If We Were Villains

Oliver notes that “it [is] a week before anything else interesting [happens]” (49). Sessions continue until they each receive a note about secret rehearsals for the Halloween play. It is an annual tradition at Dellecher to perform a scene from Macbeth for Halloween. The fourth-years are not supposed to reveal their parts to each other. Oliver is playing Banquo, and they will be performing Act I, Scene 3 and Act IV, Scene 1. Oliver wonders if there is a clerical error in assigning the part since Banquo is a major character in both scenes. Meanwhile, Richard seems unhappy with his part and walks away from the group. Meredith tries to talk to Richard, but he brushes her off. Oliver suspects that with the new casting, “the balance of power had somehow shifted” (52).

The group meet for combat class, where Camilo, a fight choreographer, teaches them how to perform action sequences. Camilo is happy that Oliver has followed his regimen over the summer and put on some muscle. Richard is absent from the rehearsal. Camilo directs a fight sequence between James and Oliver, asking James to slap Oliver with a backhand. Oliver is supposed to move away fractionally before James makes contact. But Oliver, entranced by the sight of James, freezes and is hit for real. James apologizes profusely.

The first off-book rehearsal for Julius Caesar is a disaster, with most people forgetting their lines. As James and Alexander struggle through a scene, Richard grows impatient waiting for his cue in the wings. He enters the stage and interrupts the scene; Gwendolyn orders him off. Richard leaves. Meredith scolds Richard for his bad behavior and he apologizes to her.

October’s first half sees the group busy with their secret Macbeth rehearsals as well as their usual sessions with Gwendolyn and Frederick. In Gwendolyn’s class, Oliver gets his turn at revealing his strengths and weaknesses. His greatest insecurity is that he is the least talented of the fourth years. When Oliver has trouble thinking of a strength, James reminds him that he is a very generous actor, making “every scene you’re in about the other people in it” (63). In one of Frederick’s classes, the fourth-years get into an argument about the dramatic worth of Julius Caesar versus Macbeth. Alexander contends Macbeth is the superior tragedy, while Caesar is the lesser play. Richard counters both have similar tragic setups. The argument turns to the characters of the play. While Richard thinks Caesar is the true hero of Julius Caesar, the others contend Brutus is more the tragic protagonist. James suggests Richard plays the same type of vain, arrogant character as Caesar in all his plays. Richard gets angry; James apologizes, and Richard in turn says sorry for his behavior during rehearsal. A truce is called, but Oliver notes that this is the first time that there has been such an open show of hostility between the friends.

On Halloween night, the players prepare to reach the lakeside beach—their “stage”—at their various designated times. Oliver and James come across each other at the wooded trail heading to the beach. As Oliver suspected, James is playing the lead role of Macbeth. This means Richard has been cast in a smaller role, which explains his recent unhappiness. Oliver and James await their cue in the woods. The performance begins with the appearance of the witches: Meredith, Wren, and Filipa sneak up under an overturned canoe. Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, who prophesize that Macbeth shall be king, and that Banquo will be “Lesser than Macbeth and greater” (Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3).

Because of this prophecy, Macbeth has Banquo killed in in Act III, Scene 3 of the play. In the next scene, Macbeth is to be confronted by Banquo’s bloodied ghost. Back in the woods, James soaks a bare-chested Oliver with fake blood prepared by the art students. James enters the stage again. Richard finally appears, but only as a voice actor, playing a spirit predicting Macbeth’s greatness. Oliver enters as Banquo’s ghost towards the end of the scene. The performance ends to deafening applause. The audience and actors mingle and begin to party in a “sort of sybaritic hysteria” (84). Oliver notes Meredith looks exceptionally beautiful in her sheer white costume. The friends drink late into the night until only they and some third-years remain on the beach. Richard stays aloof from everyone. Meredith and Oliver square off against and Wren and James for a chicken fight in the lake. Richard objects and calls Meredith a sexist slur. When Oliver defends Meredith, Richard is enraged. James backs up Oliver and Richard turns on him, pushing James in the water and holding his head down. The rest of the group pry Richard off of James. Richard claims he was just playing and walks off. Oliver consoles James.