For Dzieci’s chamber version of Macbeth, the ensemble has learned all of the lines, of every part, through a process
of oral transmission, so as to create maximum improvisational possibilities. As presented by
a traveling family of Gypsies, this one-act presentation creates the impression of a ritual or ceremony.
A very dark ceremony.
Employing haunting folk songs and chants from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Theatre Group Dzieci explores (and explodes),
the very essence of theatre and storytelling in their exuberant rendition of Shakespeare’s classic.
““A powerful, immediate work that left the audience in a stunned silence at the end.” - David Gimpelevich -
“The sheer force and depth of their commitment shines through
and transforms the audience’s consciousness.” - Antero Ali -
“With the combination of ceremony, improvisation, and Shakespeare, Dzieci has created a fascinating, risky, and original work.” - Mitchell Conway, nytheatre.com -
“They are all so deliciously skilled and charismatic!” - Lauren Elder -
“Absolutely liberating!” - Russ Hudson, executive director of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc. -
“Wonderful!” “Unexpected!” “A true experience.” “Wowing, engulfing, just wow!” “Spellbinding!” “Wow!”
“Romantic!” “Amazing!!!” “The best!” “My God!!!” “Wow!” “Remarkable!” – Students from The International Schools Theatre Association -
“Makbet was remarkable. The gender role-play was unearthly; it provoked private revelations
into the cruelly erotic nature of our binary views of gender, which resonated at its core with this production.
It was unforgettable seeing it flow from the very womblike stage space; giving birth to secret pleasures and pain, with the visual chant of a chorus from the spirit world. Etched forever in my mind. Thank you.” - Janine, San Francisco-
“Wow. I am so blown away by tonight in so many ways. Dzieci is great. I’d like to run away and join them!
(Alas, not my dharma but will always henceforth be a loyal follower and supporter). Their Makbet was amazing.
Completely visceral. Made me understand Macbeth emotionally as I never had before. And LOVE their Gypsy clan vibe.” - Eric Finkelman -
“Witnessing Makbet and the ecstatic and organic and deeply ceremonialized process of the play unlocked places in me
that I had been longing to find in the theatre but didn’t know how to create. Dzieci had found the sacred and were weaving it
into everything they did. As an audience member, when you see their work,you are not simply a witness.
You are on the journey with them, invited into the tribe and embraced as community.”
- Isis Phoenix -
“A profound, exhilarating experience that I will never forget.”
- Katherine Kettle, Saranac Lake -
6 Rules of Engagement
1- Actors must know the entire text.
2- Actors may not play the same role in successive sequences.
3- Roles can be taken or given, embraced or refused.
4- Three actors alone must play all the roles.
5- We begin in ceremony and remain in ceremony.
6- Nothing else is planned.
Makbet can be presented in any space, indoors or out, with a minimum of four performers. Audience and performance space should be intimate. There are absolutely no set, lighting, or sound requirements.
Makbet
For Dzieci’s chamber version of Macbeth, the ensemble has learned all of the lines, of every part, through a process
of oral transmission, so as to create maximum improvisational possibilities. As presented by
a traveling family of Gypsies, this one-act presentation creates the impression of a ritual or ceremony.
A very dark ceremony.
Employing haunting folk songs and chants from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Theatre Group Dzieci explores (and explodes),
the very essence of theatre and storytelling in their exuberant rendition of Shakespeare’s classic.
““A powerful, immediate work that left the audience in a stunned silence at the end.”
- David Gimpelevich -
“The sheer force and depth of their commitment shines through
and transforms the audience’s consciousness.”
- Antero Ali -
“With the combination of ceremony, improvisation, and Shakespeare,
Dzieci has created a fascinating, risky, and original work.”
- Mitchell Conway, nytheatre.com -
“They are all so deliciously skilled and charismatic!”
- Lauren Elder -
Absolutely extraordinary. Stunningly breathtaking.
- Cecile Pineda -
Transcending!
- Rita Jain -
“Absolutely liberating!”
- Russ Hudson, executive director of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc. -
“Wonderful!” “Unexpected!” “A true experience.” “Wowing, engulfing, just wow!” “Spellbinding!” “Wow!”
“Romantic!” “Amazing!!!” “The best!” “My God!!!” “Wow!” “Remarkable!”
– Students from The International Schools Theatre Association -
“Makbet was remarkable. The gender role-play was unearthly; it provoked private revelations
into the cruelly erotic nature of our binary views of gender, which resonated at its core with this production.
It was unforgettable seeing it flow from the very womblike stage space; giving birth to secret pleasures and pain,
with the visual chant of a chorus from the spirit world. Etched forever in my mind. Thank you.”
- Janine, San Francisco-
“Wow. I am so blown away by tonight in so many ways. Dzieci is great. I’d like to run away and join them!
(Alas, not my dharma but will always henceforth be a loyal follower and supporter). Their Makbet was amazing.
Completely visceral. Made me understand Macbeth emotionally as I never had before. And LOVE their Gypsy clan vibe.”
- Eric Finkelman -
“Witnessing Makbet and the ecstatic and organic and deeply ceremonialized process of the play unlocked places in me
that I had been longing to find in the theatre but didn’t know how to create. Dzieci had found the sacred and were weaving it
into everything they did. As an audience member, when you see their work, you are not simply a witness.
You are on the journey with them, invited into the tribe and embraced as community.”
- Isis Phoenix -
“A profound, exhilarating experience that I will never forget.”
- Katherine Kettle, Saranac Lake -
6 Rules of Engagement
1- Actors must know the entire text.
2- Actors may not play the same role in successive sequences.
3- Roles can be taken or given, embraced or refused.
4- Three actors alone must play all the roles.
5- We begin in ceremony and remain in ceremony.
6- Nothing else is planned.
Makbet can be presented in any space, indoors or out, with a minimum of four performers. Audience and performance space should be intimate. There are absolutely no set, lighting, or sound requirements.
On Makbet:
Photos from The Episcopal Actor’s Guild performances: Makbet 4/29/11 (13) & Makbet-5/1/11 (12)
A photo gallery by Jim Moore from the private Casa Duse performance: http://vimeo.com/17702324
A Report from the Front Lines
An interview with Matt Mitler for NCPR
Another interview for Twelfth Night Theatre
Review: Dzieci’s Makbet | Friends Coming Together
I’m Seeing Green: The Unnamable Play at the Old Stone House
Park Slope Food Coop Article on Makbet
Rockaway Artists Alliance Hosts Dzieci’s Makbet