbs, and managing a daily prophecy YouTube channel with her two sisters Siri (Edith) and Alexa (Melissa). They expect you will enjoy the show!

Nate Hollingsworth (they/them)

King Duncan/Soldier

Nate Hollingsworth is a Senior in Computer Science and Physics. This your sixth and final performance with the Maryland Shakespeare Players. I have had the pleasure of being the President of this club this semester. While sad that they are graduating, they are glad they got to perform with so many wonderful people over the years. We are sure they will enjoy our performance in Macbeth. Almost as sure as you are that the point of view keeps changing.

Elizabeth Shepley (she/her)

Malcolm

Elizabeth is a freshman at UMD and this is her first MDSP production!! She’s had an amazing time participating in the show and plans to be in many more. No, seriously, she will not leave (help). She also thoroughly enjoys bending the rules of gender and sexuality throughout Shakespeare’s works and looks forward to queerifying even more of them. She hopes to one day get a sword in a production, but for the moment, she’ll just outsource the labor to MacDuff. She hopes everyone will recognize her as the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland and thus promises to make each and every supporter a noble thane with their own land and castle.

Ilayda Dogan (she/her)

Donalbain/Young Siward

Ilayda is a sophomore Computer Science and PPE double major. This is her first MDSP mainstage performance.

Thomas Raff (he/him)

Menteith

Mia Cohen (she/her)

Caithness

Mia Cohen is a junior-year computer science major and linguistics minor. This is her third acting role in a MDSP main stage production. She would like to thank the people who have come to see her, as well as the cast and crew behind the scenes for a fantastic show.

Aryn Schriner (they/she)

Ross

This is Aryn’s second main stage performance. As this year’s token grad student, they’re just happy to be here.

Noah Foster (he/him)

Murderer II

Now, believe it or not, Noah is not that bad of a guy that his role would entail. Noah Foster is a sophomore Computer Science student who is on his 3rd MDSP show after being a citizen/soldier in Julius Caesar and being both co-set designer and assistant costumer for The Tempest. Noah is excited to be doing more stage combat and is looking forward to more productions. He would like to thank the family and friends that have kept him sane through the semester.

Alina Darchieva (she/her)

Murderer I/Soldier/Attendant

Alina is a freshman Bioengineering major. She ends up with the highest kill count and the rare distinction of walking offstage alive, probably because STEM builds character. She’s grateful to the cast, director, and everyone who brought this wonderful show to life.

Alex Bryan-Taff (he/him)

Murderer III/Soldier/Attendant/Siward

Annabel Mattia (she/her)

Servant/Lady Macduff

Annabel (a.k.a. Bonnie Macduff (#mother); a.k.a. Lemon (#serve)) is a sophomore English Education major, doing her third show with MDSP. She hopes she'll survive the show so she can do the next one. She hopes everyone will enjoy the show and reminds the audience to stay out of the way of swords.

Mars Connell (he/they)

Son “Callum” MacDuff/Messenger

Mars is a Freshman Psychology major and LGBTQ studies minor. When he isn’t busy obsessing over Good Omens, Will Wood, or Sonic the Hedgehog, he’s probably reciting Shakespeare to his friends. He’s incredibly excited to be a part of this production (to have more lines to recite at a moments notice!) His first experience with acting Shakespeare was playing Borachio, Friar Francis, and the Messenger in Much Ado About Nothing during high school- it certainly sparked something in him. Mars would like to thank his favorite people for going with his antics: his parents, his (human) roommate Jahsey, his (plastic skeleton) roommate Dr. M.B. Sunshine, his partner Aspen, and everyone in the Maryland Shakespeare Players club. Yippeeeee!!!

Eleanor Hoak (she/her)

Soldier/Attendant/Fleance/Doctor

Eleanor is an English/history double major and enjoys studying Shakespeare in both majors.

Ema Rajala (they/them)

Director

This is Ema's fifth production with MDSP, acting in Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, and Hamlet. They took to the backstage during Julius Caesar as Assistant Director, amply preparing them for their debut as Director for Cyberpunk Macbeth. This has been an extremely eye-opening experience for them, appreciating every rehearsal wherein they got to know their cast and crew a little bit better. They would like to shout out Ella for letting them wrap her into being SM, Sil for doing such a badass job on the costumes, and the biggest shout-out to Thomas for being their rock throughout this process. They will miss being in leadership positions in the club, but they hope that this is not where their journey as a rat ends.

Thomas Raff (he/him)

Assistant Director

Thomas is a sophomore English/Theatre double major with a minor in LGBTQ+ Studies. This is his third main stage show with the Maryland Shakespeare Players and his first time directing a show ever. He became a member of the cast a week ago following a series of unfortunate events and he'll be doing his best on that front. He'd like to thank everyone involved in this production for making this a good experience, with special thanks to Ema for asking him to be their assistant.

