Podcasts about cincinnati shakespeare company

Veteran Shakespearean actor Geoffrey Barnes joins the Reduced Shakespeare Company to play Yorick and Ophelia's mother in the regional theatre premiere of The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel). The RSC's 11th stage show marks the company's seventh appearance at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, as well as MRT's 300th production, and Geoffrey discusses how his many years at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Oregon Shakespeare Festival – as well as his background in musical theatre and experience performing RSC scripts at CSC – serve him well in this comic prequel to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Geoffrey reveals the value of a comedian not thinking he's funny; how he finds the rhythms and music of the language, whether it's Shakespeare, vaudeville, or August Wilson; and the importance of letting the music and the jokes serve the characters and the story. (Length 21:05) The post Meet Geoffrey Barnes appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

What if Gertrude had more power than we thought? What if Ophelia's fate wasn't sealed from the start? And what does it really mean to mother a prince who might be losing his mind? Playwright Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced living playwrights in America, takes on Hamlet in her latest play, A Room in the Castle. This sharp, feminist reimagining follows Ophelia, her handmaid, and Queen Gertrude as they navigate the dangers of Elsinore, wrestling with the weight of survival, duty, and defiant hope in the face of chaos. Gunderson, known for her witty and powerful storytelling in The Book of Will and The Half-Life of Marie Curie, discusses how she reclaims the voices of Hamlet‘s women, why Gertrude's famous speech about Ophelia's drowning might not be as simple as it seems, and how she crafted new ending that brings new light to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. >> Get your tickets to Folger Theatre's A Room in the Castle, a co-production with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, on stage March 4 – April 6

Candice Handy, associate artistic director of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, discusses her production of Lanie Robertson's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and reveals how she first connected to the material and how the play lands differently now. Candice shares her background as both an actor and musician; Billie Holiday's connection to Lowell; how actors are doctors to the soul; the wonder of discovering things you didn't know you knew; the danger of silencing artists; the value of art in troubled times; and the importance of giving a play the grit it requires to deliver the transcendence it deserves. The post Revisiting ‘Lady Day' appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Perennially one of the most-produced playwrights in America, Lauren Gunderson returns to discuss A Room in the Castle, her new play based on the women of Hamlet now having its world premiere at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Folger Theatre in Washington DC. Lauren talks about the evolution of her play and reveals how it became more focused on Gertrude, rather than Ophelia; an excellent reason why artists should lunch with other artists; how there is always another story going on; how young people in love are dumb; what her next play will focus on; the definitive answer to the question of Gertrude's complicity in King Hamlet's murder; and how the women of Denmark survive in a world (much like ours) where “patriarchy's gonna patriarchy.” (Length 24:13) (PICTURED, above: Sabrina Lynne Sawyer and Oneika Phillips in the world-premiere of “A Room in the Castle” based on the women of “Hamlet,” by Lauren M. Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn, co-produced with Folger Theatre playing January 24-February 9, 2025 at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Photo by Mikki Schaffner. Below, Lauren Gunderson and Austin Tichenor, San Francisco, 2025. Selfie by Austin Tichenor.) The post Gertrude And Ophelia appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

In this episode we interview Jeremy Dubin. Jeremy is an actor, director, writer with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and professor at Xavier and University of Cincinnati. We discuss his many roles over the years including his recent filming experiece with Robert DeNiro. Jeremy generously gave his time for Hero Radaio and we hope you get as much out of his interfiew as we did! Enjoy!

Playwright Alice Scovell (The Rewards of Being Frank) discusses her new comedy Kindred Spirits, a sequel to Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit now having its world premiere at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (and featuring our own Austin Tichenor as Charles Condomine, whose late wives Elvira and Ruth return once again to stir up trouble). Scovell talks about how she gave Oscar Wilde's characters from The Importance of Being Earnest the seven-year-itch; how she's played around in the STU – the Shakespeare Theatrical Universe – through her sequel to Love's Labor's Lost; the challenges and rewards of negotiating with an author's estate; and how a life of theatergoing has led to a new life of theatre making. (Length 21:36)

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company annually performs FREE Shakespeare plays in the park. This year they will be performing William Shakespeare's play “Hamlet”. The performances are on different days, July 12th through September 1st. Most performances are at 7pm, and each performance is held at a different park throughout the Greater Read More Shared by United Resource Connection June 21, 2024

Kristin Yancy is an actor/dancer/singer/creator living in Brooklyn. Her long list of theater credits include Summer, The Donna Summer Musical and The Cher Show on Broadway, Guys and Dolls at the Kennedy Center, Gaslight with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and playing Roxie in Chicago directed by Patrick O' Neill.  In today's episode, Yancy talks about not going to college for dance and how she got into professional shape when she first moved to NYC, how she finds fulfillment in between jobs by creating her own work including her own immersive theater company, and how to navigate the heartbreak that comes with rejection.  She also describes how she insists on bringing joy into her training, how she works hard to create a sustainable career for herself, and the necessity of figuring out what brings you out of a funk, which for her includes taking classes and lessons, walking around the city… and mac and cheese.  *A note from Yancy on MinuteZero: At the time of this interview, my co-founders and I had decided to close the business, and transition into spending more time on our individual projects. But we hadn't yet announced it publicly! This conversation with Jess now represents one of the last really in-depth conversations I had about the company, and it's pretty cool to have it recorded. P.S. My co-founders and I still love each other, and still work together!-- just in a less formalized, more free and independent format :) Follow along on Yancy's journey: @kristinyancy Transcript available on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠!  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storyproject/support

Lesley Bevan is an artist and voice over actor currently living in Chicago, IL. Lesley received a BS in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and enjoyed a career in theatre, TV and film, regionally and internationally, for over 20 years. Lesley took her first pottery class in 1999, while a resident actor at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. For years Lesley chased two passions, clay by day and theatre by night, sometimes smuggling work into her dressing room to slip-trail pots during intermission. Lesley clearly remembers the matinee when she found herself onstage performing Lady MacBeth's “Out Damned Spot” speech in front of an audience of 500 people while simultaneously working out the design for a new mug in her head. It was a moment of clarity. By 2015, Leslie had committed to a full time career in clay. Today, Lesley is a studio artist at Lillstreet Art Center, where she creates her own work and fires the soda kiln for a robust soda firing program. http://ThePottersCast.com/994

In this episode we interview Justin McCombs, an actor with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Playhouse in the park. Justin shares his stories from the stage and lessons that he's learned along the way. We hope you enjoy this special episode!

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company annually performs FREE Shakespeare plays in the park. This year they will be performing William Shakespeare's play “The Comedy of Errors”. The performances are on different days, July 14th through September 3rd. All performances are at 7pm, and each performance is held at a different park Read More Shared by United Resource Connection June 29, 2023

Director Jemma Levy discusses The Taming of the Shrew, now in rehearsal at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and opening this week. Jemma shares her thoughts about this famously complicated play and reveals that she considers it a feminist romantic comedy; how she emphasizes its themes of performance and the shifting relationships of masters and servants; her belief that Shakespeare's women are always the smartest people on the stage; how we watch Katherine and Petruchio's first "meet-cute," then fall in love and learn each other's moves in real time; the theatrical and thematic value of including the audience; the fun of putting a bar onstage; and how Shrew compares with another complicated Shakespeare “comedy,” The Merchant of Venice. (Length 20:45)

In this episode, Jennifer has a deep heart conversation with Renika Williams about her journey thus far as an actor. They talk about living intentionally, releasing expectations, and needing to be specific about what you are wanting. Renika talks about the importance of reaching back, being able to change your mind, and recognizing that sometimes things don't feel the way you think they will. They also unpack the misconception around “quitting” and the ability to hold multiple feelings simultaneously. About Renika: Renika Williams plays Willow on HBO Max's new hit comedy THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS. She can also be seen on NBC's NEW AMSTERDAM, Amazon Prime's MODERN LOVE and STARZ' P Valley. Regional theatre productions at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Arden Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, & Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Off Broadway credits at MCC Theatre in ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS and the National Black Theatre in SWEET. Renika earned her BFA in Acting from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Renika's IG: @_renikadanielle Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective  EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/ Sign up for our newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/8e72e8dcb662/stay-in-touch Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/ Any thoughts you'd like to share? Email us at EmpoweredArtistCollective@gmail.com  

Renika Williams talks "The Sex Life of College Girls", her work in the theater community, and the time casting wanted her to sing like Mariah! About Renika: Renika Williams plays Willow on HBO Max's new hit comedy THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS. She can also be seen on season two of both Amazon Prime's MODERN LOVE and STARZ P Valley. Regional theatre productions at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Arden Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, & Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Off Broadway credits at MCC Theatre in ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS and the National Black Theatre in SWEET. Renika earned her BFA in Acting from Wright State University in Dayton, OH where she was born and raised. Renika's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_renikadanielle/ Follow the show on social media!          Instagram: https://instagram.com/thanksforcominginpodcast/          Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfci_podcast          Facebook: http://facebook.com/thanksforcominginpodcast/           Theme Music by Andrew Skrabutenas Producers: Jillian Clare & Susan Bernhardt Channel: Realm For more information, go to thanksforcominginpodcast.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Craig West (Gil) Actor/Filmmaker Kevin Craig West has been seen on stage regionally with Capital Rep (Shakespeare in Love), Oldcastle Theatre (Judevine), WAM and Central Square Theatre (Pipeline). On screen Kevin portrayed Terrance Bryant on NBC's hit series Law & Order - Organized Crime, appeared in an episode of NBC's series, Newmore Regge Life [he / him] (Director) Regge Life recently directed Knock Me a Kiss for the W.E.B. DuBois celebration in the Tina Packer Playhouse. Last season debbie tucker green's hang, the 2019 multiple Berkie Award winning production of Topdog/Underdog, the wildly acclaimed Morning After Grace in 2018 and God of Carnage in 2017 and Kaufman's "ranney" (Benny) "ranney" has five decades in the performing arts as a multi-disciplinarian. Acting credits include Marc (Art, Shakespeare & Company) Polonius/Gravedigger, Toledo, Troy Maxson (Hamlet; Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; Fences. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); Sterling, Hambone (Two Trains Running; Radio Golf. American Stage Company.); King Hedley, Chutes & Ladders (Seven Guitars;more by Lolita Chakrabarti Directed by Regge Life Featuring: "ranney" and Kevin Craig West July 22 – August 28, 2022 Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre 95 minutes without an intermission. BUY TICKETS DONATE HYMN “Rings true from the first note to the last” – BBC.com Two men meet at a funeral. One knew the deceased; one did not. Benny is a loner with a wife and children, while Gil longs to fulfill his potential. They form a deep bond, but cracks appear as they begin to realize that true courage comes in different forms. This soulful new play, filled with music, asks what it takes to be a good father, brother, or son. Generously sponsored by Deborah and Bill Ryan.

