“The Blood Bolter’d Banquo / Smiles”:
Starting off strong, here is one of my favorite pictures from the show. Featured here isElla Loudermilk (‘26), who played Banquo, and taking the picture is Stickles (‘26), who played Ross. This picture was taken directly after the infamous banquet scene, or 3.4. as we call it. Between Banquo’s fight and death scene, Ella had to quickly smother her neck, gambeson, which is what her jacket is called, and face in stage blood backstage, then sneak behind Macbeth’s throne as it’s being brought onstage. Each night after the scene, Ella would have to try her best to wash off as much blood as she could, though I think her hands and clothes are now stained permanently. Her neck concealer was definitely working overtime.
“Double Double, Toil and Trouble”:
Featured in this polaroid is (from left to right) myself, Frannie Hittle (‘28), Ella Loudermilk (‘26), Caleb Bannen (‘26), and Addison Webb (‘26). Every night before the show, Ella and Addison would concoct a Spotify pre-show queue, mainly consisting of early-2000s music with the occasional rap song. The vibes were always high in the Green Room, and if anyone were to walk by, they would most likely hear us screaming along to Sir Mix-A-Lot. Some nights, people really wanted to lock in and get into character, hence Ella and Frannie listening to their own music. Here, Frannie is most likely listening to “Thoroughfare” by Ethel Cain (our favorite lock-in song), and Ella, her iconic Banquo playlist.
“My Dearest Partner of Greatness”:
Featured in this very artistic (and totally candid) photo is myself andFrannie Hittle (‘28). Though this silver dress might seem glamorous, it actually involved a stressful backstage quick-change. I had to quickly run off stage while taking off my purple robe and meet with my amazing costume helpers, Aoife Baker (‘28) and Emily Tryder (‘29). They really did all the work, making sure not only my dress was on correctly, but also my silver heels, crown, and collar, all in around a minute. Not to mention we had to do all of this without messing up my bright red lipstick, which by the end of the show was always ruined anyways. Shoutout to Mrs. Ellie for letting me use hers!
“Put on Your Nightgown” (Bottom Left):
This photo was taken of me before my “Out damned spot” scene. The most-asked question I have gotten after the show is: how did you get the blood on your nightgown? Well, each night a member of crew set a blob of a sticky, blood-like goop on a part of the scaffolding, which I would grab onto as I was saying one of my lines. With the blood then in my hand, I hid it from the audience until I wiped it down my nightgown, arms, and hands. Once I finished the scene, I (attempted to) clean all the blood off from my hands, and gave my nightgown to Aoife to be washed.
“All My Pretty Chickens” (Top Left): This polaroid features (from left to right) Stickles (‘26), Marina Romero (‘27), Coco Patterson (‘29), and Nicole Kaleem (‘29). Also featured in this photo is the baby doll used as the Macduff family’s youngest child. This baby was actually present throughout the entirety of the rehearsal process for the show; it became almost an emotional support device, being held throughout many debriefs, rants, and character work days. The Macduff family and Stickles had a lot of fun throughout the rehearsal process coming up with relationships and character traits for each character, such as Young Macduff’s (Coco’s) affinity for swordfighting.
“Sons, Kinsmen, Thanes” (Bottom Middle): Moving down in the collage, we have a photo of Ella Loudermilk (‘26), junior Marina Romero (‘27), Stickles (26), Coco Patterson (‘29), Anne Heetderks (‘28), freshman Clare Reed (‘29), Nicole Kaleem (‘29), Addison Webb (‘29), and Charle Gaughan (‘28). This photo contains all of our Thanes plus Macbeth and Malcolm, looking very professional and friendly, possibly for the only time until Macbeth starts going crazy. Each gambeson in this photo was made meticulously for this production by Mrs. Blakeslee.
“This Dead Butcher and his Fiend-Like Queen” (Top Right): The next photo features myself and Addison Webb (‘26). In this photo, we wanted to truly look like the dynamic duo that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are. This photo features our two top-of-show outfits, serving as the starting point in the shift of costumes for the both of us, with my costumes progressively getting more white as Lady Macbeth grows more paranoid and guilt-ridden, and Addison’s getting darker as Macbeth descends further into murder and madness. We are really selling the happy couple look.
“The Weird Sisters, Hand in Hand”: Featured in this photo are the three witches (from left to right), Mattie Oliver (‘28), Isla Allen (‘29), and Frannie Hittle (‘28). This photo was taken during their two-act break. According to Frannie, the three would set up camp in front of the Green Room TV, do their hair, drink water, and just chill, and it would be very fun. Just as the witches do in the play, these three would watch the show from behind the scenes.
“Something Wicked This Way Comes”:
In this photo, you can catch a glimpse of the witches’ once again sporting their iconic hair and makeup, which they all did themselves each night; from Mattie’s use of blue and black eyeshadow on her eyes and lips (also shoutout Urban Decay setting spray), Frannie’s meticulous winged eyeliner and big hair, and Isla’s edgy lip combo and sharp eyeliner, the Weird Sisters truly came to life in these three, even if the makeup and hair did cause some minor crashouts.
“Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”:
To finish off, it is only fitting to add a photo featuring our traditional senior and faculty roses. This polaroid shows (from left to right) Ellie Goldberg (‘28), Charle Gaughan (‘27), and Isla Allen (‘29). Here, they are seen adding Macbeth plaid ribbons (yes, the plaid is actually called Macbeth), to roses for our seniors and adults. Special shoutout to Charle Gaughan, who not only adorned most of the flowers, but also facilitated the giving out of roses, which is one of the most important jobs and traditions in SR Theatre.
