Hollywood

Marvel Musical Movies

What movie musical pairs best with what Marvel superhero movie? Nate Burger and Laura Rook, two married Chicago actors, are surviving the quarantine in the most entertaining and delightful of ways: Pairing Nate’s favorite Marvel superhero movies with Laura’s favorite movie musicals. Listen as they describe their method to this madness, and describe some similarities to Chris Pratt and Robert Preston; the beauty of healthy shirtless men in every genre (above); the glory of big musical numbers; which superhero movie qualifies as The Jesus Story (spoiler: most of them); the perfection of pairing Avengers: Age of Ultron with Little Shop of Horrors; surprisingly perfect pairings for Mamma Mia!, A Chorus Line, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; two terrific pairings for the two Ant-Man movies; and the importance of giving yourself permission to realize that enjoying fluffy garbage is the point. (Length 20:32) 

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By austin, ago

The Devil’s Work

Demons and witches and ghosts, oh my! As we reach our 666th podcast, it seems like the perfect time to talk about how the Devil has influenced (or hasn’t) the work of the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor discuss Faustian bargains; Satan being cut from The Complete History of America (abridged); rewriting The Music Man; Adam Long’s tribute to two legends in his one-man show Satan Sings Mostly Sondheim; the fear of mockery; our Kerfuffles in Northern Ireland; making friends in Louisiana; stories for another time; how times have changed; celebrating the Devil’s opposite in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged); making up for missed opportunities with episode 420; and hopefully soon-to-be requited love for our book How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better). (Length 21:55)

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By austin, ago

Episode 595. Alli & Davey

Our long-time friends and colleagues Alli Bostedt and Davey Naylor were married last Friday, May the 4th (Be With You), 2018, in the Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma, CA (where we filmed The Complete History of America (abridged)) and, just days before the ceremony, they took time to talk about how their romance overcame early tour awkwardness and problematic venues (thank you, Rhyl!). Featuring knockout predictions, comments from Best Man Matt Rippy, origin stories, canal canoodling, romantic Berkhamsted opportunities, memories of our UK tour of The Complete World of Sports (abridged) and New Zealand tour of Completely Hollywood (abridged), and the inspiring story of how romance can blossom even during a theatrical tour. (Length 19:01). 

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By austin, ago

Episode 525. Ten Year Highlights

”We highlight ten signature moments, one from each of the ten years of the first decade of the RSC Podcast, that best represent the scope of what we’ve attempted to do week after week. Featuring behind the scenes conversations showcasing how our shows are created, in-depth interviews with comedians, directors, authors, and award-winning actors, and invaluable Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 414. Bob Mondello Talkback

” National Public Radio film critic Bob Mondello joined us onstage at the Reston Center Stage on the final night of our ten-day seven-show Complete Works of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (abridged) Extravaganza. Appropriately enough, our closing performance was Completely Hollywood (abridged), and Bob squandered some of his credibility by discussing Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 413. Acting On Camera

”Austin Tichenor, Reed Martin, and Dominic Conti share lessons learned (sometimes the hard way) about acting for film and television. Featuring tales from the sets of 24, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and The West Wing; expert advice from Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, and Bill Nighy; a shout-out to director/teacher Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 412. ‘Martian American’ Dude

”Our own Dominic Conti talks about his title role in Martian American, which just won Best Student Film at the Glendale International Film Festival, and for which Dom won Best Actor at the same event! Dom shares the tricks of portraying this particular alien, and talks about filmmaking communities, the joys of getting the offer, Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 379. The Fiasco Theatre

”RSC alum and founding member of the Fiasco Theatre Noah Brody takes a break between shows at the New Victory Theatre to discuss his company’s extraordinary work and its (not coincidentally) extraordinary success. Featuring the origins of Fiasco (both the company and the name), the advantage of shared aesthetics, the Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 264. Box Office Records

”Dan Berube, Marketing Manager for Merrimack Repertory Theatre, lists how many box office records The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) shattered during its four week run (Largest Pre-Sale, Largest Single Day Sale, Best-Selling Holiday Show, and #3 All-Time Best-Selling Show in MRT history), and also how many RSC shows are in Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 240. Final ‘Hollywood’ Thoughts

”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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By austin, ago

Episode 233. Touring New Zealand

”We return to New Zealand for the first time since 1994, for our first national tour and the antipodean premiere of Completely Hollywood (abridged). Featuring new sport discoveries, scarce internet, truly international Irish pubs, and reports of RSC Royal Wedding festivities from all over the globe. Fresh as a fortnight Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 231. A Hearty Bookfest

”We made our second straight appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, reading from Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), and The Complete World of Sports (abridged). Featuring crazy live laughter, ambient traffic noise, a special appearance Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 220.5. Special Oscar Edition

”On this special extra episode, we predict this year’s tight Oscar race. Featuring a special appearance from National Public Radio movie critic Bob Mondello, and film analysis he’d be embarrassed to be associated with. (MP3. Length 9:33)

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By austin, ago

Episode 216. Pittsburgh Public Theatre

”A backstage look at one of our favorite artistic homes! Featuring interviews with Artistic Director Ted Pappas, Education Director/Playwright Rob Zellers, a tribute to the theater’s longevity, a diagnosis of what makes this great city tick, a focus on building a future, remembrances of two PPT premieres (Completely Hollywood (abridged) Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 209. Broadway Play Publishing

”Broadway Play Publishing publishes and licenses the scripts of such playwrights as Tony Kushner, Eric Overmyer, Neil LaBute, Constance Congdon, and the entire Complete (abridged) oeuvre, and Kip Gould, its founder and publisher, raves about the exciting and lucrative field of script publishing (Note: Engage sarcasm filter). Featuring the pros and Read more…

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By austin, ago

HELLO, SINGAPORE!