Is The Batman a Hamlet story? The Joker an Iago? I'm joined by Austin Tichenor (he/him), artistic director of the award winning Reduced Shakespeare Company as we talk about the Bard's approach to villains, and storytelling in general, and how we see those same themes in the stories we love today.Austin Tichenor (he/him) is an actor, playwright, and the artistic director of the award winning Reduced Shakespeare Company. An intellectual welterweight, Austin remains disappointingly average despite three expensive degrees (two from UC Berkeley and one from Boston University). An intellectual welterweight, Austin remains disappointingly average despite three expensive degrees (two from UC Berkeley and one from Boston University).He blogs monthly for the Folger Shakespeare Library (where you can find his article on The Batman and Hamlet) and since 2006 has produced and hosted the world's longest running weekly theater podcast, the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast. Recent directorial credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream for Starling Shakespeare Company, Twelfth Night for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged) for the Folger Shakespeare Theater, and Much Ado about Nothing for Pacific theater. As an actor, Austin has logged many hours on episodic television, playing recurring roles on 24, Allias, Felicity, Ally McBeal, and The Practice as well as guest starring as Guys in Ties on The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, The X-Files, E.R., NYPD Blue, and shoes like them. He also offers his services as a writing and acting coach at The Shakespeareance.He collaborated with Reed Martin on Pop-Up Shakespeare (illustrated by Jennie Maizels) and the definitive compendium of Shakespearean scholarship Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged).Co-Artistic Director, Reduced Shakespeare Company https://www.reducedshakespeare.com/Creator, The Shakespeareance https://www.theshakespeareance.com/Producer/Host, Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast https://www.reducedshakespeare.com/podcasts/Monthly Contributor, Folger Shakespeare Library https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/author/austin-tichenor/Plays at Broadway Play Publishing - https://www.broadwayplaypub.com/?s=Tichenor&post_type=product&order=descAustin on Twitter https://twitter.com/austintichenorAustin on Facebook Austin on FacebookSupport The Shakespeareance on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/austintichenor?fan_landing=true

