SIST Auditions: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company Audition Announcement
Macbeth
By William Shakespeare, Adapted by Justine Giachetti
Director: Justine Giachetti (She/They)
Stage Manager: Leanna Klein
Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company is seeking actors for a bold, visceral reimagining of Macbeth that excavates the history beneath the legend. Set in the brutal and mystical world of 11th-century Alba, this adaptation returns Shakespeare’s tragedy to the mythic soil that inspired it — drawing from the real history surrounding the Scottish king Macbethad mac Findláich (“Macbethad the Red”), the historical Lady Macbeth (“Gruoch”), Gaelic concepts of sacred kingship and sovereignty, and the spiritual upheaval of a Scotland caught between an older pagan world and the rise of Christianized royal order.
At the center of this production is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as two halves of a sacred fracture: Macbeth, the sword — forged for violence, conquest, and action — and Gruoch, the vessel — tied to land, bloodline, ritual, and sovereignty itself. Together, they become the old world’s final desperate attempt to preserve itself against extinction. But as Macbeth rises from celebrated warrior to blood-soaked tyrant, the very powers that sought to guide him must reckon with the devastation they have unleashed.
The Weird Sisters are reimagined not as fictional witches, but as ancient Gaelic goddesses intrinsically tied to the Scottish land itself — BRIGID, THE CAILLEACH, and CLOTA — figures rooted in Celtic myth, folklore, and the sacred memory of the earth. In this production, they are woven into the very DNA of the tale, watching their world disappear beneath conquest, kingship, war, and institutional religion.
Darkly atmospheric, emotionally raw, and physically charged, this production blends Shakespeare’s original text with ritualized movement, brutal combat, mythic imagery, folk horror, and environmental storytelling to create an immersive theatrical experience unlike any traditional Macbeth. Performed outdoors beneath the trees and against the vine-covered castle walls of the Connie Gretz Secret Garden at Snug Harbor, the production transforms the space into a haunted medieval Scotland where prophecy breathes through the earth, ancient gods linger in the mist, and history itself feels caught between worlds.
Performances will take place outdoors at the Connie Gretz Secret Garden at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301, on the evenings of:
Friday, September 11
Saturday, September 12
Friday, September 18
Saturday, September 19
Sunday, September 13 and Sunday, September 20 are reserved as rain dates.
Auditions will take place in person at Snug Harbor, Building G, on:
Friday, June 19, 6:00pm–10:00pm
Saturday, June 20, 10:00am–1:00pm
Callbacks will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2:00pm–5:00pm.
To make an audition appointment, please email [email protected] with your preferred date and time, and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Once your slot is confirmed, you will be asked to fill out an audition form to gather information and materials.
Rehearsals will begin Monday, June 22 and will generally take place Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm–9:30pm, and Saturdays alternating between 12:00pm–4:00pm and 6:30pm–9:30pm. There will be a week-long break from August 12–August 19.
Please prepare a Shakespeare monologue in the tone of the show, preferably around 90 seconds. Memorized is preferred, but we would rather have you on book than not there if interested.
ALL ROLES ARE OPEN. There will be a $100 stipend for actors.
This production is interested in building a diverse cast that reflects our modern landscape, and strongly encourages actors of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, body types, abilities, and backgrounds to audition.
Actors should be comfortable with heightened classical text, ensemble-based storytelling, ritualized movement, outdoor performance, and stage combat or movement-based violence.
Please feel free to review the full adapted script here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rLf1nH0c4eCCXNW3MkVmKiL9nFnKfoMs/view?usp=drivesdk
Character Breakdown / Casting Tracks
TRACK 1: MACBETH
A fierce warrior who becomes king, tyrant, and finally a man stripped of all certainty. Macbeth is chosen by prophecy and watched by the old gods, but his choices remain his own. Requires strong classical text work, physical stamina, emotional intensity, and the ability to be both frightening and deeply human.
TRACK 2: LADY MACBETH / GRUOCH
In this adaptation, Lady Macbeth is also GRUOCH: a royal woman with sacred ties to the land and the old world. She is brilliant, forceful, wounded, and increasingly isolated as Macbeth moves beyond her. Requires command, vulnerability, emotional depth, and a powerful arc from queenly control to spiritual collapse.
