Podcast appearances and mentions of chad yarish

Chad Yarish served as the Dungeon Master for the RSC's very first Dungeons & Dragons campaign – certainly the very first one we recorded for a podcast. While long by podcast standards, this was incredibly short for a D&D campaign, and features the importance of a working knowledge of vampire lore; dead guys both talkative and disappearing; a surprising and very special appearance by the Bardic composer of Guys and Dolls; the difficulty of choosing between the Rooms of Weeping, the Larder of Ill-Omens, and the Pantry of Pleasure; inexplicable and unconscious invocations of Once Upon a Mattress; and the heroic and cathartic power of invoking the Brown Noise. (Length 1:05:11) The post RSC D&D One-Shot appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Last week we gathered in the RSC's hometown of Sonoma, California to finally return to Hamlet's Big Adventure! (a prequel) since the last time we performed it back in 2019. Original cast members Doug Harvey, Austin Tichenor, and Chad Yarish talk about what it's like to back on their feet; how they survived this "long intermission;" how it was time to retire from cracking nuts; the promise of a possible live RSC D&D one-shot; some important pandemic pivots; the importance of crystallizing our purpose; the (hopefully only temporary) end of an RSC tradition; and how the themes of Hamlet's Big Adventure! (a prequel) have become surprisingly resonant and more comically powerful in the intervening two years. (Length 18:41) The post Back To Rehearsal appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Meet Doug Harvey (center, above), the newest member of the RSC and also the author and star of the one-man show The Time Traveler’s Guide to the Present, which earlier this summer won the Paul Koslo Memorial / MET Theatre Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Doug reveals his RSC origin story and shares some live musical spaghettification; his feelings about the need for adventure and more shows about science; how a one-man show became a sci-fi romance; day gigs at LA’s Griffith Observatory; references to the darkest timelines; a couple of harmonizing triads; the Michael Faulkner conduit; growing up with Bay Area theatre like California Shakespeare Company and American Conservatory Theatre; tales of successful auditions; the importance of serious clowning; and the answer to the ultimate question: What’s the closest we have to a time machine? Not a Delorean, not Bill and Ted’s phone booth, but...a theatre. (Length 21:29) (Pictured: Austin Tichenor as the King, Doug Harvey as Hamlet, and Chad Yarish as Yorick in the Reduced Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet's Big Adventure! (a prequel).) The post Doug The Time-Traveler appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The RSC's 11th stage show, Hamlet's Big Adventure! (a prequel), is really all about Hamlet's best friend Ophelia, at least according to Jessica Romero, who originated the role in the workshop production, and Austin Tichenor, who co-wrote the script and will be playing Ophelia this fall in California and Israel. Hear them chat about reconciling the many interpretations of Ophelia, and discuss professional memorization methods, weaponizing feelings, how one person's comedy can be another's tragedy, shared inspiration from Taming of the Shrew (both pirate- and commedia-themed), playing bucket-list roles, favorite Shakespeare characters, and the reality of the curse of saying the title of the Scottish Play. (Length 23:09) (Pictured: Jessica Romero as the King (with Peter Downey as Hamlet) and Ophelia (with Chad Yarish as Yorick) in the Shakespeare Napa Valley workshop of Hamlet's Big Adventure (a prequel). Photos by Julie McClelland.) The post All About Ophelia appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

With Hamlet's Big Adventure (a prequel) now being workshopped by Napa Valley College as part of its Emergence Festival, authors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor consider other famous prequels in different media, and hope for more of a Godfather II than a Star Wars Episodes 1-3 vibe. Featuring being part of a specific cultural moment (we see you, Gary: A Sequel To Titus Andronicus); a form that Shakespeare probably invented; why sequels are more popular than prequels; wanting to know how we got here and discovering more about beloved characters; shout-outs to prequel authors Christopher Moore (Lamb; Fool), Nicole Galland (I, Iago), and Louis Bayard (Mr. Timothy; Courting Mr. Lincoln); creating a more challenging puzzle than “just” continuing the story; the desire to know how it all began; alternate titles (“Elsewhere in Elsinore”, anybody?); insight from Dr. Ronan Hatfull; absolutely no spoilers about Avengers Endgame; and finally a shout-out to Patton Oswalt's great routine about eliminating certain disappointing prequels forever. (Length 20:21) (Jessica Romero as King Hamlet and Peter Downey as Hamlet, the prince of Denmark in the Napa Valley College workshop production of Hamlet's Big Adventure (a prequel). Photo by Shelly Hanan. Title graphic by Chad Yarish.) The post Other Famous Prequels appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

