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Macbeth is an exploration of humanity's desire for power and the corruption of ambition. The piece tracks the titular character, Macbeth, and “his” compromise of morals in order to achieve what he wants through murder. Audiences are left asking, why does he go this far? Is it justified? Often, this is blamed on masculinity or the nature of war, an area also predominantly male. This production is set in a world without strict gender binaries, to ask the question, without the excusal of gender, why does Macbeth do what she does? Is it justified? The production aimed to focus on exploring humanity, not just male humanity. 

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The scenic design serves to create a world that is both built up and torn down over the course of the piece to track the role of consequence in the space. As more people are killed in the pursuit of power, the characters are seen deteriorating, entering a state of chaos, reflected by the falling of large boulders over the playing space in time with each death. These boulders are a constant pressure in the space, and upon falling physically impact the actors’ blocking. There is consequence in death. The characters affect the world around them. There is a final image of all rocks on the ground vs opening image of all rocks in the air, mirroring the transformation the world of the play undergoes throughout the arc of the show. The playing space itself is small, forcing all the characters to exist in close proximity to themselves and the audience, creating a sense of constant danger as there is no room to breath or escape. There is a desire for the piece to feel it is constantly moving forward at a pace the characters cannot keep up with. The color palette of the space is rooted in neutrals, with dark browns and greys primarily. Textures include dirt, rust, wood, metal, and rock, creating a gritty world. The paint treatments and props are more realistic, to help ground the audience as the set features more abstraction

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It is important audiences understand ambition is something that is not exclusive to the 11th century. Politically, socially, and professionally people are still compromising their morals in order to achieve what our society has deemed as success. Anyone has the ability to use violence. Everyone has the potential for this, not just men, despite the traditional approach to Macbeth. This is what we hoped to leave audiences with upon their viewing of Carnegie Mellon University’s Spring Production of Macbeth.