Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast

Breon Arzell is the choreographer for the Goodman Theatre production of The Color Purple, directed by Lili-Anne Brown with musical direction by Jermaine Hill, and he shares how their extraordinary Chicago cast transforms a show this team has worked on before. Breon reveals the importance of making art with the artists you’ve actually got in the room; how this show honors our ancestors; how we find find community both in the story and in life; how the Greek chorus breaks the fourth wall and cues the audience that they’re allowed to laugh; and the ultimate grace and blessing of finding divinity within. (Length 21:33) (PICTURED: Brittney Mack (Celie) and Shantel Renee Cribbs (Nettie) in the Goodman Theatre production of The Color Purple, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, choreographed by Breon Arzell, and musical directed by Jermaine Hill. Photo by Brett Beiner.) The post The Color Purple appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Playwright and screenwriter Madhuri Shekar returns to talk about Dhaba on Devon Avenue, now having its much-delayed world premiere at Chicago's Writers Theatre in a co-production with Timeline Theatre. Shekar reveals the comic book origin stories of both herself and the play; the happy accident of writing a family play that resonates with older audiences; how Shakespeare and Bollywood have much in common; how superhero films have taught us important history our schools have missed; embracing the unintentional gift of time; and the Proustian power of a saag grilled cheese sandwich. (Length 20:32) (PICTURED: Anish Jethmalani and Tina Munoz Pandya in the Writers Theatre/Timeline Theatre co-production of Dhaba on Devon Avenue by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Chay Yew. Photo by Michael Brosilow.) The post Dhaba On Devon appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

'Tis the season for Shakespeare in the park(s)! Ian Gallanar, the founding artistic director of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore, discusses CSC's touring program Shakespeare Beyond, which is taking Ian’s highly localized but still mostly Shakespeare adaptation It’s the Comedy of Errors, Hon to parks and outdoor venues all over Maryland. Gallanar reveals how Shakespeare Beyond combines the best of Shakespeare, vaudeville, and circus; the beauty and versatility of the Shakespeare Wagon; the art of deploying local slang and specific Maryland references; having to deal with the withdrawal of already-earmarked NEA funds; shout-outs to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern; and the importance of blurring the false distinction between "Shakespeare" and "entertainment." (Length 20:42) The post Shakespeare Goes ‘Beyond’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Actor, improviser, and founding member of Upright Citizens Brigade Matt Walsh (Veep, Manhunt) is touring this summer with Bluebird Improv and returns to the RSC Podcast to discuss how improv differs from acting (and sometimes doesn't). Matt reveals how improv is less about creation and more about discovery; the importance of and method for learning the value of patience; how he combined both acting and improv on Veep; why scripted punchlines are sometimes not as funny as improvised punchlines; the challenge of playing a racist monster in Manhunt; and (to unintentionally paraphrase Austin Powers) the importance of remembering that when onstage, just behave. (Length 27:46) The post Improv Is Magic appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Host Austin Tichenor returns to Chicago's Back Room Shakespeare Project to perform in their production of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus on June 16, 2025 at the Hideout, and he discusses with the show's captain and first mate Sam Pearson and Gage Wallace how this cast and crew came together to embody the Project's ethos of "Serious actors. No director. One rehearsal. In a bar." Building on co-founder Samuel Taylor's notion these productions are "bad ideas," Gage and Sam reveal the core values that guide every Project production; how modern bars most resemble Shakespeare's original rowdy playhouses; how "youthful arrogance" is just another word for "incredible generosity;" and how audiences continue to flock to BRSP productions because they know their presence is not simply important, it's required. (Length 20:20) (Logo art by Collin Quinn Rice.) The post Preparing For Coriolanus appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Actor, author, and comedian Jon Glaser (Parks and Recreation, Delocated, Inside Amy Schumer, Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter) is turning his recent comedy album Jon Glaser's Soothing Meditations for the Solitary Dog into a live show that combines interactive artwork with storytelling, silly comedy, and support for shelters and organizations that care for pets and their owners. Jon reveals his desire to find an outlet for passion projects that are stupid but also do great work; how the project is evolving and reaching new people; how his new Instagram page highlights portraits created at his "VIP Sip & Paint" live events; and how meditations designed for dogs can help soothe our own very real anger and existential despair. (Length 17:37) The post Glaser’s Dog Meditations appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Beth Wolf, the founding producing artistic director of Midsommer Flight, discusses her company's upcoming production of Love’s Labour’s Lost, which has been performing for free in parks throughout Chicago since 2012. Beth reveals the planning that goes into her season; why Love's Labour's is such an important comedy right now; how for some reason outdoor summer Shakespeare is not everybody’s jam; her invaluable partnership with the Chicago Park District; the value of having a non-dogmatic approach to the text; the importance of theatre people being able to wear multiple hats; and how Midsommer Flight is a valuable stepping stone for early-career actors on the rise. (Length 19:53) The post Midsommer Flight Dream appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor – the cast of the film version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) – reminisce about the 2000 filming of the RSC's signature work, and discuss the extraordinary lengths the production went to ensure they were jet-lagged for the entire process. Revelations include the secret cameo from co-author and RSC founding member Daniel Singer; how different actors must play jokes differently; the Spinal Tap observation that relative size is the difference between funny and scary; how to make friends in British and Irish pubs; and how the RSC vibe might best be described as squabbling siblings bound together in a brotherhood of Shakespeare. (Length 21:33) (PICTURED: Reed Martin, Adam Long, and Austin Tichenor enjoying post-show beverages in Shuttleworth's Pub, Charing Cross Road, 1992. Photo by Kent Tichenor.) The post Filming ‘Complete Works’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell (MA) just announced its exciting 2025-2026 season and artistic director Courtney Sale discusses how she embraces both MRT's working-class roots and its commitment to the growing diversity of Lowell's population. Sale reveals her programming philosophy, which admirably veers away from the head and towards the heart; her investment in a world premiere from the self-described “Khmer Kerouac”; her fondness for theater that flatters the intellect and the imagination; how she owns MRT's identity as a “beer and pizza” theatre; and her appealing commitment to the 4 Cs: commissions, community, comedy, and catharsis. (Length 18:02) The post Courtney Sale’s MRT appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Christopher Moore's new novel Anima Rising combines his signature elements – complicated artists, suspicious detectives, a bawdy sisterhood, and supernatural bonking – into a strangely moving tale of friendship and survival. Set in 1911 Vienna, Chris's new novel is a spiritual sequel to his 2012 art world masterpiece Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art and, in anticipation of his upcoming book tour, Chris reveals how his fondness for Gustav Klimt and Mary Shelley drives this unlikely comic adventure; how both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung had to figure into the story (because: 1911 Vienna); and how his novels are becoming increasingly touching...or at least that’s how they’re being read. (Length 21:17) The post 961. Christopher Moore’s Frankenstein appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Playwrights and RSC artistic directors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor discuss the updates they've been making to all their scripts (including All the Great Books (abridged), featuring Doug Harvey, Tré Zijuan Tyler, and Michael Faulkner, below) and how their writing process begins with coming up with material that's personal resonant. Martin and Tichenor reveal the despair of artists listening to the mortgage when evaluating their work; how not all laughs are created equal; how the great job of making people laugh now feels like an supremely important job; and how hearing the audience gasp at the turns in the narrative is even more satisfying to us. (Length 24:21) The post Funny To Us appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

409 years ago today, on April 22, 1616, William Shakespeare himself spoke to Tony Dean, the creator and host of the Calling History Podcast, which features conversations with history's most influential and interesting people. Tony explains how the podcast got started, how he finds his guests (including Austin Tichenor as Shakespeare), how Ralph Waldo Emerson remains the podcast's great white whale, and how the Calling History Podcast is filled with unbelievable but absolutely true stories. HEAR HERE! (You can listen to part one of Tony's conversation with Shakespeare here and part two here.) Length 19:50. The post William Shakespeare Speaks! appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Do you not "get" Shakespeare? Well, you're not alone! Improviser and "ensemble whisperer" Liz Allen returns to the podcast to explore the reasons she's never really connected with Shakespeare's plays. Allen famously coached the fictional improv team in Mike Birbiglia's film Don't Think Twice but fears missing out on both cultural and satirical opportunities, and discusses with host Austin Tichenor the ways in which she (and many others) have missed the Shakespeare boat; how to describe the appeal of Shakespeare in five words; the value of “Tools, Not Rules;” drawing inspiration from Darren Freebury-Jones’s Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers; how being haughty at dinner parties is the real goal; and the very real relationship between Shakespeare and improvisation. (Length 31:14) The post Connecting With Shakespeare appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Julie Hammonds's debut novel Blue Mountain Rose is a love letter to theatre and a valentine to the perfect summer Shakespeare festival we all wish we lived next to or worked at year-round. On this week's episode, Julie discusses how you create in fiction the things you can't in real life; the relief of dramatizing professionalism rather than soap-opera histrionics; investigating the perils of celebrity and the timelessness of Shakespeare; and how reading Blue Mountain Rose might just have you booking a flight to Flagstaff, Arizona. (Length 19:50) The post Blue Mountain Rose appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

7 Ages Theatricals is producing the world premiere of Fool, Austin Tichenor's adaptation of Christopher Moore's New York Times bestselling comic novel. Tom Berger, 7AT's executive artistic director, talks about how this theatrical collaboration came to be, and reveals how the combination of Tichenor and Moore creates "a match made in Shakespeare comedy heaven" (Broadway World). Berger discusses the pleasure of being a theatre slut; the importance of staying in one’s artistic lane; the stress of not wanting to disappoint each other (or Fool’s creator); the paradox of having written "Schrödinger’s Play;" the trick of making sure the audience catches what we’re throwing; and the fateful coincidence of being a Christopher Moore superfan and a Reduced – as well as a real – Shakespeare guy. (Length 22:46) (Logo title art by Michael Dewey.) The post Fool’s World Premiere appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Anne Sheridan Smith plays the title role in the Redtwist Theatre production of Titus Andronicus, directed by Redtwist's co-artistic director Dusty Brown, and both actor and director talk about how their production evolved from its original conception. Dusty and Anne reveal how they navigated both Redtwist's beautifully renovated but incredibly intimate space, and the changing political landscape; how they discovered both real-life and theatrical inspirations; and how they're going to pair this production with next month's production of Taylor Mac's Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. (Length 21:52) The post Storefront Titus Andronicus appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

After a pandemic-related programming pause, Chicago's Tony-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company returns with a new season of programming, including their current production of Circus Quixote, based on Miquel de Cervantes's novel. Longtime LTC ensemble member and newly appointed artistic director Kasey Foster discusses how Lookingglass managed to survive the pandemic; how they created a much more welcoming presence on Michigan Avenue; how she's gone from being a performer to being a classic actor-manager; and most importantly, how Lookingglass offers the sort of performance spectacle you can only get in a live theatre experience. (Length 19:25) The post Welcome Back, Lookingglass! appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Veteran Shakespearean actor Geoffrey Barnes joins the Reduced Shakespeare Company to play Yorick and Ophelia's mother in the regional theatre premiere of The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel). The RSC's 11th stage show marks the company's seventh appearance at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, as well as MRT's 300th production, and Geoffrey discusses how his many years at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Oregon Shakespeare Festival – as well as his background in musical theatre and experience performing RSC scripts at CSC – serve him well in this comic prequel to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Geoffrey reveals the value of a comedian not thinking he’s funny; how he finds the rhythms and music of the language, whether it’s Shakespeare, vaudeville, or August Wilson; and the importance of letting the music and the jokes serve the characters and the story. (Length 21:05) The post Meet Geoffrey Barnes appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Playwright David Blixt talks about Eve of Ides, his play and new audio drama which imagines the relationships between the main characters of Julius Caesar. David reveals the ways in which Eve of Ides is both a sort of prequel and a sequel to Shakespeare's play; how he was introduced to Roman history as a child from a Colleen McCullough audiobook; how he borrowed from Shakespeare in the same way Shakespeare borrowed from Plutarch; why Shakespeare never explores the most important relationship in the play; how Shakespeare reclaimed and completely redefined the reputation of Brutus; and how the fall of the Roman Empire – and how the physical design of Washington DC – offers a scary prediction for America. (Length 19:00) The post Eve Of Ides appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Author Nicole Galland returns to the podcast to discuss her page-turning new historical novel Boy, a story of young love, political intrigue, and cross-dressing both onstage and off in Shakespeare’s London. Nicole reveals how she discovered that the separate characters she was imagining belonged in the same book; how the historical Alexander Cooke differs from her fictional creation; how she's able to so brilliantly describe the streets of 16th-century London; the art of reverse-engineering Shakespeare's characters to create the actor who might have played them; why Nicole’s a novelist and not a playwright; and how there’s nothing better than a literary three-way. (Length 23:04) The post Nicole Galland’s ‘Boy’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.