In today's episode, I welcome Darnell Benjamin! His interview was so good that we ended up spending twice the time talking than my guests and I normally do. We've broken up his interview into two segments. Enjoy his experience as a professional actor, dancer, and artist today and next week. Get in touch with Darnell Benjamin: www.13thandrepublic.com | https://www.facebook.com/darnell.p.benjamin | www.instagram.com/darnell.p.benjaminSupport Artfully Told: www.paypal.me/elevateartArtfully Told links: www.facebook.com/artfullytold | www.artfullytold.podbean.com | elevateartskc@gmail.comGet a free audiobook through Audible!  http://www.audibletrial.com/ArtfullyToldSchedule your interview with Artfully Told! https://calendly.com/artfullytold/podcast-interview Episode 040 - Darnell BenjaminLindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.[00:00:06] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.[00:00:12] Roman: All I can do is put my part in to the world.[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful.[00:00:31]Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, Artfully Told listeners, it's Lindsey here. Hey, I just want to quickly let you know something before our episode begins and that is that this interview was awesome. I had so much fun talking with my guest today. And I know you are absolutely going to love Darnell as well. And hey, we had so many good things to talk about, and the interview lasted a lot longer than is typical for Artfully Told listeners. So I just wanted to give you a heads up to let you know that I've actually broken this into two parts. So you're going to get part one today and then part two next week. And I just want you to know that ahead of time before we dive in, and I cannot wait to share Darnell with you. And I know you're just going to absolutely love everything has to say as well. Thank you so much.[00:01:26] Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am so very excited to have as my guest today, Darnell Pierre Benjamin. He is a performing artist. Thank you so much for being here.[00:01:43] Darnell Benjamin: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me.[00:01:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And I know that performing artist barely scratches the surface of all the different things that you do. So I would love if you would just share a little bit about maybe who you are and your background and kind of all the different things you're doing now.[00:02:01] Darnell Benjamin: Sure. And you know, and I'll say all the things I try to do, I'll definitely say I'm originally from a Southern Louisiana small town by the name of St. Martinville. And I started dancing at around 14, mainly because I came from a family that was already very big into music and dancing. And the short version is that it was actually in therapy that I basically got coached by my therapist to explore some movement things. We were just playing with movement. And that's when I learned that for some reason, movement became a, a sort of balancing act for me, a centering place. And so I started out doing some modern dance and that got me into playing with some ballet.[00:02:44] And fast forward to high school, start playing with the speech and debate team, and helping with the plays and then on a whim-- like no joke, it was very much at the last minute-- two weeks before starting college, I decided to change my major from what was going to be aiming towards criminal psychology to theater. And I changed it to theater. And while in the program, I was realizing that I was getting just as many dance credits as I was getting theater credits. So that's when I just realized, "Oh, I'm going to just be a performing arts major," because I was bouncing around between the two of those. And that's when I started getting in love with also Shakespeare and language and words and how they words dance in their own way as well. So, that's when I got into Shakespeare. I ended up going to grad school at University of Houston, got my MFA.[00:03:39] And the program particularly looks at the world through the lens of classical theater, specifically Shakespeare we focused on a lot, and it's a movement-oriented program. So it was perfect for me. And now, I mean, I just kind of right now, I just juggle between acting, dancing, choreographing, directing and teaching. So you know, I, I got a bit of advice many, many years ago from a professor who told me to broaden the brand, whatever you want to do, do it. Who's stopping you? And that really stuck with me. And so now I just like to pretend my way through things.[00:04:14]Lindsey Dinneen: I love it. Yes. Well, and obviously you're not just pretending your way through things. You've been very successful, which is fantastic, but we all have to start somewhere. So there you go.[00:04:26] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, exactly, and that's what I mean by pretend is that, you know, it's--I remember the first time I started to choreograph. When I really started in the beginning, because as a dancer, you know, have your, you have your awareness of your body and your body and what your body can do, but you don't necessarily think about other people's bodies. You do when you're working with them, but how to create movement for other people's bodies. And that became a whole learning curve for me. And I caught on pretty quickly and I realized that, "Okay." Cause I think I have my strength in choreography is that I think I have a good eye, and I think I'm not afraid to lean into storytelling. I'm very inspired by like, for example, there's that dance group, Polobolus , who is like one of my top, one of my favorite dance companies. I love the type of work that they do because they don't just look at the technical aspect of dancing. They also look at the storytelling. They look at what does this one angle of the body mean versus another. So I'm very inspired by that kind of work.[00:05:28] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. So you started as a dancer and it was in your teens, and so you had mentioned doing modern and ballet. And so did you continue to explore those two or have you also branched into some other dance styles as well?[00:05:45] Darnell Benjamin: Oh, definitely. Yeah. A little bit of both. So I started out in those two and I always struggled with ballet and yeah, no, I was told early on, " Yeah, just don't have the feet." And so it's still that kind of got in my head for a long time, but then I noticed I had a a facility and comfort with modern dance and contemporary world. And that opened the door to me, even playing with some jazz. And that's really where I probably think my personal movement style sits the best. And that opened also to some tap. I'm pretty decent at tap. And then I started playing with some ballroom dance and I did well at that. And when I say--well, keep in mind, I am , I would say that I think I'm a better freestyle dancer than I am like, don't get me wrong--choreo that sits in a world of modern jazz, I am ready to go. Even some hip hop, I'm ready to go---but ballet is it, it's really hard for me. And, and I, I've been trying over the years to figure out what is the wall. And some of that, I think it's a mental block because I have in my head from that one person who told me, "Ya just don't have the feet."[00:06:59]Lindsey Dinneen: Oh man![00:07:02] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. And so now it's the one that I'm afraid of the most to be perfectly honest is ballet. Terrified.[00:07:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, well that is so funny you say that because ballet is my forte. I absolutely love it. I think it's absolutely wonderful, but I'm, I'm the opposite of somebody who's like, "Here's this really abstract, modern piece or, or even worse, here's this hip hop piece." I'll be like, "Mmm, I don't think you want me."[00:07:28] Darnell Benjamin: And that's, you know, I totally like, I guess, you know, on the opposite end I can relate. Because I think what is so amazing, I love watching ballet mainly because I love watching something so technical that's done so freely. When it's done well, you know, when somebody really is just breathing in it. For me, I found that I was having a hard time with allowing myself to breathe. I get very tense with ballet work, and we all know that type of tension is not going to be useful for that type of work. So that was always my issue, but the freedom or what I'm perceiving rather as being freedom in, for example, modern dance , I think what, why I gravitate towards that is because I'm so story-oriented. So, and in contorting my body and moving it in , you know, anything from like, for example, a flexed foot is exciting to me because I'm like, "Oh, what does that mean?" And so I find myself digging into the story of modern dance. And it's not that by the way, please don't--I don't want to make this sound like I'm saying there aren't stories with ballet because there are absolutely some fantastic stories--it's just that I have a hard time allowing my brain to turn off when I'm doing ballet. I really do have a hard time with it.[00:08:49] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that makes complete sense. I think it's easy in whatever genre that, that doesn't come as naturally or as easily or whatever to you, to have that in your head aspect of, "Oh my goodness. I'm just trying to focus on the technical aspects and remember my choreography." So I think that's like completely normal for any dancer, for sure. And for a lot of artists who are dabbling in, you know, trying to like expand a little bit. If you're out of your element, you don't feel as free just in general, I think.[00:09:22] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. And also the other side of that is, you know, to be absolutely real, I'm 37 and we all know what the body--like ballet at 37, it's a very different thing, especially if you've been away from it for so long. But I keep saying one of these days, I am definitely going to get back into a class because I would love to just go back to the basics. I don't know about you. I love barre work. I love just being there in the classroom and just doing the work. That's what, I'm not thinking as much. It's when I'm performing it that I get in my head.[00:09:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Fair enough. Yes. I absolutely love barre work as well. It's like, there's something so--just exciting, but also safe or, which is kind of a funny way to put it, but it's just this like, feeling of home. It's like, "Okay, we're going to start back in the barre. Every time we're going to start with our plies." It's like having this, this predictable really well-thought-through formula.[00:10:22] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. When you're in that work session, it's really all about you. You just get to focus on your body. I mean, for example, I'm right now teaching at Northern Kentucky University, and I'm teaching a Movement for the Actor class and the students were working on some Tadashi Suzuki technique and it's a very focused technique. It is very--actually I would compare it to ballet in the sense of it's all about being very specific in getting to the shape, what is the shape, the specific shape--but where it's a little different is that one, and it may not be that different really , is that it's all about getting there faster, sooner, better. And it's about being able to train your body to know where that shape is without having to think about it. So that way you can just sit into it. And so working on that with my students right now, it's totally bringing me back to, I feel like I'm in a ballet class.[00:11:16]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And so I'm actually curious, you kind of touched on something. Do you feel that being a teacher and learning how to break things down for different students with different learning styles has helped you be a better dancer and mover?[00:11:32] Darnell Benjamin: Oh my goodness. Do you know? I, I firmly believe that the best way to truly test your knowledge of your work and your knowledge of your body and your truth of your creative spirit is by teaching. Because when you have to navigate working with different bodies and different abilities and different levels of understanding, and to try to get them all on the same page, but you have to use different methods for each person there, it's impossible to not be able to reflect that on your own work. Because I know for me, those students teach me something different every single day, every day.[00:12:10]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I absolutely agree. It's so funny because sometimes professional dancers or pre-professional aspiring dancers will ask me questions like, "What do you think, you know, is something that I should do in this endeavor? And I always say teach, because I think, when I started teaching it, it forced me, I suppose, to astronomically develop my own technique and to go back to basics and realize, "Well, I'm telling you this, I better do this too." You know, it's just so funny. And yeah, that's just a, such a big piece of advice I always give people is teach, learn to teach, and then you'll, you'll become a better dancer yourself or artist or whatever, you know? It's yeah. It's like when you have to break down all the fundamentals, you're like, "Oh yeah. Huh. I should probably do that too."[00:13:01]Darnell Benjamin:  Absolutely. Oh my goodness. And you know what, I also try to be really honest with my students and tell them, "Hey." That whole, you know--I'm sure you've been told this, we've all been told this--when you start off in the arts young and especially I think about like, you know , that fresh out of high school going to college or going to a studio, whatever direction a person goes. And there is the, the emphasis goes a lot on discipline, you know, and I know, I think back to the time when I first taught a class, and specifically first taught a dance class, I found myself on the first day making mistakes I never make. And I remember beating myself up so much. And what I realized afterwards was that I started getting in my head and I started forgetting what I knew.[00:13:49] And I started doubting myself and putting all of, and I was trying to be, I think I was trying to be the instructor, I think I thought I needed to be, as opposed to truly just trust your craft. And I learned a lot about myself that semester teaching and, and, and also being challenged to not only just teach, but consistency. You know what I mean? Being able to fully show up and be honest with the students and tell them, "Hey, well, there is this expectation that we are supposed to always be in the right space, quote unquote, you know what I mean, as artists, and when we go to do our performances, we still have to give those people the same show we gave the ones the night before and the night before and the night before, regardless of what baggage you're bringing into the room." But what I've tried with my students to really open the door to is having a conversation with, "where are you today?" Particularly in class, if you are in a space where you're not maybe -- let's say you didn't sleep well. Let's say you didn't drink enough water. Let's say--the list goes on. "What can you focus on you? Maybe you can't focus on the whole, but can you focus on one thing specifically?" Because you got to remember that, that classroom, whether you were the instructor or the student, it's your time and what are you doing with your time? If you're wasting it, that's on you. I mean, I, I put a lot of accountability on my students to challenge them, to accept the fact that they may not be in the best place on that given day, but you still owe yourself the time and effort to focus on something. You know what I mean?[00:15:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, absolutely. I love the way that you put that. And I think one thing that stood out to me was you mentioned basically the word honesty. And I thought about that too, where it's, I'm sure many teachers can relate to this too, if they're being honest with themselves. But it's so interesting that I had to learn as a teacher to be very, just honest with my students too. And like you said, some days are off days, and even as a teacher and I don't want to bring that into my classroom, but at the same time, there are days I fall out of every single pirouette that I try. Right? And I like to call those high gravity days, but the reality is, you know, some days things work and some don't, but I think that's bringing in the humanity of the arts and the, the reality of the arts is you do your best. You show up every single day, you do your best, but then you just keep trying. And the next day you come back and you do it again. And not every day is going to be the most, you know, ah, success day. But you keep showing up.[00:16:30] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. Yeah. And I feel like what it does, I found that teaching with that perspective has made my students better by the end of the semester, because they are being accountable for themselves.  Because like, for example, in this, you know, environment where we're teaching virtually, I know that some of my students are not committing a hundred percent to what we're working on. I know they're not truly going there, but it's not all of them. And it's not all the time, the same people. So what I told them is that it's on you, you know. You know when you're there, and you know when you're not. Like, for example, I'm teaching an auditions class, a movement class, and a , a sort of musical theater intensive for high school students. So in those three different worlds, those are three different types of people, you know, very much so, but I told them in all three situations, this is an audition class. This is a movement class, and this is a musical theater intensive. You chose to take this class. So there's something you want to work on.[00:17:35] And all three of those have to do with being prepared at the end of the day. So if you're not going to do the work, I mean, who can you blame? And so what I've noticed is that pushing my students to really take responsibility has made them actually be better at self-evaluations, be better at final products because they know where they sort of, I guess, set back. And it's showing up in their performances and they're able to comment on it in reflection papers. And for me, there's no greater joy than when I can read something a student wrote or even in , you know, verbal format, hearing them be honest about their craft because we all know like, I mean, the business is hard enough. The last thing you want to do is go pointing fingers elsewhere. Right?[00:18:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I think that's really important. It's a great life skill to help them develop to, of take responsibility for yourself. You're in charge of your life. That's very cool.[00:18:37] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, and it's fun. It's fun. And there are good days and there are bad days. Cause sometimes these--you know, right now with a pandemic going o,n mental health conversations are happening a lot more. And my students are being very forthright with where they are as individual. Particularly  last semester, I mean, I had a lot of students reach out about some things that are going on and, and I'm like, how much can we, as you know ultimately mentors , give them enough tool sets to be able to truly not only be honest about their work, but also be able to keep track of it, to log it and be aware of if there's something consistent. Are you consistently having an issue with something? Are you consistently not showing up to class, whatever it is, whatever that consistent thing is, if it's not on the positive and what are you doing to change that, you know? And that's, that's where I get excited. Whenever I can see my students grow not only as performers, right? But also as a young adults, you know, that's, that's--what a joy.[00:19:40]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I absolutely agree. I've been reflecting on teaching methods and philosophy a lot lately. And I think that there's nothing greater than that. It's, it's so cool to witness those light bulb moments and, and those.... Right? When something finally clicks and it's like, "Ah, yes, you get that!" It's so fun. So yeah. Yeah, it's great. And then the other thing I've been noticing too, is just how special it is when students don't realize how much more they have, and you're able to kind of show them that, and then it's like this, you just watch the transformation on their face, you know, like, "Oh, I, I can turn out that much or I can go that much higher on my releve," or whatever it is. And then they're realizing that. They have all of this and I, I just, that's just such a cool thing too.[00:20:32] Darnell Benjamin: Yes. Yes. I have a friend right now in Seattle who is doing this research project, particularly on movement, actor movement techniques, but specifically from the perspective of risk, the concept of risk . Are you actually taking a risk with your work, whether that's in the classroom or in performance? Are you really throwing yourself into it and falling flat on your face so that you can learn something? But and you know, even relative to the Suzuki method, which is all about push, trusting that your body can go further than you think it can. And that's not, of course, in a way of abusing the body, not at all. It's more a matter of--like, even thinking about the turnout thing--most recently, I made a post on Facebook about how I was asking for advice because I've always had sort of really tight hips and really getting myself to truly let the legs actually turn out and not force it, but also not halfway go there. I got a lot of great tips and let me tell you, I realized something. It's not that I had such a hard time doing it. It was disciplined. I was not. Like going at it every day. I was really not truly committing to it and taking that risk to throw myself in far enough.[00:21:52] And the results have been fantastic because I've been doing it every single day. I've set a time for stretching. I've set a time for breathing exercises and I've set a time for just really challenging and going challenging my body and going there because, you know, I mean, obviously I've been in his body and dancing and movement work in general for a while. So I know what my sort of quote unquote safe limitations are, but I've been really trying to push towards the riskier limitations. How far can I take it? How much can I do within the bounds of reason of course, but I'm, I'm noticing all kinds of great results. And it goes to show that sometimes what it boils down to is discipline, you know?[00:22:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Amen to that.[00:22:40] Darnell Benjamin: You're right. And especially as a ballet dancer, I am sure you know what I mean.[00:22:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, yes. It is definitely the whole idea of consistently showing up and yes, so. