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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”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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”The four gentlemen of the 2013 cast of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) — Gary Fannin, Matt Pearson, Matt Rippy, and Benjamin Stratton — share their backgrounds and expertise as they prepare for their twelve-week UK tour. Featuring a surprisingly fast sense of ensemble, the joys of doubling, the Read more…
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![The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]](http://reducedshakespeare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/RSC-Shakespeare-A3-1000px.jpg)
Why? asks a bewildered nation. Read on… We were very disturbed by the recent Vision Critical survey that suggests contemporary children have no idea who Shakespeare is and that more than a quarter of adults haven’t read his plays. And as for the final kick in the codpiece that nobody even knows Shakespeare was British? We blame ourselves. (more…)
We’re returning to Bermuda this week, performing The Complete World of Sports (abridged) at the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts. Hoping to get in a few rounds of golf and avoid triangles, hexagons, and parallelograms of all kinds.
”We head back to the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts this week for the first time in over a decade and we’re very excited. Join us in our Yakima, WA hotel lobby as we sample the snacks and wine given us by the Capitol Theatre and discuss what it’s Read more…
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”RSC Company Manager Alli Bostedt adds another title to her growing list – Travel Agent – and describes what it’s like getting us and our stuff all over the world. Featuring recommended travel websites, tricks we’ve learned over the years, the challenges of moving people and equipment in a post-9/11 world, 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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”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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”LIVE! from US Interstate Highway 91, en route from Stowe VT to Reston VA, we talk about how touring has changed over the years, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Featuring unpaid endorsements, tips on long-drive-time-killing, unauthorized Michael Faulkner taunting, a special appearance by 20-year Apple Media Propulsion Engineer Read more…
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The Reduced Shakespeare Company will return to the UK in the summer of 2012, performing a five week tour around the country and culminating in a limited (reduced!) six week season at London’s iconic Arts Theatre.
”It’s been too long! This summer we return to England for the European premiere of The Complete World of Sports (abridged) – just in time to coincide with some minor international sporting event that will apparently be there at the same time. Featuring the number of weeks we’ll be there (11), the places Read more…
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We are now booking our 2012-13 North American Tour!
The Reduced Shakespeare Company returns to The New Victory Theater (New York’s theater for kids and families… and those who refuse to act their age) for a three week run of The Complete World of Sports (abridged). Austin, Matt and Reed are ready to once again tackle life’s big questions: Is bowling really a sport? Who invented curling? How DOES one get to the Subway Series?
The New Vic is running a special offer for RSC fans who step up to the plate now: 15% off any performance, any seat if purchased by Oct 21st. (more…)
”LIVE! from Air New Zealand flight #2 from Auckland to Los Angeles. It’s a media circus as our in-flight recording session is interrupted by a film crew documenting Air New Zealand’s new staff uniforms. Featuring travel ritual revelations, important safety tips, a few unfortunate skips in the recording, and the Read more…
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”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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”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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”Multi-hyphenate RSC Office Manager Alli Bostedt catches us up on how she manages to juggle her many duties while she’s on the road. Also, Dominic Conti catches us up on all the awards our friends’ web series The Best Friend won at LA WebFest. And we catch up with our Read more…
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”European stage manager Davey Naylor shares his background, expertise, and adventures working with the RSC. Featuring lessons learned at Drama School, breakdowns of American and European sport, making a living on the Internet, massive and geeky dedication to fantasy sports websites, and fantastic insight into how to work for the Read more…
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”For Valentine’s Day we send out long distance dedications to our listeners – and from our listeners. Featuring global statistics, favorite body parts, a special appearance from Lavinia Tan from Lush 99.5 in Singapore, emails from listeners, the smooth groovy sounds of guitarist Eric Essix, and exclusive news of foreign Read more…
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”It was a week right out of Planes, Trains, & Automobiles as we attempted to dodge winter storms. Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor, Matt Rippy, and stage manager Elaine Randolph regale us with tales of canceled flights and performances, lost luggage and personnel, impromptu trains, rescheduled hotels, and rerouted trunks. Featuring Read more…
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”Join us for a quick preview of our upcoming 2011 tour dates. Featuring expert advice on how to get the RSC booked in a venue near you, some unacceptably teasing hints, a special appearance by Christopher Rawson, the chairman of the American Theatre Critics Association, and horrible and unforgivable butchering Read more…
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”Of all the great venues we’ve performed in around the world, this list definitely includes some of them. Featuring reminiscences about some of the great venues we’ve played, memories of the not-so-great venues we’ve played, one way of maintaining sanity while on the road, and the joys of celebrating disaster. Read more…
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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…
”Mick Orfe, Dominic Conti, and Jeff Marlow regale each other (and us) with tales of apprehension and excitement regarding their current tour of Hong Kong and Singapore. Featuring helpful advice, misplaced fears, audible eye-rolls, walking oxymorons, and our very first dueling celebrity blurb! (MP3. Length 18:09)
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Well, almost. Don’t miss Tri-State Premiere of “Complete World of Sports (abridged)” in Princeton! One night only – Saturday, October 9 at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ. For tickets, click here! Be there or fuhgeddaboudit! Tickets >
