Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast

Veteran TV & film actor (Man on the Inside, Mr. Show with Bob and David) and VoiceOver artist (SpongeBob SquarePants) Jill Talley returns to the legitimate stage this month in Bill Odenkirk's new play We Interrupt This Program, about an alien invasion that coincides with the broadcast of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds. Jill talks about the challenges of voice acting vs. full-body acting; the minor difficulties of playing a crotchety old Chicago lady; how fans of SpongeBob Squarepants are the nicest fans in the world; how she's returning to acting with longtime friend Bob Odenkirk; whether it’d be fun to be recognized more than she is already; how everybody thinks comedy is easy and drama is hard; and how appearing in a very cool Smashing Pumpkins video led to one of Jill’s more obscure – though award-winning – performances. (Length 20:53) The post Jill Talley’s Voice appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Director Phillip Breen discusses his Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of The Merry Wives of Windsor and his contention that this less-produced play is in fact Shakespeare's Greatest Comedy. Phillip explores why Merry Wives is not just Shakespeare's funniest play but his most transgressive; how it dares to imagine female sexuality; how it resembles Midsummer except the lovers are in their 40s and 50s; how he's a Darwinist in the rehearsal room; how tired we are of the “largely rubbish” idea that Shakespeare’s text gives us absolutely everything we need; the sad truth that there aren’t enough theatre folks who are properly bilingual in the language of sports; the question of whether Falstaff’s punishment (like Malvolio’s) fits the crime; and the great power of extra-textual fart jokes that remain grounded in character and situation. (Length 22:15) (Pictured above, l to r: Olivia Pryor, Issy van Randwyck, Ora Jones, and Nancy Voigts as The Merry Wives of Windsor, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, directed by Phillip Breen, 2026.) The post Shakespeare’s Greatest Comedy? appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company joins those fighting to save Washington DC's Kennedy Center from those who would destroy it. RSC artistic directors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor share their favorite memories of the eight summers they performed in the KenCen's Terrace Theater; the celebrities whose paths they crossed; the many opportunities that came their way as a result of performing in our nation's capital; how we ended up performing both on National Public Radio and at the White House; the identities of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Dancers; jokes and bits we weren’t allowed to do; encounters with amazing seeing-eye dogs; the definitive demonstration of the phenomenon known as "Second-Night Letdown;" a rare award nomination for Best New Play; preserving the true legacy of the Kennedy Center's artistry over at @OurKennedyCenter; and the extraordinary artists whose company the RSC is proud to share. (Length 25:41) The post Kennedy Center Memories appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The Greeley (CO) Garage Sale Theatre hosted a talkback during the closing weekend of Austin Tichenor's play Puritans, and the cast, director Daniel Mothershed, and playwright took questions from an audience that included over a dozen theatre students from Frontier Academy. Austin and the cast share how the play combines autobiographical with fictional elements; how hard it is to pretend characters from other time periods aren't there; how hard it is to understand our past; how multiple generations can be in conversation with each other; how the playwright's a sucker for epic multi-generational family epics; how Puritans evolved from a novel into a play; how characters in a play – even ones based on real people – become automatically fictional with their own narrative imperatives; and how a play about multiple generations appeals to multiple generations. (Length 25:26) The post Austin’s ‘Puritans’ Talkback appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Longtime full-time teacher and longtime part-time improviser Kate Wiersema talks about her very fun and incredibly helpful book Playing to Learn: Using Improv in the K-8 Classroom, which creates suggestions and games that provide a "structure for fun" in the classroom. Kate shares how these games and tools can be used for curriculum as well as emotional learning; how these tools require no extra supplies and help build a sense of community; how learning can be collaborative rather than adversarial; how they can help get out of the rote of everything becoming "standardized;" the importance of combating ‘boy syndrome;’ the value of someone stepping up and being the “And;” and further examples – if more were needed – that illustrate why Improv Is Magic. Lives are being changed! (Length 20:17) The post Playing To Learn appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.