AUDITIONS have got to be every actor's nightmare. Not even the most egocentric prima donnas could relish the thought of standing in front of the full-length mirrors at the Fringe Club rehearsal studio.
For most, the idea of delivering 17th century Elizabethan verse probably gets top marks for boredom appeal, but the temptation of escaping to a world of witches, apparitions and brutal sword fights proved irresistible to 26 hopeful youngsters. They had succumbed to the challenge of Shakespeare in the sweltering heat of a Saturday afternoon.
Macbeth, perhaps the greatest Shakespearean tragedy, will be staged at the Fringe Club from May 25 to 28. Produced by the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival and jointly directed by Lottie Ross and Jeremy Hardingham, it may just succeed in redressing some of the stereotypical images Shakespeare undeservedly has.
''We are really looking for a cast that would span as wide an age group as possible,'' said Ms Ross, the actress/director at the helm of the $15,OOO effort. ''The challenge of working with people aged from six to 25 is that you have this huge melting potof ideas.'' Ideas were certainly experimented with at the first round of auditions, which attracted 26 bright hopefuls, some of whom had never taken the stage, let alone heard of Macbeth.
Jeremy Hardingham, the precocious 19-year-old who directed Stephen Berkoff's West at the Fringe Festival, ran the session not so much as summer school, but a dramatic workshop.
''We don't just want a flat audition, but for people to improvise and start working together at themes within the play,'' he said.
The result was total creative mayhem as youngsters mimed, improvised lines and incorporated their own personalities in the given scenarios. Split into groups of five or six, the essence of each group's performance was unique.