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. Well, so then, you know, you've also had an acting career kind of alongside, it sounds like. So you said you had done a lot of Shakespeare work. Is that something that you've gravitated towards more? Do you do all sorts of different theater or, or how did that whole come about?[00:23:15] Darnell Benjamin: Oh, yeah. So in , in high school I was in, I was one of those nerdy kids in the AP English class, and we did not do any Shakespeare. And I remember being a little confused by that because I assumed we should have . Fast forward to in college, I had my first experience with Shakespeare and I loved it immediately. I'm a person who is very fascinated with language. I'm very fascinated with alliteration, linguistics in general, anything that is about the exploration of the sounds of words and how those sounds affect meaning. For example, like phonetics , all that stuff, I'm fascinated with that. So Shakespeare was like the motherland when I came across it and that kind of opened the door to me making the decision. That's partly why I went to grad school because I wanted more training in Shakespeare. I wanted to get better at it because I'll share a little story with you.[00:24:10]I went to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Go Cajuns. And I'll tell you what--I'll share their story. And I don't say this for any, with any hate towards the university, but in the undergraduate program, specifically getting my BFA in performing arts, one of the professors there at the time, he , he taught all of this sort of, you know, the stage craft and lighting, the tech side. And he was also going to be the one directing "Taming of the Shrew." And I was so excited. It was going to be a summer production, which I was like, "Oh my goodness, this is fun." And they opened it up to the general public. So a bunch of people came in, auditioned for this, and we all watched each other audition. That was the worst part about it. Let me tell you, I could not be bothered with that. Watching people go one after another, getting antsy. But I'm watching people go in. I'm like, "Okay, all right. I'm not like the worst one here. We're going to be all right." And not even in a bad--I didn't mean that in a mean way.[00:25:12] Even when I thought that it was just more of a, okay. I maybe could actually get a shot at this. And I went up there and did my thing, felt really good. And noticed the , the callback list went up a couple of days later, my name wasn't on it. And I kind of was like,"Eh, okay. That kind of sucks or whatever, but maybe I might still get cast because you know, there's always the chance just because you're not called back doesn't mean you didn't get it." So fast forward to the cast list is going up and I am looking for my name, looking for my name. All the way at the bottom, "Hey! I'm the Habit Asher." Well, when I saw that and I noticed there were people who, and again, you know, there's so many things that go into this, as taste, who knows. But there were so many people who-- like, I mean, some of them didn't even, were not off book at their audition. Some of them who just did, it's almost like they kind of got teleported into a theater. They had no idea what was going on.[00:26:09] And so I was disappointed that I had gotten this role. So I talked to the stage manager who eventually told me that the instructor ultimately--and the one who was going, and by the way, this is one of my instructors and this was the person who was directing that show-- he said that, "Well, I just don't see black people in Shakespeare unless they're slaves." So that obviously, it was like, "Whoa." I went to talk to the Dean. And I was asked to go back down the ladder and go talk to the head of the department who was new at the time. So he's like, "Hey, you're going to have to go talk to the Dean. I kinda don't have my footing. I don't know any of these people. So, I'm giving you permission to climb up and go talk to the Dean." So I want to talk to the Dean and found out later that there were all of these cases piling up against this person. Everything from sexual harassment to racism to, I mean, it was across the board. And eventually this professor got fired. Yay.[00:27:09] But, but what it ultimately did, it, it lit a fire under me. And I think I wanted to prove him wrong. That's how it started. It started with me having so much passion for it, the language and being told that, and being hit so hard by that. And so I made a decision that I was really gonna dig into this and like, start to understand it because I really started researching and thinking about it and I'm like, "Oh, wow. There really isn't a lot of black and brown representation in Shakespeare that I'm seeing." So, it became a mission of mine because I never wanted another kid to feel like I felt. I mean, and so I ended up going to University of Houston in which--my goodness, I will say this for any listeners--if you are a physically-inclined actor who is strong with language and want to you to get stronger, that is a great program. The work is very physically inclined, but also very see, hear, smell, touch such detail inclined.[00:28:05] But fast forward to I finished there and I graduated in 2009 with my MFA and then I bounced around a little bit, landed in Cincinnati. And I started working with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in the 2010-11 season. And I've been working there as a resident actor since then. I've also done some Shakespeare elsewhere , but like that's the company that has been my home base with doing Shakespeare, and so Shakespeare is one of the things I do. I love experimental work. I love, I mean, actually it was an experimental company that moved me to Cincinnati, the Know Theater of Cincinnati moved me there. And they're kind of, they call themselves the alternative playground and they do a lot of fun alternative work.[00:28:48] So, and now, as far as my own personal sort of--what the stuff that I produce and I do on my own--I'm very much what I call, you know, just I'm an arts activist. I love looking at social issues and how we can use art to further the conversation, and deepen it. So a lot of my approach is from a a social issues perspective, and I love, love the movement of expressionism. So that inspires a lot of my work. I mean, come on. Can we please talk about Pina Bausche? Right. Seriously, that kind of work gets me so excited. I love , I love when people can--especially in dance--I love when we can see people turn on its head what we define as dance, because the question becomes, what is dance? And what is the difference between dance and movement?[00:29:41] I love exploring that middle ground and taking pedestrian things and turning them into dance and exploring how they can be seen as dance. So I guess across the board, whether as an actor or a dancer, I'm very much about looking into, I didn't know, I guess I'm, research-driven. I love exploring and understanding and taking those little risks that, you know, may not work always, but more often than not. I love that it creates a conversation, you know?[00:30:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Oh yeah, of course. That's one of the most wonderful things about art, is that it does and can create and spark conversation. And that's pretty special 'cause that's, that's when you really get into all the exciting aspects. And what did the artist intend or what did you gather from it? I mean, because both of those things are important and so, yeah, of course.[00:30:37] Darnell Benjamin: Right? Absolutely. I mean, I even hate whenever I do my work, it's so important to me to make sure that I'm not telling my audience how to feel. I love to challenge the audience, whether that's through theater or dance.  I definitely, when it comes down to dance, I'm very inspired by also Mary Overlie and looking at viewpoints and exploring that to even create. So that way I don't, because, you know, we all have the, you know, we all have our tricks, the things that we're good at and that we can pull out at the drop of a dime. But I love figuring out, "Okay. All right, which of these viewpoints do I suck at?" Let's start playing with that. So that's something I like to try and do at, you know, and, and let's be real. Sometimes it's a pass and sometimes it's a fail.[00:31:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, of course, but you never know until you try.[00:31:30] Darnell Benjamin: Exactly and failure is fun. Failure is how we have an opportunity to learn of course, and, and, and try something different, you know? Yeah. So for me, it's like failure is just an opportunity to learn something.[00:31:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, and that's a great perspective. So you had mentioned kind of briefly in passing you, you mentioned kind of the expressionist movement that's something that really compels you, but I wonder if you could just define that a little bit more and talk about what exactly you see that as being just since we might not all be familiar with that.[00:32:05] Darnell Benjamin: Absolutely. Yes, yes, yes. I know a lot of people are familiar with, you know, the scream painting and that is from like an expression as peace. It ultimately, and you know, the best way I could describe it, obviously it's in the way that I understand it and how I perceive expressionist movement being is digging into the feeling, what is the feeling that this art wants to portray. And instead of going from, you know, a linear direction with, here's a story with a beginning, middle, and an end, whether that's a play or for example, with a piece of art, you can just , you know, you can draw, for example, paint the Mona Lisa. But, or what you can do, you can paint what Mona Lisa feels like, what is, what is it that you want that piece of art to evoke? What is that feeling at the core? And that's for me, what expressionism is, it's about really tapping into not focusing on what we know as our realistic world, but instead exploring what is this world, this specific world in this piece of art and letting that tell the story.[00:33:12] Like, for example , contemporary --oh, well, not that contemporary--but Edward Scissorhands, that's a, that's a perfect expressionist film because it created a world that was, yes, we recognize that these are human beings, but the distortion of the character of Edward, even thinking about the those bushes and how he would make these pieces of art with these bushes and that big castle that he lived in, all of that is very expressionism. You have, of course, the iconic film that most people know because It all stems from Germany. There's a lot of stuff out there that explores the exaggeration of things to tell the truth of what that story is.[00:33:53] And as far as in my personal work , I actually got to do my first film. I directed and choreographed a film, which is kind of mind-blowing that that even happened. But , so I was, I was inspired by , so for instance, so I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio, and there were in 2001, there was the murder of a young black man, 19 years old by the name of Timothy. Timothy Thomas. And this was a kid who had a bunch of, you know, minor parking violations, things like that, tickets, stuff like that. And he was followed and he started running and he ran down this alley. Long story short, he , there are a lot of different reports of what possibly happened, but the gist of it is that he was trying to lift up his pants to climb over a fence. And he was shot because they thought he was going to be reaching into his pocket for a gun.[00:34:44] And we all know we are in the midst of another round of this movement of the Black Lives Matter conversation. And, this has happened far too often. We know this happened back in 2001. And prior to that, there was  a man by the name of Roger Owens B. Jr, where this happened in Cincinatti. So for me, I started looking at the repetition of this conversation and how we keep circling back to it. And instead of, and what I found myself leaning towards is we keep talking about it in this sort of sense of understanding of, look, this or here's point A, here's point B. This is what happened. This is the result. And I think it's a lot richer than that. And a lot deeper than that.[00:35:27] I started leaning into the direction of mental health and that's I think at the core of the problem. And so I started thinking about over time, what are the effects of this repeated trauma on the black community and how are the ways that it manifests itself? And that's when I started , you know, putting this piece together and thank goodness , the company, Walter Hoop, which is an amazing company, please check them out: walterhoop.com. They are an arts center organization that plays in all the different mediums. They play in with podcasts. They play with theater. They do live productions, dance recently, with this film that I did. And they, they want it to produce this and we collaborated. The music is insane and the music matched up immediately with this concept I wanted to play with, which was thinking about how can we have this conversation, but look at it through the lens of mental health.[00:36:27] So every single shot for me had to be, it was important that the choreography, the writing, which was, which was done by Tyrone Williams and it's a sort of, it's ultimately poetry. I wanted it all to feel abstract. I wanted it to feel familiar, but not . I wanted it to feel claustrophobic. I wanted it to feel all these things that heightened our emotions. And you know, and also in the midst of all that conversation, I wanted there to be joy despite all of the hurt , the lack of understanding. So at the end of the film, there is a -- it, it sort of, kind of goes through an evolution. Now granted, I didn't go--for anybody who might see this film-- which is called "13 the Republic"--I, if you are familiar with expressionism, please know that I didn't go like hardcore, literal expressionism all in. No, I actually played with a mixture of finding, pulling the things from expressionism that worked for me, which was looking at the feeling, what do I want? The, what is this feeling and how can I create that through movement? How can I create that through text? That's kind of how I lean into it 'cause a lot of expressionism, you're not going to have traditional scenery.[00:37:42]Automize scenery in the film is very much actual streets and actual grass and actual parks, but where I kind of went more towards an expressionist direction in terms of scenery, it was in two scenes where I played with, what is it? What would it look like if we're inside of the main character's head? What does that look like? So there's this, there's a couple of scenes where I leaned into that. But yeah, that's, that's overall how I would describe expressionism in how I utilize it. I hope that makes sense.[00:38:15] Lindsey Dinneen: That was perfect. And first of all, oh my goodnes, congratulations. That is such a huge accomplishment to have gotten to work on that film. And holy cow, that is a huge congratulations and, and, and kudos to you for starting that conversation and addressing things that really need to be talked about. And I so admire what you said, your intentionality behind the way that those scenes were portrayed and everything is just so amazing. I love hearing the background behind it, and why you chose things the way you did. But also, you know, choosing to bring out an element of joy despite everything I think is just huge. So, oh, my gosh. I cannot personally wait to see this film. Where can we watch this film?[00:39:11] Darnell Benjamin: Oh yes, you can go to 13thandrepublic.com. And so that's one, three, and it's spelled out and AND republic.com and that's where you can go check it out. And it's an interactive website. That's the really cool thing is that Walter Hoop wanted to make sure that, because originally this was going to be a live production, but we are in the midst of a pandemic. And that's why we did it as a film. And even the film-- just in case anybody's wondering--we did it in August and it was done absolutely with every bit of social distancing and safety in mind. And I found a way even to incorporate masks in the show, in the film. So I found a way to do that. So we went through a lot of lengths to make sure that because, you know, it will be very ironic if you have these this cast of five black actors and dancers performing and they get COVID. You know what I mean? That was not going to happen.[00:40:07] So it was very important, it was very important to me to make sure that they were safe and not even just them, but also me. And as far as this film, you know, I thank you for even like, 'cause it's, it really is mind blowing to me because it's funny how life has a way of surprising you: here we are in the midst of a pandemic and we were working on, I mean, this film was being worked on prior to the pandemic. We were prepping for filming and then the pandemic hit and we had to push filming back but the rehearsals had to get pushed back for what was going to be a live production because you can't, in my opinion, you know, when you want to talk about social issues and you want to talk about ,  how do we manage this?[00:40:49] And the only way we can manage this is to have the conversation. And part of that conversation is a communal experience. And we couldn't have that because of the pandemic. So I'm really excited to share this information that I applied for a grant through a local organization here called Arts Wave. And they had this grant for what they call it A Truth and Reconciliation Grant. And I got one of those. And so the goal is that we're going to, we connect it with an organization. I can't say who yet, because it's not public just yet, but we connected with an organization where we're going to take the film out of the urban downtown areas and bring it into the suburbs and the rural areas as part of a showcase of the film. And there's going to be a live element involved with it. And also they're can, it's going to be a Q&A where we get to actually interact with the people who are outside of the thick of , you know , city council and the courthouse and all of that world.[00:41:45]So it's really, because for me, the reason why I do what I do is to truly, truly have the conversation. And the only way we can do that is if we step out of our comfort zones and take that risk. And part of the risk for me was getting away from the place that I know, and from the people that already know what I do and going out into these neighborhoods where hopefully we will get welcomed. And obviously there's the chance that we will not, but the way I'm looking at it is that if I don't do this, I'm not doing this film the service it deserves, which is to be seen by the people who are not having these conversations, to be seen by the people who may be disagree with this conversation.[00:42:28] But how nice would it be if we can actually have a dialogue? So that's, that's kinda the next phase of it, which I'm really excited about, but yes, just as a reminder, that's one, three and republic.com and it's an interactive website. So check it out. You get to, there are some interviews that are really cool where we interviewed the cast members to get their perspective and also the , the people on the creative team. So across the board, it's, it's beyond me because in my experience of creating, this is the first time I have ever gotten to do something exactly the way I wanted to do it, and absolutely being truthful to not only my personal mission as an artist, but to who I am as a , as a black queer man. So for me, I've never been prouder of something. Because it's, it's truly every internal experience thought that I've had in a film. It's kind of terrifying because in some ways, it's a little so vulnerable, it feels a little kind of invasive to share it, but it needed to be shared.[00:43:36] And I think that I, I can't wait until we start having the conversation of mental health in, in tandem with conversations on social issues, because they're not separate. It's all connected. And I, I can't wait till we see, to see more artists, more scholars, more across-the-board people finding ways to connect those dots and really dig into the heart of what's going on within each of these social issues.[00:44:06]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Oh, my word. Well, I, I'm just sitting here smiling. Congratulations. This is so cool everything that you're doing ,and just congratulations on this grant and this new opportunity to expand your reach and to step out of your comfort zone. And, oh my goodness. I commend you. I think it's hard to be that vulnerable and put yourself out there. Oh my word. But that, but telling who you are and your truth and your story, that is so compelling. And that's going to, I just know that's going to have an impact on people's lives. It's going to spark those conversations that will hopefully actually make some change happen. And just think that you are a huge part of that. That is so cool because you had the courage to be vulnerable. So, oh, my word so much respect, kudos to you.[00:44:59] Darnell Benjamin: Thank you. That's very kind.[00:45:00]Lindsey Dinneen: That's all for today. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends. If you'd leave us a review and rating and subscribe to our podcast, you'll get notified when the newest episodes come out. Thank you for sharing art with us, and we hope your day has been Artfully Told.[00:45:19]Hey, Artfully Told listeners, Lindsey here. And I just want to share with you a little bit more about The SpeakEasy Method. Now, if you've had a chance to listen to Gregg Gonzales' interview on Artfully Told, you're already a little familiar with the process that is so unique. That is the SpeakEasy Method is for people who are ready to write their books, but maybe aren't super confident about their own writing ability, or just want a more streamlined way of doing it. Gregg and his team at SpeakEasy are experts at these amazing questions that help your authentic voice to shine through. So what they do is they go through recorded audio interviews with you and these recordings are then transcribed and put into manuscript format, ready to go. So what's cool about that is instead of months and months, or years and years, of you writing a book, they will actually take you from concept to published and it can be as little as nine months. That is one of the most recent success stories that they have accomplished. And it is just a really innovative method that I am personally so excited to help represent and help share the word about because what Gregg and his team are doing is absolutely life-changing for prospective authors. And I highly encourage you to book a discovery call with Gregg or another member of his team to learn more and see if this could be the perfect fit for you. It's a hundred percent complimentary and you can do so easily by going to his website and that's www.joyful-living.com/speakeasy. And again, that spelled out is J O Y dash F U L dash living.com/speakeasy.

