Odcikin portrays witches as three stages of womanhood in 'Macbeth'

It's been a six-year-long journey for Evren Odcikin '02 and "Macbeth," beginning with his first reading of the Bard's play his freshman year of high school in Turkey and now culminating with his directorial debut of the same play at Princeton University.

From the moment he first picked up the play, Odcikin said he was filled with questions which he hoped to explore as a director. He said he was intrigued by the role of the witches as not only the predictors of the future, but as engineers of the plot.

"They weren't only prophesizing about the future," Odickin said. "They were pushing the action forward."

Numerous productions of "Macbeth" have treated the witches as a sort of Greek chorus with each representing a different stage of womanhood — "the young innocent, the sensual woman and the old crone," according to Katie Flynn '02, the actress playing the second witch. Odcikin has included the representation of the three age categories but has taken the characters' centrality to the play a step further.

To emphasize their manipulation of the plot, Odcikin has cast the three women playing the witches in additional secondary roles. This is a very original choice on his behalf as a director and he hopes that he will be successful in portraying, quite literally, the witches' pivotal roles in manipulating the plot.

"The characters that the witches play affect the course of the events," said Kurt Uy '01, who plays the title role. "With the witches playing them, it casts them in a more powerful light."

Odcikin is extremely pleased with his cast, but explained that it was extremely difficult to fill the roles of his three witches. His interpretation of their roles required actresses who were dancers, physical actresses, versatile enough to play a variety of different characters and yet still "carry the role of the witches which is difficult enough in and of itself."

Flynn said this the opportunity to play numerous roles was particularly rewarding "because my base character is so interesting and complex . . . it infuses the other characters with a far richer texture."

Odcikin turned to English professor Thomas Roche for assistance in editing and making textual analysis. Roche said he is interested in the performative aspects of Shakespeare and was pleased to work with Odcikin, whom he praises as "a very serious and inventive director."

In addition to his scholarly contributions, Roche will also be making a cameo appearance in the play as the Porter, the only purely comedic role in the play, and as the Doctor, reprising two roles he played in Princeton's last production of "Macbeth" six years ago.

Roche admires the work that Odcikin has done and explained that "Evren's ideas about the play are quite original — using a virtually open stage, with minimal costuming and props." These decisions about the set and costuming serve to diminish any distractions from the actors themselves.

Odcikin said he felt Theatre~Intime was the ideal location to stage the play. "It is the only space on campus that actually looks like a theater," he explained, adding that he wanted to perform in a venue where the audience would be aware of the theatrical aspects of the play.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The set concept also highlights the important work of the actors in the play and works well with the device of multiple-casting. His removal of the curtains on the side of the stage serves to blur the division between backstage and onstage. Odcikin said he was "really intrigued by the relationship between the actors and their characters" and felt that seeing the transition as the actor walked from the wings to the stage would add dimension to the play.

Odcikin's interpretation definitely forges new ground for a very old play and it will be interesting to see how the language plays out once it reaches the stage.

Roche said, "Our production should stir up some questions about our ordinary assumptions about the play."

"Macbeth" will be running for two weekends at Theatre~Intime April 19–21 and 26-28 at 8 p.m. There will be a matinee at 2 p.m. on April 28. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 for faculty and $10 for general admission. U-Call "Intime" for reservations.