Let’s ring in the new year with an old friend! Improv legend (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and TV (Doctor Who; Brotherly Love) and film (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; A Bug’s Life) veteran Mike McShane talks about his wildly eventful life and shares tales about the differences between improv Read more…
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”Reed Martin, Dominic Conti, and Austin Tichenor take a break from rehearsing the world premiere of The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. The boys talk about how it’s going and share typical rehearsal room antics, excerpts from the show, a discussion of fools both Shakespearean Read more…
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”Our month-long block of comedy-themed podcasts continues this week with a conversation with Improv guru, performer, teacher, improviser’s improviser and RSC alum David Razowsky, who hosts (with Ian Foley) the A.D.D. Comedy Podcast, where he talks to some of the most interesting folks working in comedy today: Folks like Stephen Read more…
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”LIVE! from Stone’s Sports Bar & Lounge comes this lively conversation with actors Dodds Delzell, Dan Saski, and Chad Yarish, the cast of the workshop production of The Complete History of Comedy (abridged). Featuring rehearsal reports, the advantages of ongoing artistic relationships, sky-high expectations, an excerpt from the show, the challenges of day jobs, Read more…
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”LIVE! From inside Titus Vandronicus: UK producer Davey Naylor, actors Gary Fannin, Matt Rippy, Matt Pearson, Ben Stratton, and DSM Penny Ayles share the highlights and lowlights of our twelve-week spring tour of the UK. Featuring favorite venues, shout-outs to new fans and friends, surprise chase scenes, differences between US and Read more…
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”We share thoughts about comedy with director William Brown, who talks about his Writers’ Theatre production of David Ives’ The Liar which is earning rave reviews this month in Chicago. Featuring the joys of being at the epicenter of the action, the advantages of actor investment, the truth about technique, the Read more…
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”Reed Diamond plays Don Pedro in Joss Whedon‘s film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing and talks not only about the process of acting in and shooting one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays, but the specific pleasures Shakespeare affords. Featuring a reduced schedule, how he became part of the Whedonverse, Read more…
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Actor’s wife (and former RSC stage manager) Rose Scarborough talks to other actor’s wives (and husbands) for her ongoing archival project “An Actor’s Wife For Me: The Changing Role of the Actor’s Wife – 1950s to the Present Day” — and now talks to us about talking to them. Featuring the lot Read more…
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”Not all touring vans are equal. Climb inside ‘Titus Vandronicus’ (dubbed by Twitter follower @BenedictTheMad) and discover why it’s probably the best one we’ve ever had. Recorded on April Fools Day 2013 on our first trip in it, Davey Naylor, Matt Rippy, Gary Fannin, and Ben Stratton rhapsodize over Titus’s Read more…
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”A veteran of stage, film, television, radio (and us!), London-based American actor John Schwab talks about living, working, surviving, and thriving in Britain. Featuring gray areas; White House stints; the complicated nature of Hollywood financing; discreet voice doubling; and tales of sharing the stage with (or replacing) Claire Bloom, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Read more…
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”Live! from the Dress Circle of the York Theatre Royal comes this celebration of the opening weekend of our 16-week 54-city tour of The Complete Works of William Shakespeaere (abridged) . Featuring not very relaxing nights off, impertinent artistic analogies, slippery accents, knackered actors, cast doubling, joke recycling, nervous aplomb, and Read more…
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”We saw some great actors last week when we conducted auditions for the upcoming UK tour of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) . Austin Tichenor, Matt Rippy, and Davey Naylor discuss the process by which we whittled over 1200 applicants down to almost 40 auditioners to 18 callbacks. Read more…
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”The cast of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) in San Diego — Michael Faulkner, Mick Orfe, and Dustin Sullivan — talk about returning to San Diego Repertory Theatre and how the Christmas show differs from the RSC’s other shows. Featuring natural disasters, the glory of the coveted Scenie, some minor Read more…
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”Scott Parkinson is one of those great stage actors you’ve probably never heard of, and he’s playing the title role in an amazing production of Hamlet at the wonderfully intimate Writers Theatre in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe. Austin Tichenor sits down with Scott (you know, one Hamlet to another) and Read more…
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”Dustin Sullivan, beloved veteran of previous RSC tours (Books in the US and Ireland in 2007; America in 2008), returns this fall to perform in both the Special Election Edition of The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged). Dustin tells us about his time on the national tour of Little House on Read more…
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”Founding RSC member Adam Long returns (for the length of this podcast, anyway) to tell us what he’s up to these days and share a burrito. Featuring backstage gossip from Mike the Knight and The Amazing World of Gumball, authentic details of the Adam Long Origin Story, the risks of Read more…