In this episode, I welcome Maggie Rader! Maggie is an AEA actor and Dramatists Guild playwright based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She shares some funny and touching stories about growing up and starting her career in children's theater. Maggie brings a unique perspective to the question of whether art should be inclusive or exclusive, and why context matters.  Get in touch with Maggie Rader: www.maggielourader.comWatch "Drunk Santa Christmas Spectacular" online: https://www.cincyshakes.com/event/drunk-santa/  Support Artfully Told: www.paypal.me/elevateartArtfully Told links: www.facebook.com/artfullytold | www.artfullytold.podbean.com | elevateartskc@gmail.comGet a free audiobook through Audible!  http://www.audibletrial.com/ArtfullyToldSchedule your interview with Artfully Told! https://calendly.com/artfullytold/podcast-interview Episode 30 - Maggie RaderLindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.[00:00:13] Roman: All I can do is put my part into the world.[00:00:16] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.[00:00:24] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful.[00:00:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am so excited to have as my guest today, Maggie Lou Rader.[00:00:43] Maggie Rader: Hello![00:00:44] Lindsey Dinneen: She is an-- hi!!  She is an AEA actor and Dramatists Guild playwright based in Cincinnati, Ohio. And so thank you so much Maggie for being here![00:00:58] Maggie Rader: Oh, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to talk to another person![00:01:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Right? Yes. And I would love if you would share with our audience just a little bit about maybe who you are and your background and whatever you want to share.[00:01:15] Maggie Rader: Yeah, absolutely. I grew up in Southwest Oklahoma in a really, really teensy town, got out and moved to the big city of Kansas City, Missouri. And, got a four year graduate degree. I may as well have been living in Manhattan. I thought it was the most cosmopolitan. It's like, oh my God, there's a Starbucks on every corner. And, I was lucky enough while I was there to study at Oxford University and go overseas, and then for grad school, I actually went back to England and studied at the Birmingham School of Acting in the UK and came back to the States, toured around for a little while doing children's theater, which is the best acting experience I've ever had because third graders are the most honest audience of all time.[00:02:00] And then I've been in Cincinnati for 10 years. This is my--it's my 10th season as a resident actor at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. But I'm also lucky enough to perform at other area theaters in Dayton and Louisville. I'm living here in Cincinnati with my husband and three fur babies with four eyes between them. And we're both lucky enough to make our living performing on stage most of the time, not right now, but in our normal lives, that's what we do.[00:02:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Yes. I think everyone's idea of normal has shifted a bit lately. Awesome. Okay. So something peeked my interest--well, everything--you're obviously super accomplished, but something tweaked my interest immediately. And you were talking about children's theater and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing some of the differences between performing for kiddos versus performing for adults.[00:02:55] Maggie Rader: Oh, sure. It's the highs and the lows are just so much higher and lower. Like I have performed, what I did is I toured around with Kentucky Shakespeare for an entire year. I did about 500 performances of this two-person "Taming of the Shrew," that was all about manners and, you know, doing "Taming of the Shrew" for kids--doing "Taming of the Shrew" anyway, is a bit problematic. And if you don't address the problematic nature and why it's still important to do the play cause misogynists and misogyny still exists today, so why do we pretend like it doesn't? And these kids would always, they actually asked the most insightful questions. Like "Why was Kate so mean?" It's like, "Well, why do you think she was so mean?" And like, "Well, her dad, wasn't very nice to her." And it's like, yeah, a lot of adults don't pick up on that. It's like, "Yeah, I'd be mad too if my dad treated me the way he does and my sister was treating me the way that she does." And, but they are just the most honest audience. Ever. And that includes if you were being funny or not. And, more than once we did have kids leave the gym or wherever we were performing and there was, there were puddles on the floor cause they were laughing too hard. And it's just the cutest thing. It's like, "I'm so sorry you pee your pants," but what a great compliment, I guess.[00:04:18] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh indeed.[00:04:21] Maggie Rader: So it's, I, I encourage all my students when I'm teaching people coming out of college, do one year of performing for kids. You are going to learn more about your craft and yourself, and you're going to get more performances under your belt. Then if you perform in a live fancy theater for adults, which is really fun and really great, but I would not be half of the actor I am today if I hadn't done children's theater at first.[00:04:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Yeah. It's so fun to perform for kids. I think I love what you said that they're the most honest audience. I mean, they really are. I remember performing back a few years ago, we used to do a show and two out of the four or five shows that we did were for kids specifically. And it was always so fun because they would laugh and they would comment and they would cheer and they were so involved, versus the adults sort of just sit there. And it's awkward, cause sometimes when things are intended to be funny, you don't get any response and you're kind of like, "Well, that was fun."[00:05:29]Maggie Rader:  It's true. You know, even as we perform now, you know, in the big fancy theater for adults, especially doing Shakespeare, we still do a lot of educational matinees for students. And depending on what show we're doing, depends, you know, we did a "Midsummer Night's Dream" a few years ago, so we did have a lot of younger students come to see it. And my favorite thing about doing Shakespeare for kids versus adults is there so much direct address, and you know, when Shakespeare was being written, they intended for the actors to go talk to the audience and that they're probably going to respond to you because there was no concept of the fourth wall until after Shakespeare's death. And so when you perform for kids and you go ask them to be, or not to be, and when they, they respond, obviously to be, that'd be stupid, Hamlet. And when they actually respond to you, and the adults don't because, you know, there's this stigma of  Shakespeare. And I must sit and listen and let the poetry wash over me and kids are actually involved. It's like, you know, when Puck comes out on stage and the kids tell Puck where everyone is. Like, oh, it's, it's delightful.[00:06:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that. Yes. So I'm sure this is going to be one of those terribly difficult questions to answer, but is there a play that stands out to you as being your favorite, either to perform or to watch? I know. You can pick a couple.[00:07:01] Maggie Rader: What a good, good, good question. One of my, I think my dream role of dream roles was to play Maggie the Cat in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." And, I got to do it--oh, in 2017, I think-- it was a few years ago and it was just so much fun. You know, we worked with a really great director called Michael Haney who works in Missouri a lot, as well, but, oh my gosh, when that play is done well, and it moves and it's quick. You know, the audience came every night expecting, you know, the Elizabeth Taylor movie, which, oh my gosh, the script is awful. Like they just absolutely decimate the story and they take the onus away from Maggie at the end and they make it Brick's choice to go upstairs and, and they just completely changed the ending of the play.[00:07:54] And so it's fun to do plays like that, where the audience thinks they, they think that they know the story. Like "Romeo and Juliet." Everyone thinks that they know "Romeo and Juliet," but when you start making sex jokes and the audience is completely taken off guard, it's like, well, it's the dirtiest play in the cannon. There's a lot of sex jokes, but it's really fun to do those plays that the audience, especially our smart adult audiences think they know, but they don't. And so I think "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was, it was a really special one for me and it was, it, you know, it's always nice when other people appreciate. And it's, it was nice to hear that the staff at the theater, still a lot of them think it's their favorite show that we've done in our new space. And, that always does my heart good. However, if I'm going to go watch a play, I want to watch August Wilson's "Fences" every day of the week. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry and life I've ever seen. August Wilson's "Fences," maybe one of my favorite plays of all time. I never going to be in it, but there is not a role for me in it, but by golly, I love watching it.[00:09:12] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that. So I'm curious, have you always been very brave, so to speak, and bold, or did you ever deal with stage fright or how did that all evolve?[00:09:26] Maggie Rader: You know, I think I'm just one of those dumb, lucky people that it's never occurred to me to not just be loud and say what I think. And I, I'm sure-- I know you know my father and I'm sure that when I, the very first time I ever performed was in kindergarten. And you know, my father will also tell you, I have about as much patience as he does, and they were all auditioning us for our, we were doing this Valentine's Day variety show, as you do in kindergarten. And I wanted to do the Valentine's dance with the beautiful Craig Johnson. Oh, my gosh. What if Craig Johnson listens to this? Craig, I had such a crush on you in kindergarten! And I just wanted to do the Valentine's dance with Craig Johnson and they were auditioning kids for the "12 Days of Valentines." Like the "12 Days of Christmas." And the first day of Valentine's was "a fox in a fur coat." And if you count the syllables, there's not enough syllables. So it had to be "and a fox in a fur coat" at the end, and it makes no sense. And all these kids were tripping over it and couldn't get it right. And they're parading all these kids up trying to say, "and a fox in a fur coat." And I was getting so frustrated that they. I finally just slapped the table, stood up and said, "Guys, how hard is it to say "and a fox in a fur coat." And I sat back down, and stupid me, got the part when I didn't even want it. And I didn't get to do the Valentine's Day dance with Craig Johnson.[00:11:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, but it launched your acting career. That is a fantastic story. Oh, my word, I love that. So then did you ever get to have a dancing role or was that like, "I really wanted it then and didn't need it later on."[00:11:26] Maggie Rader: You know? No, I've done two musicals in my entire life. One of them was in college. I had to do "Pippin." I had to do "Pippin." It was my senior year. It was the first musical they'd done in a really long time. And I didn't go and audition because I can't sing or dance. And the head of the department called me into his office and he said, "Maggie, I noticed that you didn't audition for 'Pippin.'" Oh yeah, "No, not at all." And he said, "Maggie, you're going to be in 'Pippin.'" It's like, "I don't want to be in "Pippin." I will fail at "Pippin." And I would rather not be in 'Pippin.'" And he said, "Suck it up, deal with it. You're in 'Pippin.'" And so I had to be a player in "Pippin" and I still don't like that musical. I think it's weird. Like, it's not even just weird. I just don't think it's very good. And maybe I'm... might be treason when it comes to musical theater, but I don't like "Pippin." I don't like the music. I just don't like it and..[00:12:25] Lindsey Dinneen: That's fine![00:12:26] Maggie Rader: And I have bronchitis the whole show, so I couldn't even sing. So I was lip-synching the whole thing. And then some fool cast me--I was very blonde in college--some fool cast me in "Sugar." And "Sugar," the musical, which is the musical version of "Some Like It Hot" and it's not a very good musical. It didn't run on Broadway for very long, but I had to play Sugar Shell in "Sugar," the musical, and the sweet music director stayed after and coached me through the songs. Cause I don't have a very good ear for music, and luckily I didn't have to dance that much in it either. But I do, because of Shakespeare, we tend to do bergamasques at the end of the shows, which, well, the end of the comedies. In Shakespeare's day, every play, whether it was comedy, tragedy, or history, they did a bergamasque, a dance at the end of the show. So, you know, it's the smothered Desdemona gets up from the bed and does the bergamasque dance at the end of "Othello." But so I've had to do lots of dancing in Shakespeare, but luckily I'm doing it with a bunch of other Shakespearian actors and I move better than most of them, which gives me hope.[00:13:35]Lindsey Dinneen: Well, there you go.[00:13:38] Maggie Rader: So I had to do it, whether I liked it or not.[00:13:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Fair enough. Okay. So what was the moment or maybe series of moments that led you to realize, "this is my calling?"[00:13:51] Maggie Rader: You know, I think like many artists, who, who live in cities-- you know, the arts gave me an outlet in high school. High school wasn't fun. Was high school fun for anybody? If it was, I don't think I'd trust them.[00:14:05] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I don't either.[00:14:08] Maggie Rader: Yeah. And it, it gave me something to do when I was living in a really small rural town and didn't have a ton of friends and, but I quickly found out, I like this. I'm good at this. This is fun. And I auditioned in college. I was going to be a radio production major in college, but then they ended up selling the the radio station and the entire program. So I was like, "Well, do I switch schools? Do I, what do I do?" And luckily I had a really lovely head of the department--who made me do "Pippin" later, but I'll forgive him-- but he said, "You know, I think you could do this if you wanted to." And it just never really occurred to me that I could be a professional stage actor. I thought, "Oh yeah, I can do radio. I can, you know, do news broadcasting." And there are avenues that I can do that are still performance, but it's probably a more responsible career choice. So I was really looking at a journalism and things like that. Oh, well, cause it's, this is what I love to do, so I guess I'll try it,  and I kind of made that decision in college, and yeah, it's been going great ever since. Lucky me. But yeah, until COVID hit. I've been working since I got out of school and so has my husband. So.[00:15:21] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's awesome. That's absolutely fantastic. Well, are there any moments sort of along the way of your, your life, your journey, that really stand out as an encounter with art to kind of tuck away and remember?[00:15:39] Maggie Rader: Yeah, totally. You know, I-- and I know I said that I did a lot of children's theater, but I do also do a lot of teaching too-- and actually when I was on that children's tour, for the Kentucky Shakespeare, right out of grad school, I was out in Eastern Kentucky. So we were staying in Hazard, because it was the biggest town. And then we were going to all these rural schools in the mountains. So we were out there for an entire week, and working, and going to every single children or, elementary school in the county. And so I was in a classroom and I was doing a workshop where the kids each had to do, they had to be one of the witches in Scottish play. And we were just talking about what it means to be a witch, or it's like, "Okay, well, this play's been done for 400 years. So how can we put our own spin on it and make it our own Scottish play?" Because all Shakespeare really wants is that these witches are not human, so if we're producing our own Scottish play, what would we want our witches to look like and sound and move? And so I gave out the, you know, "When shall we three meet again?" scene, and broke the kids into groups of three.[00:16:47] And I just saw this one kid who was just shut down from the very, very, very beginning. And I went over to him and I said, "Hey, do you need some help?" And the teacher just talked to the entire classroom and she said, "Oh, he don't read." I kind of stopped. And I said, Hhe don't read well, or at all?" And she said, "Oh no, he don't read at all." It's like, okay. And so I pulled him aside and I said, "Hey, if I, if I read it to you, can you remember it?" And he's like, "Oh yeah!" And it just broke my heart that it felt like this kid had been given up on by his class and his teacher. And it's like, this kid is smart. He needs to read in a different way.