Edinburgh

Doug’s Time Traveling

RSC Actor Doug Harvey (Hamlet in Hamlet’s Big Adventure! (a prequel)) performs his one-man show A Time Traveler’s Guide to the Present at the United Solo Festival in New York City on November 5, 2022 (an important date in the space time continuum). The show’s director Abigail Deser joins Doug to discuss how the show evolved for its run at last summer’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe; how the show helps them (and us!) survive in the worst timeline; the expedience of rehearsing over pizza; dealing with pandemic loss; finding the show’s spine; the excitement of virtuosity; the value of stripping away extraneous bells and whistles; the wonder of sacrificing your babies so as to not kill your momentum; how the best time travel stories are also love stories; and the beauty and satisfaction of fulfilling the promise of the time-travelly premise. (Length 21:57)

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By austin, ago

Tales Of Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is on and sadly, we’re not there! So we’ve dug into the archives to find some of our favorite Edinburgh moments. Thrill to tales of discovery; amazing performing experiences; reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones; the only (horrible) way to become a Catholic martyr; special appearances by Rachel Parris, Yisrael Campbell, and Tim Fitzhigham; the real-life inspirations for the Red Wedding and Shakespeare’s “The Phoenix and the Turtle”; fun-loving Puritan numpties; new Jews, old Jews, and faux Jews; the joys of both seeing and performing multiple shows during a single Fringe; the dangers of flyering; excerpts from The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged), which performed at the Assembly Rooms exactly twenty years ago; international tour dates for the Fall of 2019; and discovering how the theatre can become your temple and John Malkovich your lord and savior. (Length 25:51)

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By austin, ago

Episode 607. Getting To Edinburgh

How do you get to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? What’s involved with producing yourself at the largest theatre festival in the world? Jamie Gower, the creator and star (sorry, operator) of Denny O’Hare: I Feel Fuzzy, takes us step by step through the process of creating a show, picking a venue, developing a budget, making peace with the idea that this will most likely be a money-losing operation, and most importantly, understanding the danger of not going. Featuring nuts and bolts, waived visas, the value of pre-planning and starting early, the advantage of not being a good puppeteer, learning how to create good press releases and posters and flyers, the importance of location location location, and the supreme importance of not waiting for permission. (Length 24:53)

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By austin, ago

Episode 556. Abridged Too Far?

”We premiered our one-hour version of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last week, and RSC UK cast members Joseph Maudsley, Matt Pearson, and James Percy discuss the ups and downs of further reduction. Featuring problems with pacing, riding over slumps, totally different experiences, 30-year anniversaries, Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 546. UK Tour Report

”Our 50-city, 51-venue, 60-plus-show UK tour of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) came to an end this weekend and Joe Maudsley, Matt Pearson, and James Percy sat down (on the beach!) to tell us what it’s been like to tour around the British Isles for four months. Featuring highlights and Read more…

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By austin, ago

518. Actor Jo Bending

Joanna Bending is a RADA-trained character actor who specializes (at least recently) in playing multiple roles in single plays. Our paths have crossed multiple times so it was fun to chat with her about her background, her training, the practices of the Actors From the London Stage, the (possibly unfortunate?) Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 515. Baby Wants Candy

”Baby Wants Candy creates a completely improvised musical at every performance based on a single audience suggestion, and Tim Sniffen is one of its featured players in addition to being a playwright and parodist. Tim talks about what goes into creating musicals on the spot, his latest Wagner parody, whether improv Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 511. Improvising Jane Austen

Rachel Parris (from BBC’s The Mash Report) is one of the performers in Austentatious: The Improvised Jane Austen Novel, which performs in London, Edinburgh, and around the UK, and she talks about how one goes about improvising this beloved British author. She also discusses creating her one-woman show “Best-Laid Plans” and Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 510. Theatre-Trained Journalist

”John Horn (left) is the host of KPCC’s The Frame, a daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts and entertainment. Trained in the theatre at the University of California at Berkeley, John was a showbiz journalist for the Associated Press, Premiere magazine, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times on his way to becoming a Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 507. Our Edinburgh Favorites

”On this, the last day of the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor, and Teddy Spencer reflect on the favorite shows they saw this year, expressing delight at the highlights and disappointment in the lowlights. Featuring lovely surprises, shows that were difficult to categorize, surprisingly few disappointments, fantastic Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 504. Our Edinburgh Plans

”At the end of the first week of our return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the European premiere of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), we confer about how we’re going to spend our remaining time here and what shows we’re going to see. Featuring pro tips, viewing advice, exotic Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 474. The Bicycle Men

”Joe Liss is an actor, writer, and sort of the improviser’s improviser, a Second City alum who’s performed onstage in Chicago, LA, off-Broadway, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He’s also written for film and television and is the co-author of The Bicycle Men, a very funny musical which has played Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 448. Most Downloaded Podcasts (2014)

”With greater number-crunching power comes different search parameters! In the middle of 2015, we crunch the numbers again and discover the most downloaded podcasts of 2014 (or at least, the most downloaded podcasts of the second half of 2014). Featuring favorite guests, suspect math, literary revelations, podcasts from around the world, memories Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 401. Yisrael’s Three Conversions

”Yisrael Campbell is just your run-of-the-mill Irish, Italian, Catholic, American, Reform, Conservative, and now Orthodox Jew, and he tells the story of his fascinating journey in “Circumcise Me”, his funny and poignant one-man show currently playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Featuring journeys both spiritual and theatrical, stereotypes both confounded and embodied, Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 392. Podcast For Larissa

”We dedicate the podcast this week to one of our favorite fans, Larissa from Australia, who’s unable to travel to see us. Austin Tichenor, Reed Martin, Matt Croke, Dominic Conti, Michael Faulkner, Jerry Kernion, Mick Orfe, Dustin Sullivan, Jeff Marlow, Gary Fannin, and David Ellis send personal greetings and tell totally tall and Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 388. Returning To Edinburgh

”It’s been too long, but we’re finally returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August 2014 to perform the European premiere of The Complete History of Comedy (abridged). Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor talk about the changes they’ll have to make to adapt the script for European and international audiences, Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 38. Memories of Edinburgh

”The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is in full swing, and we’re not there! If you’re not either, listen to our tales of Edinburgh discoveries, inventive sleeping arrangements, freak show skills, false alarms, and confused protesters. Featuring excerpts from The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged) and The Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show, and a special Read more…

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By austin, ago