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Elizabeth Dennehy, who played Lt. Commander Shelby on Star Trek: The Next Generation, describes what it’s like attending sci-fi/fantasy cons around the world. Featuring behind-the-scenes details from the pivotal episodes The Best of Both Worlds (Parts 1 & 2), convention-goer categorization, questions about Charmed one is better off not asking, impertinent observations Read more…
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”Tomorrow we leave for our eleven-week twenty-two city tour of The Complete World of Sports (abridged) in Great Britain, so today we check in with each other and see how the packing is going. Featuring tips on how to squeeze extra weight on the plane, the best way to prepare Read more…
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”Actor Mark Dold talks about his surprising journey in the role of C. S. Lewis in the long-running off-Broadway play Freud’s Last Session. Featuring the benefits of always saying yes, the mixed blessings of undergraduate training programs, the unimportance of looking like the guy you’re playing, and the value of hours Read more…
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”Noted theatrical pundit, blogger, and arts marketing consultant Howard Sherman discusses the art and tricky nature of self-promotion. Featuring the importance of performers making themselves a ‘product’, the ideal ways to use social media to promote the best version of yourself, staying ‘on message’, the dangers of judging cupcakes, and Read more…
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LIVE! From the windblown roof terrace of the Kennedy Center, veteran actor Dennis Parlato talks about how he followed his artistic dreams, caught them, and wrestled them to the ground. Featuring tales of auditioning for Bob Fosse, what dancing with “renegades” can lead to, the value of ballet training for Read more…
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”Sometimes you go where the work is; sometimes you leave where the work isn’t. This week we talk about “pursuing other opportunities” outside of Los Angeles and hear about self-evaluation, changing marketplaces, delayed encounters with David E. Kelley, and the magic of reinvention. Featuring strong opinions about actors’ unions SAG and Read more…
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”There’s never a dull moment when Mick Orfe gives his first performance in an RSC show. Join us for dramatic tales of kidney stones, fire alarms, lost luggage, student matinees, delayed flights, and late arrivals. Featuring a special appearance from UK Media Superstar Lauren Laverne and reassuring reasons why there Read more…
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”After every Thursday night performance, Merrimack Repertory Theatre invites the audience to stick around afterwards and talk to the actors or writers or directors. In the case of our performance of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) last week, the audience got all three. Featuring information on costumes you’ll need to Read more…
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”We begin our sixth year of weekly podcasting talking about the changes we’re making to The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) and the reactions we’re getting from old friends and fans. Featuring the challenges of pleasing both new audiences and old fans, walking the line of reverence and irreverence, and the Read more…
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”Come backstage and to the opening night party of our production of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) at Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Featuring tongue fumbles, lap catches, second-act letdowns, fond appraisals, more great Christmas music from guitarist Eric Essix, answered prayers, early critical appraisal, opening night rituals, walking the line between Read more…
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Veteran actor Ken Marks talks about creating the role of Uncle Ben in the infamous musical Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark. Ken talks about the dangers and the adventure of not only surviving the huge technical spectacle that is the physical production of Spiderman, but the creation of the musical as well. Featuring important backstage safety tips and a special holiday appearance from jazz guitarist Eric Essix. (Length 19:55)
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”RSC member Jerry Kernion talks about his recent performance as both Dromios (Dromiii?) in A Noise Within‘s hit production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, and also takes us behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil‘s ill-fated foray onto the proscenium stage, Banana Shpeel. Featuring specifics, precision, a special appearance by Read more…
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”On the night of our final performance of Completely Hollywood (abridged) at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, we reflect on how it’s changed and matured, its uniquely high level of absurdity, its surprising number of character laughs, and whether we’ll ever perform it again. Featuring a special appearance by Read more…
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Oscar-winning character actor (and not famous author) J.K. Simmons discusses his incredibly varied and interesting career, including fascinating backstage glimpses from the sets of Oz, Juno, The Closer, and a little movie called Spiderman (the Tobey Maguire one). Featuring the relationship between music and acting, the value of interpreting the script Read more…
