Name: _____________________________
English 3 CP
“MACBETH” SCENE REWRITE and PERFORMANCE (50 points)
Directions: You and your group will be responsible for modernizing, rewriting, and performing a scene from “Macbeth.”
Please follow the directions and deadlines listed below very carefully!
1. Choose ONE of the following scenes to act out in front of the class. Each section is roughly the same length (170 lines).
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Act I, Scene iii (prophecies)
Act I, Scene v + vii (Lady Mac.’s persuasion)
Act II, Scene i-ii (murder – Mac. + Lady Mac.)
Act II, Scene iii (murder – everyone)
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Act III, Scene iv (banquet)
Act IV, Scene i (witches + Mac.)
Act V, Scene i + v (Lady Mac’s death)
Act V, Scene vi-viii (Mac.’s death)
2. Develop a setting in which you would like to rewrite your scene. Remember, it cannot be totally random, as it
has to fit ALL of the plot and the roles the characters are initially a part of. Look at the article on “Scotland, PA” on
the back as an example. You must get it approved by me!
3. Assign a role to each of the characters to fit your setting, even if they are not in your scene. This will help solidify
your setting and situation to make sure it will work:
 King Duncan: ___________________________
 Banquo: _________________________________
 Malcolm/Donalbain: ______________________
 Fleance: _________________________________
 Macbeth: _______________________________
 Macduff: ________________________________
 Lady Macbeth: __________________________
 3 Witches/Weird Sisters: ___________________
4. Rewrite the lines of your scene in a language appropriate to your new setting (and school). You may not leave out or
modify any events or characters. You may only change the language to suit your version of the scene. I would
suggest dividing your scene up and assigning sections to rewrite. You can then create a GoogleDoc or email it to one
person so they can put it all together in one document. It will help to print a final copy for each group member as well.
5. Assign a role for EACH group member to take in the performance. YES, everyone must perform something! You are
responsible for knowing your lines. If your scene only involves two people on stage, you should stop the scene halfway through, and switch characters so that everyone has a chance to perform.
6. You must have at least one prop for each character so that it is easily recognizable who they are. For example, maybe
Macbeth carries a sword and King Duncan wears a crown. Be creative though and remember the props should be
appropriate for your version. You may not make name tags to use in place of a prop.
7. The last step will be to rehearse and perform your scene for the class.
Grading Rubric:
WRITTEN PORTION (typed): (30 pts)
 List of group members and their contribution to the project.
 The Act/Scene number; an explanation of the setting of your modernized version of the scene; a list of
characters, their new roles, and their props.
 A translation of the lines rewritten in dialogue fashion:
Macbeth: We will speak no further
Lady Macbeth: Only look up clear. / To alter favor ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me.
PERFORMANCE: (20 pts.)
 Accuracy and familiarity of lines and stage direction/emotion on stage
 Accuracy of the interpretation of lines
 Appropriate use of Costumes/ Props/Lighting
 Overall quality (effort, enthusiasm, emotion)
English 3 CP
“Macbeth” Performance Grading Rubric
Group Members: _________________________________ _______________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
You will have Monday 6/3, Tuesday 6/4, and Wednesday 6/5 in class to prepare for your performance. On
Thursday we will be conducting our performances. On the day of the performance, you will have the first 5
minutes to get organized and sit with your group. We will then immediately begin the performances. If we all
cooperate, you will have the last 5 minutes to clean up. The group that is “on-deck” can QUIETLY move to
the side and set-up while the group prior is performing. Anyone who is talking or being disruptive during any
part of class will lose points no questions asked. You will lose 10 points automatically if you are not prepared
on the day of the performance. If you are not prepared to go the next day, it will be a zero for the performance
part and the written part will be graded “as is.”
WRITTEN PORTION (typed):
_____ / 30 pts.
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Log of Daily Roles: ___ / 7pts. (*attached worksheet… does NOT need to be typed)
i. List of group members and their contribution to the project and the
Log of who did what each day is submitted at the end of each class
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Setting/Character Explanation: ___/ 7 pts.
i. The Act/Scene number; an explanation of the setting of your modernized
version of the scene including a list of characters, their new roles, and their props.
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Translation of Lines: ____/ 16 pts.
i. A translation of the lines rewritten in dialogue fashion; accuracy of lines
and appropriateness to the new setting
Comments:
PERFORMANCE: (20 pts.)