TRACK 3: FIRST WITCH / BRIGID, SEYTON, ATTENDANT
BRIGID is fire, strategy, and the dangerous belief that violence can save a dying world. She sees Macbeth as a weapon worth forging, then must face what he becomes. As SEYTON, she remains beside him at the end. Requires intensity, precision, stillness, and emotional restraint.
TRACK 4: SECOND WITCH / THE CAILLEACH, DOCTOR, OLD MAN
THE CAILLEACH is age, winter, prophecy, and inevitability. She understands the pattern before the others do and serves as a witness to the old world’s ending. As OLD MAN and DOCTOR, she gives voice to unnatural events and spiritual sickness. Requires gravitas, vocal strength, and deep stillness.
TRACK 5: THIRD WITCH / CLOTA, PORTER, GENTLEWOMAN
CLOTA is river, land-memory, grief, and tenderness. She is deeply connected to GRUOCH and spends the play trying to save what cannot be saved. As PORTER and GENTLEWOMAN, she moves between threshold, witness, and caretaker. Requires warmth, emotional availability, grounded physicality, and strong transformation skills.
TRACK 6: MALCOLM
Duncan’s heir and the bringer of a new Christianized order. Malcolm is disciplined, cautious, intelligent, and politically necessary. He restores Scotland, but his rise also marks the end of the old sacred world. Requires clarity, restraint, and quiet authority.
TRACK 7: MACDUFF
A nobleman, husband, father, and moral counterweight to Macbeth. Macduff’s journey moves from suspicion to devastating grief to righteous confrontation. Requires emotional depth, strong verse work, and fight ability. His final duel with Macbeth should feel personal, painful, and earned.
TRACK 8: BANQUO, FIRST APPARITION, CAITHNESS
BANQUO is Macbeth’s friend, fellow soldier, and moral mirror. He represents lineage, restraint, and the future Macbeth cannot control. As FIRST APPARITION and CAITHNESS, this track also moves through prophecy and resistance. Requires strength, warmth, moral clarity, and a haunting stillness as Banquo’s ghost.
TRACK 9: DUNCAN, SIWARD
DUNCAN represents sacred kingship, trust, and the royal order Macbeth violates. SIWARD later represents military discipline and the new order arriving with Malcolm. Requires dignity, authority, warmth, and the ability to embody two very different forms of leadership.
TRACK 10: LENNOX, LADY MACDUFF, THIRD MURDERER
A highly versatile track moving from court observer to domestic tragedy to political violence. LENNOX watches Macbeth’s Scotland decay. LADY MACDUFF brings warmth, wit, fear, and fierce protection before one of the play’s most brutal moments. Requires versatility, emotional courage, and quick transformation.
TRACK 11: ROSS, MENTEITH, SECOND MURDERER, SOLDIER/LORD
A politically complex track. ROSS is a survivor and messenger navigating a dangerous court, while MENTEITH joins the resistance against Macbeth. As SECOND MURDERER, the actor also embodies the human machinery of Macbeth’s violence. Requires strong text work, emotional intelligence, and adaptability.
TRACK 12: ANGUS, SERGEANT, FIRST MURDERER, CAST FIGHT CAPTAIN
A physically central track tied to battle, blood, and the body of Scotland at war. ANGUS begins as the wounded Sergeant and later becomes one of the thanes who sees Macbeth’s rule collapsing. As FIRST MURDERER, he carries out Macbeth’s violence. Requires stage combat skill, leadership, and strong ensemble presence.
TRACK 13: YOUTH — FLEANCE, YOUNG SIWARD, MESSENGER, SECOND APPARITION
A youth/youthful track centered on inheritance, innocence, and prophecy. FLEANCE is the future Macbeth cannot destroy. YOUNG SIWARD is brave and tragically outmatched. The MESSENGER and SECOND APPARITION help carry key turning points in Macbeth’s downfall. Requires presence, courage, and physical readiness.
TRACK 14: YOUTH — DONALBAIN, MACDUFF’S SON, SERVANT, THIRD APPARITION
A youth/youthful track centered on endangered heirs, murdered innocence, and prophetic imagery. DONALBAIN survives Duncan’s murder. MACDUFF’S SON brings humor, warmth, and heartbreak before a devastating act of violence. The THIRD APPARITION carries one of the play’s most important prophetic images. Requires openness, transformation, and emotional honesty.