[00:17:33] And he hasn't been helped. But if a kid can memorize an entire scene of Shakespeare, if I read it to him first, that kid's smart. And he did! I read it out loud and he remembered every line he had and it just--you know, and when I was growing up, the only arts experience we had in high school was Miss Oklahoma coming and talking to us about following your dreams or something. I don't know. And that was our arts exposure in high school. And I thought, "God, if we can find a way to connect to these rural kids, so that they know that the arts is an avenue, or even a way to channel what you're going through. You know, you don't have to do it as a career, but if it helps you learn, if it helps you learn how to read, what a way to not give up on those kids who learn differently."[00:18:27]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Wow, what a story! I, it's amazing to me. I mean, I would think very few adults would be able to hear a monologue or whatever one time and be able to quote it. I mean, that's incredible. Yeah. I mean, I don't think most of us could ever do that. Yeah. Ah, so I hope, yeah, that's, that's a really amazing moment. And I, I can only imagine that that definitely made an impression on him, and just realizing that there are alternate ways of learning or expressing or whatever, and that's a big deal.[00:19:09] Maggie Rader: I think, cause that was 12 years ago, you know, the kid is, it's an adult now. And I, I still think about him a lot. I hope he's doing well.[00:19:18] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing that story. That's really impactful. So I'm curious, I know that like so many artists, lately you've sort of had to just, you know, switch gears a little bit, be a little more creative in your approach to continuing to do your art. And I, I know that you have something coming up. So do you mind sharing a little bit about, you know, maybe like what's happened, how you kind of transitioned during this time and sort of what's what's coming up for you?[00:19:50] Maggie Rader: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's, it's been tough. I was running a really wonderful play called "Alabaster" by a good friend and playwright named Audrey Cefaly. And I was running that in March and we ended up having to close the last week of the show. And it was tough, but luckily I've been able to dive more into my writing, which has been fabulous. And it's not really, I've been writing a lot faster during COVID because I'm not having to memorize lines and go do shows at night. So I've actually been able to, I finished a full length called "The Helpers," which follows the story of Miep Gies, who helped the Frank family high during World War II. And it was supposed to have a workshop at DePaul University last May, and because of COVID, it was all virtual, which meant I didn't have to go up to Chicago once a week, which was probably helpful.[00:20:39]But that play has been finished. And, the reading of, of it is online and able to view on my website. I've also written a play called "The Wonder," start to finish, which is a full length, since COVID hit. And it's about the true story, so they say, of the first documented spiritual possession in the United States, which took place in Watseka, Illinois. So I keep calling it an American Midwestern ghost story for mothers and daughters, and it's very sweet. But it it's about healing and connection. So I'm sure there's a reason why that's the story that kind of came to fruition during COVID. But it is a story about family and connection and deep, deep, deep healing. But it's lovely. It's just a little five hander that's about an hour and a half long and, we did a reading of it via Zoom, and that's also available on my website too. But then as an actor, it's been really great to see the theater companies, you know, trying to produce and create during this time and keeping their audience bases engaged.[00:21:43]So normally right now, my husband and I would both be in rehearsals for the Christmas show at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company called, "Every Christmas Story Ever Told," which is kind of a mashup of everyone's favorite holiday movies and books and things like that. It's very fun and silly. But since we can't do it this year instead, they got the four of us, the actors who would have done the show, together. And we did a lot of writing. So we kind of had a, you know, SNL style or writing session for a week. And then we recorded what we're calling "Drunk Santa's Holiday Spectacular." It's, it's very fun. It's silly. The four of us come over to Santa's apartment in the North Pole. And, you know, she's just not feeling up to delivering presents this year. And so we try to see what's on television to kind of get her spirits up and it's-- so I, we have, it's like we wrote our own Hallmark movie and a 92nd Hallmark movie, a sketch about the proud bucks that are trying to kidnap Rudolph because he's forcing them to wear masks.[00:22:58] And, what else? I wrote something else for it, and I can't even think of it.  What else did we even do? It, like I filmed it two weeks ago. And these days in COVID the days are, the days are long and the weeks are short. So the Great British Baking Show. That's what I wrote. Right. So as, as hosts are coming and going so fast that, oh, who's the Hell's Kitchen guy, Gordon Ramsey. Gordon Ramsey is one of the new hosts on the Great British Baking Show and it's delightful and fun and silly. And, so we're just trying to mash up topical things from 2020, but also fun holiday traditions. And it's going to be about an hour long and it premieres, I think, December 4th is when, and you can get a DVD of it. You can stream it and watch it online, whatever's easiest for you, but it's, it's gonna be a lot of fun and hopefully a lot of laughs.[00:24:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that. I just, as soon as you said the title, I was like, "Oh, I'm in. Definitely. Oh, how fun!"[00:24:08] Maggie Rader: It all started--the company used to do that show on a stage at a local bar called Arnold's, which is a lovely, it's the oldest, one of the two oldest operating bars in the United States. Like they still operated during prohibition, and so the show started on this itty bitty courtyard stage, and they needed kind of a stage manager. So they dressed up this wonderful Australian actress in town, and she was Drunk Santa, who was also pretending to be Drunk Santa, also pretty much being the stage manager and running sound cues and things like that. But now that the show is on our big stage and has-- I've been going now for 15 years--it's like, well, now Drunk Santa is just kind of a part of it. And since we were writing our own thing, it's finally time for it to be Drunk Santa show.[00:24:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. I can't wait to watch this. I'm very excited. Well, awesome. I have a couple of questions that I love to ask my guests, if you're okay with that. Awesome. Okay. So first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?[00:25:15] Maggie Rader: Oh, what a good question. How do I define art or what is art to me? I think just expression. Yeah, expression. My mom is a wonderful visual artist and, I growing up, I wanted to be an artist because that's what my mom was. And when I realized I didn't have a lot of visual art skills, I was so sad that I was like, you can't be an artist. Like my mom and I, when I was wanting to do plays and things, I said, "Mom, does that still make you an artist?" She's like, "Well, yeah, of course it does." It's like, "Oh, thank God. I can still be an artist like my mom." And yeah, I think it's just expression, whatever it is to you. Because what is the opposite of art? Like stagnation? Yeah, I guess I just say expression.[00:25:59] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Okay. I love it. Well. And what do you think is the most important role of an artist?[00:26:06] Maggie Rader: Oh, to connect, I'd say. You know, we were joking before we started rehearsing. It's like, "Oh, why does live theater still exist when movies are around?" And if you mess up, you can just start over and you only have to do it once then. But that's why live theater is still around. It's so much about connection. And I feel like out of all the, and maybe that's why I love the stage. It's, I feel like when you're doing live theater, you get to connect so much more than in other artistic mediums that I love, and enjoy, but it's not my particular passion. So yeah, I think the most important role is, or thing you can do, is to connect.[00:26:48] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. And then my final question is, and I'll define my terms a little bit, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And exclusive referring to somebody who puts their art out into the world and doesn't provide a whole lot of context behind it, so it's really up to the audience to kind of determine what they will. Versus inclusive referring to an artist who does share some context, whether that's a title or program notes or Q&A or anything like that.[00:27:22]Maggie Rader:  What a good question. I, I don't know if I think that they're both completely separate things, I guess. And what a great discussion to have, you know, it's, as we talk about artists' work and, you know, enjoying Michael Jackson's body of work, even though he may have been a child predator. And I, I say may have been because he was never found guilty and, or, you know, R Kelly, can you enjoy people's work while knowing possibly the background of what was happening in their lives when they created it? And it's just such a good conversation to always be having. And also as artists, what a responsibility we have, you know. It's, my husband and I were having a long talk about politicians. We had our third member of city council in Cincinnati that was arrested this week for bribery charges. And we just talked about how, what a responsibility it is when you do go into the life of, of politics. Was Bill Clinton's impact on our society lessened because of what he did in his personal life? That you go into some professions and you have a greater responsibility that's bigger than yourself.[00:28:45] And I feel like art is part of that. And because yes, I think, to use "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," as an example, Maggie the Cat was based on a woman called Maria St. Just who was half Russian, half English, and just this force of a woman. And, you know, she was engaged to this dude who was very rich, a Prince of something or other. And, she went out and bought him a tie for every day of the week. Two for Sundays. And he was so embarrassed that she'd done that, that she'd spent all this money for ties and he said, "Well, what are you going to do with my money when we get married?" She said, "Oh, do you have some? Well, then I'll probably spend it." And he left her and they never got married. And she was like, "Well, that was, that's not fair. I was just honest with him."[00:29:40] But there's this really great memoir of, like, I guess it's the letters that Tennessee Williams and Maria St. Just wrote back and forth when she was, you know, just starting out as an actor and, Tennessee Williams was a nobody writer and they met at a party and just had a wonderful friendship for the rest of his life until he died. And reading these letters back and forth, to me who was playing Maggie, it made that role so much deeper. And, you know, I've never seen Maggie as the villain of that story and even more so after I, I read the book, but if you wanted, it's fabulous, it's called "Five O'Clock Angel" and it's a wonderful book, but that play means so much more to me knowing whom Maria St. Just was. So, I guess I'd have to thank you for listening to me yammer on while I worked that out for myself.[00:30:33] Lindsey Dinneen: I love it.[00:30:34] Maggie Rader: Because at the risk of, of course, I guess it has to be inclusive because, I do have guilt when I enjoy Michael Jackson's art and that's for me-- you know, I, I will never judge someone else's line when it comes to that, I guess, but for me, I, his work is tainted now for me. R Kelly, like I can't watch "Space Jam" the same way, and that's probably a really small price to pay because you know, it's "Space Jam." But yeah, it's tainted for me, knowing the kinds of things that man has done, and which is why, you know, Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights because, I respect, you know, what he did for his sister and his mother. So when I read "Glass Menagerie," I can't divorce what he did for his, for his sister who was lobotimzed. When I read "Glass Menagerie," it brings so much more depth to that story for me. So, yeah, I guess inclusive. It should be inclusive decidedly. [00:31:37] Lindsey Dinneen: Very good. I actually really appreciate your working it out because it was-- I think that you bring actually a really good, unique perspective to this. And I, nobody has talked about it quite in those terms of how much the context matters to how you can personally enjoy it. And I really actually think that that's a really good point to make because that it does make a difference and, you know, to kind of dismiss that isn't particularly fair. [00:32:11] Maggie Rader: You know, be Banksy and keep her anonymity. And I guess that is valid as well, but also the anonymity of it is its own persona on it, of itself. So you still can't enforce it, can you?[00:32:24]Lindsey Dinneen: In, indeed[00:32:26] Maggie Rader: Oh, my brain just exploded.[00:32:29] Lindsey Dinneen: There we go. Well, you never know what a conversation about art will do. Awesome. Okay. Well, so first of all, thank you so much, Maggie, for joining us today. I really, really appreciate it. Love your stories. You've got some absolutely fantastic ones. Yeah. And I was just wondering if any of us want to kind of get in touch with you or follow your work, especially watch your upcoming film, is there a way that we can do that?[00:32:58] Maggie Rader: Absolutely. I try to keep my personal website up-to-date all the time. So if you go to, it's just my whole name, maggielourader.com. And my last name is spelled R A D E R, and on my home page, there is a link to Cincy Shakes' site where, 1) you can watch the trailer of the "Drunk Santa Holiday Spectacular," which is fun and delightful all on its own, and you can also purchase a DVD. You can purchase the streaming rights that'll be available on December 4th, but you can get your tickets now. And you can also go to my playwriting page. And if you want to see the Zoom readings of either "The Helpers" or "The Wonder," they're all up there. And you can absolutely contact me through my website or just sending an email, which is just my first and last name, Maggie Rader, R A D E R@live, L I V E.com. Or you can just do the Contact Me page on my website and it'll send me an email directly. So either one works.[00:34:01] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, thank you. And I just want to say, you know, on behalf of myself and our listeners and all the people that you touch through your art, thank you for being a brave, bold person who stands up for when you know, the fox is in the fur or whatever, and you need to demonstrate that! But seriously, thank you so much for sharing your art with the world and for sharing it with kids that you teach and with adults that you have conversations with. I think that makes such a difference in people's lives. And, I just appreciate that that's what you've chosen to do with your life. So thank you.[00:34:47] Maggie Rader: Thank you. Thank you so much for this. This is, I hope it's been fun for all, cause this has been just delightful to sit and chat with you.[00:34:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, it has been delightful and I'm, I'm sure our readers feel the, or listeners--here we go--feel the same. I mean, you can read the transcript so it could be readers too. Well, thank you so much again, Maggie, and thank you to all of you who have listened to this episode. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I would love if you would share this with a friend or two and we will catch you next time.[00:35:24] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.[00:35:33]Hey Artfully Told listeners, it's Lindsey here. I want to say, first of all, thank you so very much for your continued support of Artfully Told for listening to the episodes and for being a part of bringing art to the world. I really believe that what we're doing is important and matters, and I'm just excited to share art with you on a continual basis. I do want to reach out to you.  I do the whole podcasts myself, from the interviews themselves, to the editing, to the transcribing, and then of course posting and all that good stuff. And I absolutely love what I do, but it is both time-consuming and expensive to run a podcast. I have to have the proper equipment. And then of course the proper editing software and hosting platform. And in order to continue to be able to do this on a sustainable basis for the future, I'm asking our listeners, if you guys would consider supporting the podcast even very small monthly donation, like $5 a month would really go a long way towards me being able to continue to do this in the future. And so I have set up a PayPal account that you can access through the Artfully Told website, which is www.artfullytold.podbean.com. And I would love if you would consider just making a monthly reoccurring donation to support the podcast. We don't have corporate sponsors, so everything that you hear is me doing this from a labor of love. And I love it, but I would ask if you would perhaps consider supporting it too. Thank you so much. Have an amazing day and I'll catch you next time.

Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Brian Isaac Phillips, Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Lauren Ginsberg of the University of Cincinnati Classics Department, to discuss Ralph Fienne's 2011 movie adaptation of Coriolanus.

Courtney Lucien is a Midwest-based actor, singer, and voice-over artist (and Jay’s former student). She has an extensive list of credits with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and is a graduate of Indiana University. courtneylucien.com See this interview on video at aceknox.com

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Breaking Bard, I’m your host Sara. You may have noticed a distinct lack of a cold open. That is because this episode is very long and my fluff was deemed unnecessary...by me. On today’s episode I am joined by Dr. Lisa Grogan, a clinical psychologist and close friend. I am also joined by Sara Clark with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. She was casted to play Hamlet in a production that was cancelled as of our recording. However, since recording, they have announced that Hamlet will kick off their 2020-2021 season in August. I for one, am pumped. Please enjoy as I discuss Hamlet and grief with these two intelligent women. Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-talesLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guildLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Michael Morrow stars in the Lifeline Theatre production of Middle Passage, Charles Johnson’s National Book Award-winning novel ("a novel in the tradition of Billy Budd and Moby-Dick," according to the New York Times Book Review) adapted by Ilesa Duncan and David Barr III (and directed by Duncan). Michael discusses how he came to be cast in this epic production, and how he's journeyed from the DePaul University BFA program to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and beyond; how he learned to buckle swashes and paint pictures with words; what it means to Choose; the miracle of a deus ex Quackenbush; shout-outs to David Blixt and the late PJ Paparelli; and the incredibly important power of telling stories for those who can’t. (Length 20:08) (Pictured: Michael Morrow and Patrick Blashill in the Lifeline Theatre production of Middle Passage, adapted by Ilesa Duncan and David Barr III from the novel by Charles Johnson. Directed by Ilesa Duncan. Photo by Suzanne Plunkett.) The post 691. Michael Morrow’s ‘Passage’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

