Thursday, August 18, 2011

MACBETH! MACBETH! MACBETH!

So, in my profession, there is this CRAZY superstition that has been around for quite some time, and that is that if you say the word Macbeth in a theatre, then something bad is going to happen to your show because of the paranormal activity that happens during the show, like with the witches and everything.

Well, I'm here to say that I think this myth is COMPLETELY ridiculous. Am I going to back this opinion up with facts or websites? No. I think that the only argument that I can make against it is that superstition is bogus. It is not only something that happens in theatre, but it also happens in sports. Take baseball, for example. There are so many baseball superstitions and rituals that each player is aware of. One superstition is that as a player in the infield or the outfield, you are not supposed to walk over the pitchers mound when you go to your position. They say that it is bad luck. Is it really bad luck? No. It is just a way for the pitcher to gain a little more respect from the other players.

You can pretty much find superstitions in any sport. The same goes for a lot of other professions. People even have superstitions in their own life. Like Don't wear white after Labor Day (I'm not entirely sure that this is a superstition). Why not? all of these things are completely ridiculous.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most well-known and highly regarded plays. It is actually my favorite William Shakespeare play. It is about a Scottish warrior named Macbeth, who stumbles upon 3 witches one day after a battle. They tell him that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland after that. Macbeth starts to believe them when the first premonition comes true. So, he thinks that since the first one came true, then the second one must come true as well. He starts to think in his mind that he must find a way to become King. The only way to do so is to kill the King who is already on the thrown. When his wife catches wind of this news, she becomes completely obsessed with this plan to kill the King. They devise a plan to kill him in his sleep, and the plan works. They kill the King, and since the two sons fled Scotland for fear of being wrongly accused, Macbeth becomes the King. This thirst for blood and power does not stop there. He becomes so obsessed with what the witches told him, that he decides to kill off anyone who he feels is a threat to the throne. This includes his friend Banquo. His thirst for blood continues until the country of Scotland rises up and fights back and kills him (to make a long story short).

The reason why I can't stand this superstition is because it is one of my favorite plays, and I'm not even allowed to say it in a theatre. It's too good of a play for it to not be said in a theatre. So, from here on out, I am going to say Macbeth wherever and whenever I want. I don't care about some old wives tale. If you don't like it, then you are going to have to deal with it, because I am going to do it anyways. There is no such thing as superstition. I am a man of faith. If there is something that is going to happen, then it was meant to happen. There's nothing that we can do about it. If something goes wrong in or around the play, then it was meant to happen. MACBETH! MACBETH! MACBEEEEETH!!!!!!!


Haha. I just thought that this was an appropriate video for this post. If you want to share your opinions on the matter, don't be afraid to let us know. If you disagree with me, and want to tell us a story of why you believe this myth is true, then I would love to hear it, as well. Of course, as always, you can contact me on my twitter (RealMikeBarry), my facebook (Badlands Barry), or even my LinkedIn profile (Michael Barry).

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