It’s that time of year again! Halloween brings with it all the drama and possibilities for performance that we love. Over the years, we have talked about trick-or-treating and haunted stages, and even the ways to create a Shakesperean haunted house and tackle stage fright. And of course, we have highlighted especially eerie scenes that young actors can explore: Hamlet meeting his father’s ghost, Macbeth encountering the Three Witches. But this month, we want to encourage you to check in with your young actors and reflect on these and other chilling moments in Shakespeare’s work. What exactly makes these scenes so scary? Why are they frightening?
These questions are more complex than they may initially appear, so push past the surface responses. Naturally, it is uncanny to encounter a ghost or a witch! But what is it specifically that makes them so disturbing? Take the scenes noted above as examples: in Hamlet’s case, his father reveals a terrible secret and places the equally formidable burden of vengeance on his son. For Macbeth, the prophecy of the Three Witches awakens his ambition, which in turn takes on monstrous consequences. By the same token, invite your students to think about the importance of individual words – what impact do key turns-of-phrase have in producing fear in the audience?
You can also talk about how to best create that atmosphere of fear in the plays. Is it through lighting and blocking? Costuming? Set design? Music? In our post on playing with ghosts, we talked through some strategies for representing the supernatural on stage. But it is always exciting to see what aspects of stagecraft your students would emphasise in their vision of a spooky production.
Talking about complex emotions can be difficult, so keep an eye on the mood of the room. But when guided with patience and care, thinking about these ghostly encounters will allow your troupe to consider the human experience more broadly – and that can only strengthen their performances.