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Second City alum, character actor, improviser, TV star, and couch potato Ian Gomez talks about the wide range of roles he’s played, and how he managed to feature in not one but two landmark pop-culture weddings. Featuring backstage dirt from Cougar Town and Felicity, the challenge of keeping it real Read more…
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You never forget your first starship captain. Scott Bakula, star of Quantum Leap, Enterprise, and Men of a Certain Age, talks about his varied career and reveals where he falls on both the nerd spectrum and the ladder of celebrity. Featuring outrageous camera angles, Scott’s brushes with fellow Starfleet captains, possible Read more…
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“What, what, what are you doing?!” The Sassy Gay Friend is an internet sensation, and creator/star/writer Brian Gallivan discusses his fabulous character’s surprising impact. Featuring literary and pop culture inspirations, how the SGF will come to your community, a special appearance by Man vs Food host Adam Richman, and how a Read more…
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”Actor James Morrison talks about the movie he’s directed, an homage to the working-class actor called “Showing Up: A Conversation About The Actor’s Audition”. Featuring revelations about what actors go through, why actors are like baseball players (no, not because of the steroids), how actors can wield what power they Read more…
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”Marilyn Anne Michaels and Allie Smith are the creators and stars of The Best Friend, a very funny web series (featuring in a small role our own Dominic Conti, who also co-wrote a few episodes). Allie and Marilyn reveal how they create the series and manage to talk so many Read more…
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”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 Read more…
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”Michael Faulkner returns to the RSC fold and regales us with tales of Measure For Measure at A Noise Within in Los Angeles, where he’s playing Elbow. Featuring the differences between acting and stage managing, between real Shakespeare and reduced Shakespeare, how to get Shakespeare up into fifth gear, and Read more…
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”Waiter. Temp. Circus Clown. Assistant Factotum. We’ve all had to take survival jobs to feed our theatre habit, and this week we discuss the worst ones we’ve endured. Featuring tales of long hours, professional incompetence, disgruntled customers, personal humiliation, on-the-job embarrassment, and the tiny triumphs of finally leaving a job for Read more…
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”This week we dig that crazy Conti beat and go behind the scenes to deconstruct Dominic Conti‘s lengthy and show-stopping “dorkalogue” at the end of Completely Hollywood (abridged). Featuring the power and limitations of snorting as a character choice, the trust of an actor’s instinct, funky frank appearances by NPR‘s Read more…
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”The star of Godzilla stops by today. No, not Matthew Broderick – Kurt Carley, the “suit performer” who makes his living playing atomically-radiated lizards, werewolves, and even man-eating plants. Featuring tips on how to succeed in show business (ie, don’t be a jerk; don’t be claustrophobic), a brush with Shakespearean Read more…
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Eric Stonestreet is the Emmy-winning star of the hit ABC and Sky-1 sitcom Modern Family, and he chats about the miracle of his casting as well as the miracle of just how good this show has been right out of the gate. Featuring lessons on how to embrace the perks of celebrity, how your life informs your work and your character, and hiatus wisdom from a TV legend. (MP3. Length 26:42)
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”Every RSC actor has to do it: learn our shows in a ridiculously short amount of time AND submit to a podcast interview. Jeff Marlow tours America this fall in The Complete History of America (abridged) and talks about the differences between our rehearsal process and that of a REAL Read more…
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”The Long Run: How do actors keep it interesting? How do they walk the line of doing the show as rehearsed and keeping it fresh and alive night after night? That’s what we discussed one night in the dressing room before and during a recent performance. Featuring listener questions, more Read more…
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”Matt Rippy – RSC webmaster, director of our upcoming UK tour of The Bible (abridged), and featured actor on Torchwood and The Dark Knight – finally sits down for an in-depth interview. Featuring kissing tips from one gay icon to another, what it’s like to be an American actor in Read more…
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”English character actor Adrian Scarborough talks about working at London’s National Theatre and in UK films with fantastic actors like Michael Gambon, John Wood, Imelda Staunton, and terrific directors like Mike Leigh and Nicholas Hytner. Hear insights into making the movie Vera Drake, learn a whole new meaning to the Read more…
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”You always remember your First Time. So do we. Memorable first RSC performances are recalled this week, with special emphasis on line flubs, urgent calls of nature, and sexual objectification. Plus, a special appearance by big-time Hollywood casting director Debra Zane. Ready for our close-up now, DZ! (MP3. Length 19:34)
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”Meet Dom Conti. What makes the man-child tick? Dominic Conti, our lanky athletic third, tells us who he is and why it’s cool he has an orgy. Featuring mash notes to Chicago, quick answers to great questions, and a special appearance by Mike Bunin, one of the stars of the Read more…
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