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Theatre pundit and arts blogger Howard Sherman discusses the powers of social media, the value of backstage access, and the evolving nature of arts communications. Featuring behind-the-scenes tidbits from the American Theatre Wing‘s Downstage Center Podcast and suggested tag lines for self-branding. (Length 22:02)
Podcast: Download (Duration: 22:02 — 20.3MB)
'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)
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)
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.)
1 Comment
Eli · November 15, 2011 at 11:14 am
Excellent homage to “Downstage Center!”