Media Advisory: Come see 1,400 WNY high school students “love” Macbeth

BUFFALO, N.Y. — You might expect teenagers to scoff at sitting through a 95-minute, no-intermission performance of Shakespeare’s grim and bloody Macbeth.

But if history is any judge, 1,400 high school students from seven Western New York school districts will love doing just that next week when The Acting Company, the much acclaimed, Tony and Obie Award-winning U.S. touring group, presents the play at the Center for the Arts (CFA) on University at Buffalo North Campus.

The Acting Company is an equity touring company that specializes in performances of classic work for students. The company performs for area students at UB every year and this year, is touring Macbeth and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court throughout the Northeast, New England and Midwest.

School districts represented at the performance will include Buffalo Public Schools, Houghton-Portage, Medina, Springville-Griffith, Forestville, Maryvale and Akron.

The students have been studying the play and its implications for political power struggle, and the teaching, performance and associated activities are designed to enrich students’ lives, broaden their perspectives, sharpen critical thinking and energize their overall learning process.

Media opportunities include:

• Performance: Monday, March 23, 10:30 a.m., Mainstage, CFA UB North Campus. On-site contact: Karen Dunn, 716-472-8102.

Brief filming of the performance will be permitted. Up to three minutes of film can be broadcast.

• Teacher and student workshops: Now through Friday, March 20, Akron High School, 47 Bloomingdale Ave., Akron, New York. For more information, contact Colleen Culligan at Akron High School, 716-542-5010.
  
  Filming of the student residency activities has been approved by Akron High School.

The teacher and student residency program at Akron High School is part of The Acting Company’s “learning by doing” educational mission and is fully funded by a grant from the company. Through several days of games, skill enhancement, discussion and role playing and modeling, the company aims to extend students’ understanding of theater and of this play and promote critical analysis in life and art.

CFA has, for 18 years, presented performances and workshops by professional theater companies for Western New York students as part of its School Time Series. The CFA selects the school at which visiting companies present workshops.