Entertainment

Voices Echoing Through History: Inger Tudor Captivates Critics Around the World in Acclaimed Film, “Voodoo Macbeth”

October 18, 2022

Generally speaking, graduating from Harvard Law School would be a pinnacle goal and accomplishment in anyone’s life. For one grad, though, it was only a stepping stone in the path that led her to become an award-winning actress, teetering on the cusp of stardom.

Inger Tudor stars in the film “Voodoo Macbeth,” a critically acclaimed USC student film that tells the story of a young Orson Welles struggling to put on an all-Black cast production of Macbeth during the Great Depression. The story is not well-known to many, as Welles was hardly an accomplished film director at the tender age of 20 when the narrative takes place. Tudor plays opposite Jewell Wilson Bridges in the role of Rose McClendon.

Rose McClendon headed The Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project, an organization created by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal. It was designed to assist actors and actresses struggling to find work through desperate times after the stock market crash of 1929. Famous for his foresight, Roosevelt also knew that entertainment is often a necessary escape from the turmoils of everyday life in times of desperation. After Welles was convinced to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth for the Federal Theatre Project, he reimagined it as a Haitian fantasy and thus catapulted himself and McClendon into the limelight. While Voodoo Macbeth sold out at the box office in Harlem, it also created an outcry of backlash against the cast and crew during the post-suffrage and Jim Crow eras. Fighting scandal, protest, and political oppression, Welles and McClendon succeeded in creating one of the most compelling stories of Black resilience and solidarity.

Inger Tudor’s portrayal of the late Rose McClendon is a stunning testament to the woman who would oversee and direct several units of The Negro Theatre Unit across 11 different cities nationwide. Sadly, McClendon would never see the success of the Black men and women who would follow in her footsteps, as she fell ill during the months leading up to Voodoo Macbeth’s premiere and would pass away the following year. Inger Tudor says that roles like Rose McClendon inspire her to work harder toward success and toward achieving the goals she has set out for herself while offering her skills as both entertainer and mentor to those around her.

“In the last few years, I’ve really been trying to focus on the service aspect of acting. It’s easier to recognize the service aspect when working on material aligned with your personal mission and beliefs. You’re helping to put something out into the world that needs to be shared, but sometimes it’s as simple as being of service by the light, energy, and work ethic you bring to the rehearsal room or the set.”

Over the last year, Tudor has won multiple awards for her role as Rose McClendon in “Voodoo Macbeth,” including Best Actress at the Harlem International Film Festival and Catalina Film Festival, along with Best Supporting Actress at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and Best Ensemble Cast at the San Diego Film Festival. She also spoke as a panelist at what is credited as the most prominent Black Film Festival – the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADFF) – after “Voodoo Macbeth” debuted in Paris in 2021.

Tudor has been credited in dozens of stage productions, including “Steel Magnolias,” “Antigone,” and “Romeo and Juliet.” She has also played numerous television roles, including Goliath (2016) and The Trial (2017). Among her most notable film roles are the short film “On Time” (2016) and the feature-length blockbuster “The Social Network” (2010). Tudor is also currently credited with four upcoming releases.

“Voodoo Macbeth” will be distributed nationally at select theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on October 21st, courtesy of AMC Theaters. There will also be screenings in New Orleans on October 28th.

For more information on the film, head to www.voodoomacbethfilm.com.