A Return to the Stage: Bringing Macbeth to Life

By Austin Farwell
US Drama Teacher and Production Director

Austin Farwell is the Upper School Drama Teacher and Director of Macbeth. He joined TAS in 2022 after spending four years in Mexico City. Austin graduated from The International School of Manila in 2001, and is thrilled to return to an IASAS school as an educator. We are pleased to share his reflections on bringing Macbeth to the TAS stage, as we celebrate this production as the first, in-person, indoor theatrical performance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Editor's Note: Tickets are now on sale in the Tiger Shop for performances on October 5 and 6 at 7:00 PM, and October 7 at 4:00 PM. All TAS community members are encouraged to attend. This show is suitable for students in Grade 5 and older.

When I was a high school freshman at The International School of Manila we took a 45 minute production of Macbeth to IASAS and it left an indelible mark on me. Shakespeare in many ways is a rite of passage for most high school students; for some it’s reading Romeo and Juliet in English class, for others it’s acting in a production, and for a few it might even be just reading it for fun.

Shakespeare was the first one to accurately observe that all the world is indeed a stage. Whether we like it or not, we are all but poor players strutting and fretting our way upon our life’s stage in the hopes of finding and holding on to meaning.

In my first year at TAS, I wanted our drama production to have a profound impact on our students, much like my own theatre experience when I was in their shoes. For me, Macbeth was the easy choice. Not only am I revisiting this timeless and gripping play as an educator in an IASAS school, but we have been able to dig deep into the wealth of knowledge and resources in the community to mount a truly stunning production.

From working with Action Dragon, a professional fight choreography studio, to our own set, sound, lighting, and costume design, our students have been steeped in a rehearsal process to rival that of a professional production, whether they are on stage, in the wings, or behind the scenes.

The work of Jess, our Production Manager, Kevin (set and lighting), James (sound and crew), and Chris (costume and props), has made this production and the experience for the students truly one that we all hope they will never forget.

Each student involved in this production has risen to the occasion, and I hope they are all as proud of their efforts as I am! Their enthusiasm at each rehearsal, their eagerness to work together and collaborate, and their endless creativity is truly a joy and an inspiration to me as an educator.

In our production of Macbeth we hope to show the audience a truthful and grounded portrayal of the many heightened themes present in this brilliant script; those of love, ambition, greed, betrayal and retribution. The more we live on this planet the more we come to perhaps realize that humankind is capable of all these emotions, perhaps simultaneously.

It has been an absolute pleasure to guide this talented cast through the caverns of language and thought present in this play. For most of us, Shakespeare is akin to a foreign language and much work has been done to ground this show in as much recognizable meaning as possible so as to hold a mirror up to nature.

By weaving this production in a locally rooted universe we hope that you delight in certain references, see yourselves in certain performances, and enjoy being together as a community to share in the joy of live performance once again.