Proving yet again that there is no accounting for taste, the RSC has returned to Singapore this month, performing “The Complete History of America (abridged)” and “Completely Hollywood (abridged)” from November 1-14. Click on the podcasts below to listen to us talk about our last tour of Asia, Dom’s dorkologue and excerpts Read more…

By austin, ago

Episode 188. Reading The Reviews

”We review the reviews from our run of Completely Hollywood (abridged) at the Kennedy Center. Featuring uninformed opinions (ours), raves, pans, how to survive the critical fraternity, and a special appearance by DC institution Arch Campbell. (MP3. Length 18:33)

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By austin, ago

Episode 187. Tony Tony Tony!

Actor and Fight Captain Tom Schall reminisces about his Broadway debut in the ill-fated (is there any other kind?) 1988 production of the Scottish play starring Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson. Featuring the perils of switching directors in mid-stream, more examples of the so-called Scottish play “curse”, a special appearance by Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 186. The Conti Beat

”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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By austin, ago

Episode 167. Festus Is Back!

”The old codgers from Hollywood mark the return of a beloved – but cut – character from our America show. Featuring other recycled characters from previous shows, further improvements to the first act of Hollywood, a frustrating tease about the Sports show, and information about the publication of the Hollywood Read more…

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By austin, ago

SHOWS ADDED in Sonoma, CA

Completely Hollywood (abridged) Feb 10 – Santa Rosa Junior College Feb 12 & 13 – Sebastiani Theater This just in: We have added three performances of Completely Hollywood (abridged) to our Winter 2010 tour. On February 10, 2010, we’ll be performing a benefit performance at and for the Santa Rosa Read more…

By austin, ago

Episode 160. Post-Show Discussion

”A live Q&A at the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin, during which we reveal our favorite Shakespeare plays, touring information for 2010, when the script for Completely Hollywood (abridged) will be published, a very special blurb from some RSC pilgrims, answers to questions from our Twitter followers, and the shocking Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 144. RSC In “Jeopardy!”

”Emmy Award-winning writer Andrew Price talks about creating the Reduced Shakespeare Company category and writing questions for the game show Jeopardy! Featuring insight into how the global phenomenon game show is written, tips on how to beat the buzzer, and how you can get a part in Andrew’s new movie. Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 61. New Old Shows

”What’s it like performing Complete History of America (abridged) and All The Great Books (abridged) after a year of performing mostly Hollywood and Bible? Confusing and nausea-inducing. Featuring an interview with our latest backstage goddess Alli Bostedt, the perils of remembering new line changes, a special appearance from Fox-TV’s Beth Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 59. Words On Theatre

”Excerpts from our interview on Marcy Solomon‘s KUSF-FM radio program Words On Theatre. Featuring details on Plasticman action figure accessories, tips on audience participation, advice on how to take one for the team, insight into RSC percentages, an update on what RSC fans call themselves, and a special appearance by Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 52. Writing “Completely Hollywood”

”Reed and Austin talk about how they wrote — and continue to write — the RSC’s latest stage show Completely Hollywood (abridged). You’ll learn which movies influenced the writing, why some movies make our Greatest Movies Ever list and some don’t, and how (and why) the script keeps evolving. Featuring Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 51. At The Table

”After every performance, we meet and greet the audience at the table in the lobby, so we decided to turn the microphone on and let our Podcast listeners hear what they have to say. Learn about The Rules of the Game, what happened when we made changes to the first Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 44. Busiest Fall Ever!

”A breakdown on the crazy number of RSC productions this fall, and a terrific example of the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.” Featuring too much yawning, some backstage details of the RSC TV show The Week Reduced, and a special appearance by Reginald Studmuffin, star of the Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 27. By The Bay!

”LIVE! from the streets of San Francisco, where we’re planning to open The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) and Completely Hollywood (abridged). Featuring live excerpts from both shows, a businessy but fascinating interview with our SF producer Brad Balduf of Jian Enterprises, and a special appearance by David Read more…

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By austin, ago

Episode 23. Mick And Brent

”Brent Tubbs & Mick Orfe chronicle their first performances in Completely Hollywood (abridged), and share surprisingly similar tales of air travel woes, actor’s nightmares, and strange superpowers. Featuring an appearance by playwright/director Ron West and incessant intrusion by the three B’s: Bad Bar Backgroundmusic. BBB afraid. (MP3. Length 19:34)

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By austin, ago