LOUISVILLE — The role technology will play in the future of theater is a debate raging on stages worldwide, including the sophisticated theatrical centers of New York, Toronto and Chicago.

        It's rare indeed for smaller cities to enter the conversation, which is reason enough to indulge in a day trip to Louisville. Actors Theatre of Louisville is experimenting with a 21st century Macbeth through Saturday.

        Three actors, 18 masks, three slide projectors, one video camera and multiple screens are employed in a speed-of-light (less than two hours) telling of Shakespeare's tragedy of ambition, murder and the supernatural.

        It's a must-see for anybody who already knows and loves the material. It might even work as an introduction to Shakespeare for young, technologically astute audiences. Not surprisingly, some of the poetry and too many of the supporting characters get lost amid the pummel of computer and video imagery. But this is an intriguingly different approach to storytelling that is likely to appeal to young audiences.

        Like the King Lear staged at Playhouse in the Park last fall, Macbeth is set in an exotic nowhere. Macbeth favors a sci-fi Technoland (the playing floor is a steel grid) and the costumes of medieval Japanese warlords. Clothing is intricately textured layers of pure white, the better to use actors' bodies as screens on which to project video images. (The three media operators are dressed like ninjas, hood to toe, completing the picture.)

        Macbeth (Mark Mineart) and Banquo (Will Bond) return from battle and meet three witches (who would look at home in Blade Runner) filled with prophecies. Macbeth, aided by his wife (Kim Martin-Cotten), sets off on a bloodthirsty reign of terror as the path to the crown.

        Both men are strong as they take on a variety of roles. Ms. Martin-Cotten too often pitches into throaty overacting, and her performance isn't helped by some bizarre choices in her supporting roles, like playing the castle's Porter with a John Wayne twang and swagger.

        The technological toy box that accompanies the actors contains many wonders, including light and sound. It is all very cool, even on those occasions when not used to best effect.

        New ATL artistic director Marc Masterson earns applause for attempting to meld art and science. For the most part he succeeds admirably in what is clearly a complex experiment.

        What I wish had worked better: Using projections to suggest interior thought is a fabulous trick (it worked powerfully in Theatre de Complicite's Mnemonic, which played New York last season). It's less effective here because it isn't used to expand our understanding. When Macbeth's duplicate image plays out on his chest as he speaks, it doesn't tell us anything that he's not saying out loud. It feels like a small lost opportunity, although it looks great.

        Everything in this Macbeth comes together wonderfully in the aftermath of the king's murder — there's terrific use of bloody daggers — and in the later banquet scene. As the dead king makes a chilling appearance that only Macbeth can see, the trio of actors manages to play both principle roles and confused banquet guests simultaneously.

        Welcome to the future?

        Macbeth, through March 2, Actors Theatre of Louisville, 316 W. Main St., Louisville (502) 584-1205 or www.actorstheatre.org.

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