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SCRANTON — For Miranda Chemchick, the most difficult part of playing “Macbeth” isn’t that he’s a man.

“I’ve had male roles before,” she said, listing Claudius in “Hamlet,” Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet” and even one of Auntie Histamine’s “henchmen” in a fairy tale spinoff called “Handsome & Petal.”

No, for Chemchick, 20, who’s been working with professional actors/directors Rudy Caporaso and Rosemary Hay of REV Theatre Co. during four years of productions by and for Scranton youth, the challenge of her role in a Jan. 27 performance at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts on Jackson Street is “bringing a feminine touch to Macbeth.”

Shakespeare already gave the character some qualities that Western society typically associates with women, Caporaso said. “Vulnerability. Compassion. Imagination.”

While Chemchick has been working to strike the right balance between Macbeth’s softer side and his activities as a loyal warrior who turns and murders his king, 15-year-old Kayla Chofey has to convey the greed and drive of Lady Macbeth, who pushes and urges her husband to do the deed.

“He’s the car and she’s the gas,” Caporaso said.

“She’s the one wants it the most,” said Chofey, describing Lady Macbeth as very different from Hamlet’s girlfriend, Ophelia, whom she portrayed in last year’s winter play.

“Hamlet was beating her up,” Chofey said. “Bree (Heffley, the actor who played Hamlet) was throwing me around.”

This year Heffley, 18, plays one of the three witches who tantalize Macbeth with mysterious prophecies. The group, which also includes 10-year-old Kayla Mead and 14-year-old Taryn Loney, has a cauldron around which they huddle, as you might expect.

But they’ll also have swirling fog, a baby doll and a scooter — Loney enters riding it, and wearing a funky helmet — and when the witches rifle the pockets of some dead bodies, one of them will come away with a Twinkie.

“This is not your grandpa’s ‘Macbeth,’ ” Caporaso said.

“We like to add contemporary elements,” Hay said, explaining that makes this show more relatable to the cast, who range in age from 8 to 20.

REV Theatre Co., which is based in Philadelphia and New York, works in partnership with the United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania to bring theater to a cast and audience that might not otherwise experience it.

“I’ve learned so many skills, acting-wise and as a person, being able to commit to something,” said Chemchick, who served as assistant director during “Little Red Riding Hood” last summer.

“I like sharing what I’ve learned with the younger kids,” she added.

Talk to some of the young actors and you’ll see they’re learning all sorts of things — from teamwork, to the difference between “upstage” and “downstage,” to language arts.

“I tell someone to ‘fly, fly, fly,’ ” 11-year-old Connor Griggs, who plays Banquo, told a visitor. “It means, ‘run away, run away!’ “

Witches Kayla Mead of Scranton, left, Bree Heffley, of Clarks Summit, and Taryn Loney, of Scranton, toil over a cauldron during rehearsal for ‘Macbeth’ at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_macbeth1-2.jpg.optimal.jpgWitches Kayla Mead of Scranton, left, Bree Heffley, of Clarks Summit, and Taryn Loney, of Scranton, toil over a cauldron during rehearsal for ‘Macbeth’ at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton.

Kayla Chofey, of Scranton, left, portrays Lady Macbeth and Taryn Loney, of Scranton, as one of the three witches, adds an eerie presence to her reverie.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_macbeth2-2.jpg.optimal.jpgKayla Chofey, of Scranton, left, portrays Lady Macbeth and Taryn Loney, of Scranton, as one of the three witches, adds an eerie presence to her reverie.

Holding a lantern aloft, 11-year-old Connor Griggs, of Scranton, portrays Banquo during rehearsal for the REV Theatre Co.’s production of ‘Macbeth.’
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_macbeth4-2.jpg.optimal.jpgHolding a lantern aloft, 11-year-old Connor Griggs, of Scranton, portrays Banquo during rehearsal for the REV Theatre Co.’s production of ‘Macbeth.’

Lady Macbeth (Kayla Chofey), left, confronts Macbeth (Miranda Chemchick) during rehearsal for ‘Macbeth’ at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_macbeth3-2.jpg.optimal.jpgLady Macbeth (Kayla Chofey), left, confronts Macbeth (Miranda Chemchick) during rehearsal for ‘Macbeth’ at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton.

By Mary Therese Biebel

[email protected]

IF YOU GO

What: ‘Macbeth’

Who: Presented by REV Theatre Co. with United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania

Where: Oppenheim Center for the Arts, 1004 Jackson St., Scranton

When: 6 p.m. Jan. 27

Admission: Free

Info: 570-961-1592

Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT