macbitches, written by Sophie McIntosh and directed by Shanna Camacho, marks an incredible start to Magnolia Theatre Company’s new UTOPIA: An MTC Theatre Festival, in partnership with Dayton Playhouse and others. The festival’s first play forefronts issues faced by every young actress.
Secrets Lead to Backstage Drama
macbitches opens on a minimalist stage, set in the apartment living room of Rachel and Lexi (Evelyn Vordtriede and Sarah Rowell). Both actresses are theatre majors determined to make it to the big leagues. As we quickly learn, Rachel is the stereotypical favorite and tends to win all the starring roles, while her best friend Lexi, who is just as great an actor, gets the short end of the stick.
Friends Piper (Ainsley Smith), who grew up in an ultra-religious household, and Cam (Billie Sunshine), who is in denial about battling depression and is harboring a MAJOR crush on Rachel, join them to celebrate with Haley (Katie Baldwin), the freshman who beat out these upper-level peers to land the role of Lady Macbeth, which was everyone’s dream part. What better way to celebrate than with a night of drinking and filling each other in on the behind-the-curtain secrets of the drama department. This is going to end well, don’t you think?
Modern, Relatable Themes Strike a Chord
Once the play picks up momentum, I found myself laughing way more than I thought I would. Rachel, Lexi, Cam, and Piper spill the tea on their classmates and professors and reminisce about past productions to give Haley a better idea of what lies ahead for her as the new leading lady. Their delivery is comical enough not to scare the young first-year. But as someone familiar with small departmental cliques in college, this feels all too real.
As the celebratory drinking picks up, so does the tension in the room. The upper-level students have a goal for the evening: Get Haley drunk and ultimately humiliate her. Once Haley passes out and Rachel, Lexi, and Cam find a way for Piper, the moral compass of the group, to leave for the night, the story takes a dark turn. Without giving away the ending, the twist mimics Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but with more modern, relatable themes.
Progressive Values vs. Misogynistic Norms
While watching macbitches, I felt so upset for the characters on stage. The women fight for the approval of men, in this case their directors, doing whatever they deem necessary to bring each other down so they will be noticed and achieve the highest-ranking roles.
Even though these young women perceive themselves to be progressive in many ways, they are still subject to society’s patriarchal behavior. They are stymied by their own misogynistic beliefs, ingrained in them by current societal norms.
Shakespeare’s Themes Resonate
Growing up in the 1990s, I lived in an era that reinvented Shakespearean works, from 10 Things I Hate About You and O to Baz Luhrmann’s modern retelling of Romeo + Juliet. macbitches isn’t a total reimagining of Shakespeare, but it captures the essence of Macbeth’s themes, which are still relevant today.
I hope more audiences get to experience macbitches, because it’s an emotional roller coaster highlighting the struggles young women (or any young person) still face.
Festival Celebrates Local Artists
Gina Handy Minyard, the founding artistic director of Magnolia Theatre Company, found inspiration from other play festivals highlighting female artists to bring that same energy and support to Dayton. It was an incredible honor to witness the wonderful new UTOPIA: An MTC Theatre Festival. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing individuals from other playhouses and students from surrounding colleges showcase their craft. This festival is a three-day event, so I look forward to the next performance!
The final show in the UTOPIA Festival, located at University of Dayton’s Black Box Theatre, is Merri Biechler’s Occupation, which takes place on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 2:00pm.
Tickets are available online at WWW.MAGNOLIATHEATRECOMPANY.COM, through the Zeffy Platform.
