The Clyde Fitch Report is pleased to be lead online media sponsor of Macbeth in Close-Up, the first film produced by the Gorilla Repertory Theatre Company, directed by founding artistic director, Christopher Carter Sanderson.
Macbeth in Close-Up has been accepted by the innovative website Kickstarter.com to receive funding. Donate as little as $10 or as much as $5,000 and receive unique premiums (outlined on Kickstarter) for your participation.
Indie film star Mark Greenfield has been cast in the role of the Porter. Greenfield is familiar to New York theater audiences from his work with the Faux-Real Theatre Company, for which he is artistic director, as well as many productions with Gorilla Rep.
He is also familiar to film audiences from the hit 2008 film Vegas: Based on a True Story.
Through Oct. 21, the CF Report will pose Sanderson a question about Macbeth in Close-Up and Sanderson will provide both a text and video reply.
Today’s question:
Since Mark Greenfield is playing the Porter-a comic role-can you talk about how humor and comedy will fit into Macbeth in Close-Up?
Video Answer:
Here’s More:
Everyone knows how a classic tragedy will end. Part of what we do when we tell the story again is to tell all of its parts on their own terms. This lets the audience sink into what is happening and, in Shakespeare’s case, the wonderful language being used to make it happen. And this, in turn, lets us experience the ending as a surprise once more. This is the way a good story is told; the funny parts of any tragic tale are really the best example of this dynamic.
In the technique of the close-up, then, humor becomes even more important. It must provide the feeling of being right next to a friend who happens to be telling you a really hilarious joke. Mark Greenfield is an outstanding actor-you can sense his tragic depth showcased in Vegas: Based on a True Story. Before that, he was Gorilla Rep’s greatest comic actor, holding down the role of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Washington Square Park every summer for years.
One of the ways Mark could get a whole audience roaring was to get really close to one audience member and deliver the lines right to them. Now, as the Porter, his approach will be replicated in a way that can not only be seen on the large screen, but on iPhones as well as other devices. Just think about it: Mark Greenfield in close-up, in the palm of your hand. That could be even funnier than this time he grabbed a grapefruit and…