_____ / 20pts.
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Performing: ___ / 7 pts.
o Accuracy and familiarity of lines; stage direction and emotion
was appropriate to the action
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Props: ___ / 5 pts.
o Appropriate use of Costumes/ Props/Lighting
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Professionalism: ___ / 8 pts.
o Overall quality (effort, enthusiasm, seriousness during performance)
Comments:
Break a leg! 
TOTAL: ____ / 50 pts.
“Macbeth” Performance Daily Log
Group Members & Roles Assigned:
MONDAY 6/3: At the end of the period, write down what each person was asked to do for the group AND what he/she
actually accomplished.
TUESDAY 6/4: At the end of the period, write down what each person was asked to do for the group AND what he/she
actually accomplished.
What needs to be completed tomorrow in class yet in order to make the performance happen on time?
WEDNESDAY 6/5: At the end of the period, write down what each person was asked to do for the group AND what
he/she actually accomplished.
Is anyone expected to do anything tonight in order to prepare for the performance tomorrow? Is anyone assigned to bring
anything to class tomorrow?
SCOTLAND, PA
(2002)
"Scotland, PA" translates Shakespeare's "Macbeth" into a comedy set in a
Pennsylvania fast-food burger stand, circa 1972. Lady Macbeth rubs unhappily at a
grease burn on her hand, the three witches become three local hippies, and poor Duncan,
the manager, isn't attacked with a knife but is pounded on the head with a skillet. If you
know "Macbeth," it's funny. Anyone who doesn't is going to think these people are
acting mighty peculiar.
Like all good satire, this one is based on venom and loathing. I learn that Billy
Morrissette, the writer-director, first began to think of burger stands in Macbethian terms
while working in one some 20 years ago. He shared his thoughts with his girlfriend,
Maura Tierney, who became his wife, and appropriately plays Lady Macbeth, a.k.a. Mrs.
McBeth, in this movie.
The story: "Mac" McBeth (James LeGros) and his wife Pat slave unhappily in
Duncan's, a fast-food outlet run by Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn). Mac lives with the dream that he will someday
be manager. His current boss is Doug McKenna (Josh Pais), who is ripping off Duncan and pocketing receipts. The
McBeths tell Duncan about the theft, expecting Mac will be named the new manager. But, no, Duncan picks his two
sons, Malcolm (Tom Guiry) and Donald (Geoff Dunsworth) as his heirs.
This is not right, Pat McBeth hisses fiercely to her husband. Especially not after Mac has increased sales by
introducing the concept of a drive-through line to Scotland, Pa. Pat badgers her husband to kill Duncan, and buy the
eatery from his indifferent sons. "We're not bad people, Mac," she argues. "We're just underachievers who have to
make up for lost time." Macbeth is Shakespeare's most violent play, and "Scotland, PA" follows cheerfully in that
tradition; after Duncan is pounded on the head, what finishes him off is a head-first dive into the French-fry grease.
The case is so suspicious that the local cops call in Lt. Ernie McDuff (Christopher Walken), who affects a kind of
genial absent-mindedness as a cover for his investigation. "This place really looks great," he tells the proud couple at
the grand opening of their McBeth's. "Of course, the last time there was a dead body in the fryer." Morrissette uses
the Shakespeare parallels whenever be can (there is of course a ghost at McBeth's opening), and Tierney, in the
juiciest role, actually evokes some of the power of the original Lady Macbeth, especially in the way she deals with
the torment of her blistered hands. And James LeGros is as feckless and clueless as Shakespeare's Macbeth--easily
led, easily deceived, easily disheartened.
The buried joke in many parodies is that events must happen because they did in the original. That works
here to explain the remorseless procession of bloody and creepy events. We're expected to engage with the movie on
two levels--as itself, and as a parallel to Shakespeare. While modern re-tellings of Shakespeare often work (as in the
Michael Almereyda-Ethan Hawke "Hamlet" or Tim Blake Nelson's "O"), a parody is another matter; like an update,
it deprives itself of the purpose of the original. It's even more complicated when the maker of the parody doesn't
despise the original, but clearly likes it; Morrissette hates fast food,
not "Macbeth." I enjoyed the movie in a superficial way, while never
sure what its purpose was. I have the curious suspicion that it will be
enjoyed most by someone who knows absolutely nothing about
Shakespeare, and can see it simply as the story of some very strange
people who seem to be reading from the same secret script.
Resource found at : http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/scotland-pa-2002