Podcast

Remembering ‘Little Dickens’

Matt Croke, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor remember the creation of the RSC’s second radio show The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas in 1995, and how it paved the way for the RSC’s eighth stage show The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged). Matt, Reed, and Austin reveal their audio inspirations (like Firesign Theatre and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic); how the new golden age of radio is called podcasts; how we failed to achieve novelty hit status with “Mrs. Santa Claus;” how we incorporated inside-baseball Ringling Brothers jokes and personal holiday memories; and how the heart the recording is its ten-minute reduction A Little Dickens: The Complete Christmas Carol (abridged); and how Austin went from playing parody Scrooge to playing the real guy for Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. (Length 15:02)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 25:02 — 28.7MB)

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By austin, ago

William Shakespeare Speaks!

409 years ago today, on April 22, 1616, William Shakespeare himself spoke to Tony Dean, the creator and host of the Calling History Podcast, which features conversations with history’s most influential and interesting people. Tony explains how the podcast got started, how he finds his guests (including Austin Tichenor as Shakespeare), how Ralph Waldo Emerson remains the podcast’s great white whale, and how the Calling History Podcast is filled with unbelievable but absolutely true stories. HEAR HERE! (You can listen to part one of Tony’s conversation with Shakespeare here and part two here.) Length 19:50.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:50 — 22.8MB)

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By austin, ago

Teenage Shakespeare Take

Annabelle Higgins is the creator and host of “A Teenager’s Take on Shakespeare” podcast (available on Spotify), a series of fascinating conversations with various Shakespeareans in which Annabelle brings exactly what it says on the tin: her teenage take on both the plays and the artist. Her passion for Shakespeare began when she was still in single digits and because it hasn’t been tarnished by expectations of what Shakespeare is supposed to be, she’s better able to see what Shakespeare actually is. Annabelle reveals how she created the podcast; the power of personal family connections to Shakespeare; how Shakespeare’s text spoke to her at a young age; the happy realization that you can share your voice; taking inspiration from The Show Must Go Online and the Protest Too Much podcast; the wonder of experiencing Shakespeare in other mediums; and the charm of charting one’s appreciation of Shakespeare in real time. (Length 17:59)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:59 — )

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By austin, ago

Surviving Theatre School

Gina Pulice and Jen Bosworth-Ramirez are the hosts of the “I Survived Theatre School Podcast”, which started as a pandemic project, but has become a fantastic ongoing conversation about the things we learned in theatre school, the things we didn’t learn, and how we’ve all managed to survive: some of us in the theatre, and some of us in other fields. Austin Tichenor was a guest on their podcast and now returns the favor, letting Gina and Bos talk about how their podcast came to be and what it’s now become. FEATURING: the value of active listening, both within the theatre and without; the counterintuitive freedom of a rigid schedule; the joy of “psychological spelunking;” how one can become a reimagined artist; and how something that didn’t start out to be a “self-help” podcast has turned out to be, for its listeners, remarkably healing. (Length 19:15)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:15 — 0.0KB)

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By austin, ago

Change The Podcast?

On the eve of the RSC Podcast’s 15th anniversary, podcast host and RSC actor/consigliere Matthew Croke, joins us to discuss whether it’s time to change things up. What do you think? Should we change the format or the emphasis? Make it longer or more infrequent? Should we eliminate some annoying tics or regular features, or is it just perfect the way it is? Let us know what you think as we discuss how to stimulate engagement; changing trends; supply and demand; the importance of stories and anecdotes; unnecessary whining; more inside baseball; which Stephen King novel would make a good Shakespeare play; and – most importantly – which Shakespeare character would make the best Starfleet captain. Also: Should we upgrade our equipment?? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! (Length 21:03)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:03 — 24.2MB)

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By austin, ago

760. Some Broadway B.S.

Abbey Harris is the co-creator and co-host of Broadway Bullshit, the seasonal weekly podcast that examines Broadway musicals and discusses whether they should “fly, die, or retry,” and strives to provide contextual analysis, while also reminding fans why they love Broadway. FEATURING: bleeding edge hot takes; looking at classic material in new ways; the power of being a double threat; the importance of editing; some recording tips; and addressing the danger of running out of musicals. (Length 19:18)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:18 — 22.2MB)

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By austin, ago

Episode 576. Some Personal Time

We’re back! After a two-week holiday break, we return to our weekly schedule of the RSC Podcast — now in its twelfth night year! After taking some quality personal time, Austin considers whether the podcast should shift its format or focus; reviews other podcasts he listens to regularly (and urges listeners to do the same); wonders whether there are parts of the podcast people regularly fast-forward through; and speculates what our next stage show will be (and urges listeners to do the same). It’s good to be back!

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:20 — 22.3MB)

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By austin, ago

Our First Live Webcast!

Current RSC members Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor are joined by founding members Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield - and original props goddess Sa Winfield - as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the very first performance by those upstarts from Read more
By austin, ago

APRIL NEWSLETTER: Out Now!

Wanna catch up on the latest Reduced news, reviews and interviews? The April edition of The Reduced Reader is OUT NOW! We're launching the final leg of our tour of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) - check dates! Also, Read more
By austin, ago