Post-Apocalyptic 'Macbeth' Earns Framingham Student First Place

FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Framingham High senior Grace Graham won the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s hair and makeup design competition.

Graham tied for first place with Alexandria Messina of Triton Regional High School, during a competition last weekend.

Messina submit designs for Priscilla Queen of Desert.

Graham won for her hair and makeup designs for the Shakespearean classic Macbeth, but in a post-apocalyptic future.

“I chose Macbeth because it was the first Shakespeare play that I read, and I’ve been in love with it ever since,“ said Graham, who shines both on the stage as an actress and behind the scenes with theatre.

She said what she loved about Macbeth is the “imagery, twists and turns in the plot, and the fact it is a very real story. It follows a twisted and fascinating tale of two people, who will do whatever it takes to get what they desire most in the world: power.”

Graham said the “timelessness of the plot allowed me to put my own interpretation of how I felt the characters would appear in a post-apocalyptic setting, something that I feel is reflected in my designs.”

Editor’s note: Her winning designs are attached to this report.

Graham’s Macbeth is set in a “post apocalyptic fallout in the future, with the world being torn apart by means of nuclear war.”

In her winning designs for hair and makeup, Graham used the characters of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Ghost of Banquo, and a Witch.

Graham said in her futuristic version of Macbeth, there are “certain characters, such as the royals, who are trying to survive and thrive through this tragedy. There are others though who have become completely absorbed in this world and try to salvage what they can from this dystopia.”

“I believe that this concept is appropriate for Macbeth because it is applicable to many themes within the play. For example, the destruction from the nuclear waste represents a reversal of everything natural and the natural order, one of the many themes that is at the crux of the play,” said the Framingham High senior.

Last year, Graham won an acting award for her role of Jane Sparks in Framingham High School Drama Company’s METG Festival entry Vieux Carré. And a couple weeks later, she won a second award for her performance as Sparks.

Asked if she prefers being on the stage or behind the scenes, Graham said “I like acting and hair/makeup both the same, they are just two completely different fields.”

She said she enjoys “acting because I think it is extremely fun and challenging at the same time. I love being presented with the task of portraying a new character and visualizing the world in which they live.”

Graham said “with hair and makeup, I love having the freedom to create characters from my own imagination and having them look exactly the way I want them to. In my eyes, makeup is wearable art and a form of self expression.”

Graham said she is “very fortunate the Framingham High School Drama Company has allowed me to do both and I am so thankful for the numerous opportunities that I have been given.”