To see or not to see? That is the question. Anyone with even the slightest interest in theatre has probably seen a production or two of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in their lifetime. Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s - if not the world’s - greatest play, it’s one-third ghost story, one-third dysfunctional family drama, and one-third revenge tale. It’s now the first-ever Shakespeare play to be mounted on the Nellie W. Codding stage at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center. Artistic Director Sheri Lee Miller helms the production which runs through February 17. Something is rotten in the state Denmark. A spirit claiming to be the late King has appeared to Prince Hamlet to inform him he was poisoned by his own brother Claudius, who then married the widowed queen Gertrude and usurped the throne. He has one simple request of Hamlet – revenge! Miller has gathered an impressive roster of talent to essay the Bard’s classic roles. First and foremost, there’s Keith Baker as the brooding Prince. Baker is a marvel to watch and to listen to as Shakespeare’s words come trippingly off his tongue. Peter Downey is magnetic as the scheming Claudius, shading his villainy with a glimpse into his humanity and his true love of Gertrude. Eric Thompson’s Polonius brings a welcome lightness to the stage and is sorely missed upon his “departure”. Chad Yarish as faithful friend Horatio, Danielle Cain as the easily swayed Gertude, Ivy Rose Miller as the doomed Ophelia and the entire supporting cast do honor to their roles. The stark yet imposing set by Elizabeth Bazzano and Eddy Hansen in conjunction with Hansen’s lighting Design and Chris Schloemp’s projections design give the production an otherworldly feel. Costumes by Pamela Johnson pop against the dark and dank (courtesy of ample fog) backgrounds. An extremely effective addition is a live music “soundscape” composed and performed by Nancy Hayashibari. Accompanying many scenes, Hayashibari’s contribution to this production’s success cannot be overstated. Look, folks, I’m no Shakespeare pushover. It’s overdone, usually underproduced, and often interminable, but I get it. It’s royalty free, has roles that are on every actor’s bucket list, and comes with a built-in audience. Yes, it’s long, but director Sheri Lee Miller has put together an outstanding production of Hamlet that should reach beyond that “Shakespeare” audience. Will they come? Aye, there’s the rub. 'Hamlet' runs through February 17th at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8pm, the Sunday matinee is at 2pm. There’s also a Thursday, February 14th performance at 7pm. For more information, go to spreckelsonline.com

Five RSC actors -- Reed Martin, Dan Saski, Teddy Spencer, Austin Tichenor, and Chad Yarish -- performed at Pittsburgh Public Theatre this opening preview weekend. Over beer, wings, and fried pickles, Dan, Teddy, Chad, and Austin discuss what's involved with creating smooth transitions during performances; jokes that also come and go; the important similarities between Shakespeare and martial arts; adjusting blocking for a thrust configuration; the vast quantity of variety of theatre in the north Bay Area; working with John Douglas Thompson in Hamlet at American Conservatory Theatre; aspiring to Bob Cratchit; amazing musical scores; possible dueling Pucks; the difficulties of matching your own type; and the tricky nature of jokes that also come and go. (Length 20:17)

In Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg assesses Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with the criticism that it has “too many notes.” Cinnabar Theater’s current production suffers from the opposite - it’s missing a few. Amadeus is actually the story of Antonio Salieri (Richard Pallaziol), the most celebrated composer of his time and a man who’s dedicated his life to God and mankind as thanks for God’s granting him the gift of musical talent. Enter Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Aaron Wilton), a crude, boorish reprobate for whom reasons Salieri cannot fathom has been gifted by God with musical genius. Salieri, feeling mocked by God and unhinged by what he sees as a betrayal, seeks revenge on Him by destroying His vessel. He will bring about Mozart’s ruin while seeming to be his friend but destroy himself in the process. Shaffer’s historical fiction won the 1981 Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play (Ian McKellen) and the film adaptation matched that with its 1985 Oscar wins for Best Picture and Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham). Both Pallaziol and Wilton have their moments as Salieri and Mozart with Pallaziol at his best when Salieri is at his most duplicitous. While Wilton succeeds in bringing a high level of obnoxiousness to his Mozart, there’s little chemistry displayed in scenes he shares with Rose Roberts as Mozart’s wife Constanza. Chad Yarish leads an uneven supporting cast as the amusingly befuddled Austrian emperor Joseph II with Tim Setzer also effective as the pompous Count Johann Kilian von Strack. Where this Jennifer King-directed production really falters is in its design elements. Scenographer Peter Parrish brings little more than a few platforms and some haphazardly hung drapes to a play whose settings include an 18th century Viennese palace. A large center scrim used occasionally for shadow projections went curiously unused for most of the production. Parrish’s lighting design was also lacking, really only effective in a scene where Salieri collapses in frustration after he reads page after page of Mozart’s compositions and finally succumbs to his genius. Skipper Skeoch’s period costume design had to do double-duty in providing a sense of time and place with wigs and makeup by Jolie O’Dell also providing nice atmospheric support. The show concludes with Salieri, speaking for all “mediocrities” in the word, absolving them. Sadly, that’s not in my power here. “Amadeus” runs Friday through Sunday through April 15th at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma. Friday and Saturday evening performances at 8pm; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. For specific dates and times, go to cinnabartheater.org

There’s a certain segment of the “thea-tuh” community that turns its collective nose up at the mere mention of a mainstream, commercially-successful playwright. One of my most vivid college memories is of a member of the Theatre Arts faculty nearly having a stroke at the mention of the possibility of scheduling a Neil Simon play in the season. These artists often measure success by how badly attended their productions are, reveling in the confirmation of how unique and right they are about what is art and how wrong everybody else is. Director Jennifer King graciously admits to prescribing to some of these thoughts, till an actor who she greatly respects prodded her into taking a look at Simon’s The Odd Couple. The next thing she knew she was directing a production of it, now running at Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater. The Odd Couple may be the most post popular American play ever written. From its premier on Broadway over fifty years ago to the classic Jack Lemmon – Walter Matthau film to its current third incarnation as a prime-time television sitcom, The Odd Couple, with slight modifications (including a Saturday morning cartoon) endures. Why? Because it’s funny. The premise is simple – mismatched roommates. There’s a whole lot more than that, of course, but it’s with that now-classic premise to which most people can relate. Who hasn’t roomed with a Felix and/or Oscar at some point in their life? Who hasn’t been driven up a wall by a compadre’s peccadilloes? Who hasn’t reached out to help a friend and then turn around and want to kill him? Friendship is at the heart of The Odd Couple, male friendship in particular and King has cast the show with a group of guys who you can actually believe are friends. Nathan Cummings brings a gruff charm to Oscar and Aaron Wilton nails both the prissiness and heart of Felix. Both manage to avoid comparisons to Matthau/Lemmon & Klugman/Randall, with Wilton’s Felix wound a bit tighter than usual. Wilton may come off as a tad young to be playing the middle-aged Felix, but his character choices get you past that. They’re both fun to watch. A lot of the humor in the play comes from Felix and Oscar’s poker playing buddies, and King has cast these supporting roles as well as her leads. Tim Kniffin is very dry as accountant Roy. Tim Setzer, usually seem locally in musicals, is amusing as henpecked Vinnie. Zachary Stockton as the cigar-chewing, wise-cracking Speed is a man after my own heart with his laser-like focus on the game. Chad Yarish’s Murray the cop is the heart and soul of the group, managing to be funny and kind of sweet when it comes to caring about his friend Felix. Laughs also come via the Pigeon sisters (nicely played by Samantha Dakin and Morgan Harrington), a couple of British expatriates who are the source of the final conflict (and resolution) between Oscar and Felix. In a pre-show presentation, director King addressed the personal challenge of putting on a straight forward production and resisting the temptation to add any avant-garde elements. I can’t imagine this show done with a minimalist set instead of Joseph Elwick’s nicely designed NY apartment or everyone dressed in black instead of Skipper Skeoch’s nicely understated period dress. King met the challenge by simply sticking to the script and trusting her actors. While there are individual lines that seem dated ($280 a month for an eight room, New York City apartment?!) the show itself does not come off that way. Rooted in real relationships, it’s a funny look at the American male-psyche, still gloriously flawed after fifty years. Cinnabar Theater’s The Odd Couple is an extremely enjoyable production of an American comedy classic. It plays weekends through April 23rd. For more information, go to cinnabartheater.org