Laura Lucas

The classic tale of a general victorious in battle met by spirits of the dark, “Macbeth” is considered one of the greatest tragedies ever written.

Director J.D. Ackman leads a cast and crew of 36 SDSU students. The title character, Macbeth, is played by D.J. Steckelberg, a senior theatre major. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, is played by Elizabeth Bortnem, a junior communication studies and theatre major.

“The story is about two real, regular people who get taken over by evils of the world,” said Steckelberg.

Both Steckelberg and Bortnem have dedicated much time and energy to their roles. The actors said they come in to practice an hour or two early to run through lines and discuss the play.

Steckelberg said it was always a dream of his to do a Shakespeare play.

“It is so cool because of all the layers that are involved, which makes it ten times harder. It is the hardest type of play to do.”

On the other hand, this is Bortnem’s second Shakespearean play.

“After the first Shakespeare play, lines from other plays were a lot easier to learn,” Bortnem said.

“This time I worked on enunciation and made sure to say every word when learning the lines,” she said. “With some plays you can paraphrase some things or not say them exact, but with Shakespeare, you have to say every word.”

Both actors said the hardest part of their roles is figuring out what the character is saying. Steckelberg said the challenge for him was that his character changes from beginning to end, so he had to work at portraying the same guy and getting his message across.

“When an actor knows what he is talking about,” Steckelberg said, “then it will show by the actions and movements.”

“Working with Elizabeth has been outstanding. It’s been a joy working with her,” Streckelberg noted about his co-star.

“I hope the audience leaves with a greater appreciation for the literature and is impressed with the story” said Bortnem. “This is a really good experience. I love going to practice.”

#1.883489:414763603.jpg:macbeth2.jn.jpg:Wes Haskell plays Malcom, and Adam Kimball plays Malcom’s father, King Duncan.: