“Professional actors, like professional athletes, don’t whine about the aches and pains they endure on the field of battle. Well, we’re not professional actors. Featuring a litany of injuries, a raft of remedies, a special appearance by a brand-new fan, a podcast correction, and the dangers of performing a show that isn’t strenuous enough. (MP3. Length 19:53)
Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:53 — 18.3MB)
Mary Hartman, the director of education at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver, BC, Canada, shares her philosophy for Shakespeare education and its emphasis on play. Mary reveals why threads is a better term than themes; how Shakespeare’s plays should not be poetry readings; how she's developed the Discovery Zone, an extensive free resource for both students and educators; and how so much of Shakespeare’s power is not just in his words, but in the relationship of actors to each other and to the audience. NOTE: This conversation was recorded the night before we learned Tina Packer, the Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts and an acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher, died at the age of 87. Tina was a mentor to generations of artists, scholars, and educators, including Mary, and so this conversation is an unintentionally timely tribute to and celebration of the legacy of Tina Packer. (Length 19:30)
Cathy Sandrich is the Emmy-winning casting director of The Pitt, HBO's Emmy-winning outstanding drama beginning its second season this week. A veteran of various "big boy movies," Cathy reveals how she sees thousands of actors for hundreds of roles; the supreme importance of lists; how one starts over with every project; the importance of strong and truthful choices; how casting directors have to audition just like actors and, also like actors, don't like to be pegged; how good is always good but sometimes not quite right; and, most encouragingly, how great auditions are never wasted. (Length 22:09)
On its 30th anniversary, we present the complete audio of The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas, which walked so The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) could run, and was first recorded and broadcast on Public Radio International in 1995. Featuring conversations with both the crew of Yule-Sat and Charles Dickens; festive (and occasionally dated) partying at the RSC HQ in Northern California; the ten-minute "The Complete Christmas Carol (abridged);" and the original in-context version of that would-be holiday classic "Mrs. Santa Claus." (Length 47:35)
2 Comments
admin · December 1, 2010 at 8:39 am
Thanks Greg! We LOVE Texas audiences… and will hopefully be back soon!
Greg · November 29, 2010 at 9:20 am
I was hoping the Dallas shows would be closer to sold out than they were. I am glad to hear that it sounds like you guys were happy with the crowds that did attend. I know my wife was vocal at the Saturday night performance during the rugby/football scene. Reed did his best to put her in her place, but I’ve been dealing with the woman for 20 years and haven’t had any such luck.
Hope you guys make a return trip sometime soon.