Ella Graziano (she/her)

Stage Manager

Ella Graziano is a sophomore Animal Science major. This is her first production with MDSP and she would like to thank all of the cast and crew for being a fantastic team to work with.

Donovan Craig (he/him)

Assistant Stage Manager

Donovan is a sophomore, anthropology major. This is his first semester working with MDSP. When not at rehearsal, you can find Donovan either trying not to fall asleep on an Eppley lifeguard stand, or actually falling asleep on the fourth floor of McKeldin.

Rina Haimson (she/her)

Fight Choreographer

Rina Haimson is a Junior double major in History and Sociology. She previously choreographed the fights for MDSP's Hamlet and Julius Caesar, and is grateful to have been given the chance to play with weaponry once again. She would like to thank her fighters, as well as her fight captain Edith, for making sense of her mildly unhinged ramblings and bringing life to her fights!

Anderson Cheek (she/her)

Make Up Designer

Ryan Lindner (she/her)

Assistant Make Up

Eliana Kindred (she/her)

Scenic Designer

Eliana is a 4th year Dance Major with a Production Specialization. She has worked with MDSP several times, first as the ASM for Twelfth Night, then as the Scenic Designer for Julius Caesar, and now, Macbeth. She is grateful to have the opportunity to design one last time before graduating. Don’t forget to get a Slurpee from the Macbeth’s before leaving!

Kaleb Hubler (he/they)

Prop Designer

Kaleb Hubler is eternally thrilled to have been given creative freedom and no adult supervision in the creation of the props, leading to the lovely menagerie you see today. Outside of getting lost in thrift stores and sprawling his prop making supplies across any floor he can find, he enjoys being a silly goose, enrichment, and partaking in general mayhem. He would like to thank the fan in his room for combating the atrocious heat, stale air, and general Maryland weather of the past few weeks and for supporting him in his craft.

Carter Delavan-Hoover (he/him)

Lighting Designer

Carter is a sophomore mechanical engineering major. This is his first show designing for MDSP, but he has been involved with the club since he started at UMD. He has designed for many shows, including "John Proctor is the Villain", "Clue", "Once Upon a Mattress", and more. He is super excited to design lights for this show and make it look as cyberpunk-y as possible! He would like to thank Ema for being an awesome director/human being and his friends for coming to see the show (see, now they have to come).

Hudson White (he/him)

Sound Designer

Hudson is a senior theatre performance major. Credits include: for colored girls…, UMD (Dramaturg); Forbidden Audition, 32Bars (Director); Metamorphoses, UMD (Assistant Dramaturg); Emma, UMD (Frank Churchill); Men With Podcasts, UMD (Ozzi); Are We At War Yet, UMD (Assistant Director, Dramaturg); John Proctor is the Villain, UMD Ghostlight (Dramaturg); The Color of Guilt, Howard Players (Director); Seven Guitars, Howard University (Set Crew Chief); She Kills Monsters, Howard Players (Lighting Designer); Heathers, Howard University (Set Crew Chief)

Jack Campbell (he/him)

Sound Consultant

Silmarien Grinath (they/she)

Costume Designer

Silmarien Grinath is so very tired. Frankly it's surprising they had the time and energy to write this bio. She is grateful to finally have a reasonable amount of assistants on this show and she would like to thank Gray, Alex, Mia, and Corvidae for their invaluable help. Unfortunately because they had so much help they were emboldened to try their most ambitious designs yet in their four semesters with MDSP and are once again suffering the consequences. Nevertheless she is so proud of her team and the way the costumes turned out and she hopes you enjoy the show.

Gray Walters

Assistant Costume

Mia Cohen (she/her)

Assistant Costume

Mia Cohen is a junior year student majoring in computer science with a minor in linguistics. This is her second backstage role in a MDSP production.

Corvidae (she/they/it)

Assistant Costume

Alex Bryan-Taff (he/him)

Assistant Costume

Alex Bryan-Taff is not a Fire Protection Engineering major. He has never acted, directed, stage managed, or videoed any MDSP shows or revue scenes. He is, in fact, an illusion created by the wyrd sisters to appear in this show, and any memories to the contrary are extremely advanced special effects.

Dylan Speiser (he/him)

Videographer

Dylan Ex Machina has descended from the clouds once again to live stream and record our production! Long ago, he stole the stage in MDSP's productions of Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, but then vanished into the Australian outback for a spirit quest he never fully returned from. Since then, Dylan has made a name for himself in Hollywood working directly with Blackmagic Design, as well as leading the UMD Filmmakers Club in the production of his featurette "Project Phoenix: a Dylan Rewind Story". After graduating this summer, Dylan will join SpaceX as Starbase's new Video & Voice Administrator, developing the live camera systems for the World's Largest Tin Can.

Photos

Special Thanks

Robert Gewain, Stamp Technical Events Coordinator

Joshua Poston, Manager of Stamp Events

Andrew Cissna with The Maya Brin Institute for New Performance

Dr. Karen Nelson

Benny (the bunny), best support tech could get