There has been an amazing buzz surrounding Reduced Shakespeare Company debut of “The Complete World of Sports (abridged).” No, not Buzz Lightyear. Not even Buzz Aldrin. It’s been the buzz from the press which has called SPORTS (abridged) “deeply funny,” “absolutely hilarious,” and “both merciless and affectionate!” Click here for Read more…
Only for Fun. Please No Wagering. Question: What do Richmond VA, Burlington VT, Charlotte NC, Easton PA and Richardson TX all have common? Hint: Remember you are reading the the RSC newsletter. Answer: Along with Princeton, NJ these are the only places you’ll be able to see the RSC in Read more…
The Far East can be mysterious. That must explain why they are having us back to Hong Kong and Singapore so soon! We’ll be performing The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) and The Complete History of America (abridged) at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from October Read more…
”We walk to our performances at the New Victory Theatre in New York City along one of most famous thoroughfares in the world – Broadway. Featuring honking horns, massive crowds, steady drizzle, mistaken identities, reduced reviews, unexpected encounters, and huge delight at being at the center of the theatrical universe. Read more…
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”Flying from California to Dallas shouldn’t be this fraught with excitement and adventure. But oy, was it fraught. Fraughter than we thought. An extra day’s rehearsal goes down the drain as we struggle and fail to avoid a weather system in Phoenix, the likes of which nobody’s ever seen before. Read more…
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”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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”We’ve been touring to more small towns than big cities recently so we decided to look at the differences. Featuring backstage chats about the glories of small town municipal workers, airport personnel, and motel amenities; plus our highly sophisticated and technologically advanced method for keeping track of where we’ve played. Read more…
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”We kept the microphone running while playing tourist in Hong Kong and riding the Tung Chung Line. Featuring RSC Travel Tips, a shout-out to the finest public transit system in the world, and backstage and onstage banter during an actual Hong Kong performance. (Mp3. Length 19:01)
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”Dressing room chatter this week about our first week of Hong Kong adventures. Featuring Mick Orfe’s dream woman, Matt Rippy’s nightmare injuries, Austin Tichenor’s mysterious allure to the ladies of Wan Chai, a shout-out to Willy’s Wily Wenches, and an interview (plus outtakes!) with Ellie Davis of RTHK Radio 3. Read more…
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”It’s summer vacation, yet podcast we must! What’s it like to work while everybody else is on holiday? Tales of on-the-road Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, St. Patricks’ and Independence Day celebrations. Featuring a special appearance by Carol Smith from Class 95 in Singapore and an exclusive excerpt from the new Read more…
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”What we don’t know about Singapore would fill volumes, but at least we have our memories. Featuring tales of our previous visits, eager anticipation of our upcoming trip, and cultural ignorance on a massive scale. (MP3. Length 19:21)
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”In this week’s EXCLUSIVE announcement, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor reveal the title of the next RSC Stage Show. Featuring what criteria were considered in making the decision, when it’s likely to appear at a theater near you, the bits that will absolutely without-a-doubt 100% guaranteed be in the final Read more…
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”Our return to Washington DC this week coincides with the inauguration of America’s 44th President, and sparks memories of previous trips to our nation’s capital. Featuring brushes with DC greatness, important White House secrets, how we’re jumping through dozens of security hoops, and the revelation of exactly how we roll. Read more…
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”LIVE! from Virgin Atlantic Flight #8….and from a UK Taxi….and from various cafes and pubs all over London. Reed and Austin discuss the various business hoops one has to jump through in order to set up a tour of Great Britain. Featuring detours to Holland, a reduced Oscar post-mortem, some Read more…
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”Meet the cast that’s coming to Belgium and Holland this week: Brent Tubbs, Noah Brody, and newest RSC member Mark Farrell, who gets a primer on RSC touring. Featuring the proper way to eat pommes frites, unneccessary digs at Michael Faulkner, a celebration of Belgian beer, a special appearance by Read more…
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”2007 ends differently for each of us, and 2008 begins with a look ahead at all the places we’ll be playing this year. Featuring reminiscences of past glories, previews of future triumphs, a special appearance by Sedge Thomson from West Coast Live, and our very own New Year’s resolutions (such Read more…
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”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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”Recent RSC addition Steve Marvel talks about The Actor’s Life….specifically, his. Steve and Austin share complaints about playing the “Verbose Professorial One”, and discuss the burdens of finding a motivation other than “not being fired”. Featuring some clues about who’s performing where this fall and a special appearance by by Read more…
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”David Razowsky, the improviser’s improviser, toured with the RSC and (at the time of this recording) was Artistic Director of the Second City, LA. Listen to his tales of touring, mistaken hotel rooms, and the limitations of farce. Featuring Austin Tichenor’s strict direction and surprisingly girlish laughter, and a special Read more…
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”A lively LIVE interview with Noah Brody, Ryan Dietz, and Dustin Sullivan, who’ll be performing All The Great Books (abridged) in Ireland starting Sept. 22. Featuring alternative audition techniques, commercial gigs both lost and found, a reduced Tolkien debate, and dozens of screaming girls! Plus, a special appearance by the Read more…
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”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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”Whatever you call it….the Emerald Isle….the Land of Saints and Scholars….the Celtic Tiger…Ireland is one of our favorite places. Since we’re touring there for eight weeks, we tell Irish tales of the perils of pub singing and the legend of Oliver Reed. Featuring special appearances by Irish natives Jane Fitzpatrick Read more…
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”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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”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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