On the second episode of ArtSkewl, we sit down with poet and mixed media artist, Kile McVey. They recently installed an interactive work at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in response to the current show, Pride and Prejudice. We talk with Kile about the installation, the Cincinnati poetry scene, zodiacs, and what it's like to apply to grad school.    

To celebrate Twelfth Night, we compare different productions of Shakespeare's great comedy with Dee Ryan, adjunct professor at Northwestern University and president of the North Shore Shakespeare Society, and actress Elizabeth Dennehy, who recently directed Twelfth Night at the Los Angeles County School for the Arts. Featuring shout-outs to productions at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; the Stratford Festival (with music by Michael Roth & Des MacAnuff), the South Australian State Theatre with Geoffrey Rush, Chicago’s Writer’s Theatre, and the Amanda Bynes film She’s The Man; how Twelfth Night got its title (and subtitle); how and when to make sure scene transitions flow as well as the play itself; the virtue of outright theft; how the play is NOT the tragedy of Malvolio; inspiration from the musical Once; Lear-like Orsinos; cleansing rains; shout-outs to Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Oklahoma! and San Diego Repertory Theatre's The Humans; valentine reviews; pairing Antonio and Aguecheek; the benefits of isolating your Olivia; shout-outs to Caitlin McWethy and Abby Lee (pictured above); the food chain of status-climbing; and, as ever, the promise of getting it better…next time. (Length 27:50) (Pictured: Abby Lee as Olivia, Caitlin McWethy as Viola, and cast of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night, directed by Austin Tichenor. Photos by Mikki Schaffner Photography.) The post Comparing Twelfth Nights appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

We continue the conversation with Professor Katy Reedy and her class at Lake Forest College, taking student questions about Austin Tichenor's approach to directing Twelfth Night for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in the fall of 2018. Austin talks about the trick to balancing the comedic and dramatic elements in his production, Shakespeare's anachronistic examples, illustrating sisters in loss, staging the subtext, taking actor suggestions, creating a world in which both comedy and drama can co-exist and where certain kinds of storytelling can happen, underlying tensions, potentially anti-climactic reunion scenes, going on a journey with your characters, the importance of working with really great people, and discovering that not everything is actually in the text. (Length 17:29) (William Oliver Watkins as Orsino, Caitlin McWethy as Viola, and Abby Lee as Olivia in Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 2018. Directed by Austin Tichenor.) The post Balancing Twelfth Night appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Professor Katy Reedy invited our own Austin Tichenor to speak to her class at Lake Forest College about his production of Twelfth Night that he directed for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in the fall of 2018. Austin discusses all the things he wanted his production NOT to be; how this great comedy is fueled by great loss; how Olivia threw herself into the physical comedy; the treatment of the treatment of Malvolio; speculation as to why Orsino is such a poorly written character; how to lean into both the comedy and the pain; and the possibly blasphemous notion that maybe Feste isn't as interesting as many people think he is. (Length 19:50) (Pictured: William Oliver Watkins and Caitlin McWethy as Orsino and Viola, plus the entire cast of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night, directed by Austin Tichenor.) The post Discussing Twelfth Night appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

William Oliver Watkins plays Orsino (left, with Caitlin McWethy as Viola) in the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night, after playing the title role in CSC's production of Othello last season. Will talks about the similarities and challenges of the two roles and what it's like to return to his home town of Cincinnati from where he lives now in New York City, gives shout-outs to mothers specifically and English teachers generally, reveals revelations about Tom Selleck's mustache and the saga of Luke Cage's little brother, explains the things they don't teach you in acting school, and talks about the glory of doing Shakespeare in the Park (not that one). (Length 20:28) 

Caitlin McWethy and Abby Lee play Viola and Olivia in the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night directed by the RSC's own Austin Tichenor, and prior to the show's opening this week, sat down to talk about their characters and how this production differs from other productions they've seen and been in. Featuring the wonder of two women sharing scenes onstage (and the weirdly specific thing that makes it possible), Viola's narrative burden, definitive roles we're dying to play (lookin' at you, Valentine), the question of why Olivia is not a more generally-desired role in the Shakespearean canon, Olivia's similarity to Kate from Taming of the Shrew, the magic alchemy of shared grief, roles that allow for greater interpretive freedom, wonderful surprises, hitting that sweet spot between fun n' games and tragedy, and the joy of laughing and crying in rehearsal. (Length 21:08)

Austin Tichenor is directing Twelfth Night at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company this fall, and it turns out he's almost the only one at Cincy Shakes or the RSC who's never worked on it before! Fortunately, RSC members Teddy Spencer, Jerry Kernion, and Dominic Conti, plus Chicago actress and professor of acting at Northwestern University Cindy Gold, are able to give him tips and insights into the play and its characters because they've all done Twelfth Night multiple times. Featuring discussions of the text, Shakespeare's authorial intent, the driving force that is Maria, the difficulty of Malvolio, spectacular insight into Sir Toby Belch, the value of dumb shows and fencing, the way to dress Sir Andrew, excellent high-kicking, and the wonder of having a well-oiled Orsino. (Length 23:47) 

Hillary Copsey, the Mercantile's resident Book Advisor, talks to Sara Clark of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Steve McGowan of Brave Berlin about CSC's production of 1984.

Anne Morgan is the literary manager of the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA, which has created the “Shakespeare's New Contemporaries” project, a ground-breaking undertaking to discover, develop, and produce a new canon of 38 plays inspired by and in conversation with Shakespeare's originals. Anne sat down at this year's Shakespeare Theatre Association conference, hosted by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, to discuss the origins of this very exciting project, its ultimate scope, and what's involved with administrating this wide-ranging, blind-reading, open-application process. Featuring outstanding opportunities for emerging or unrepresented playwrights, the power of embracing Shakespeare's original staging practices, the importance and value of learning from your actors and learning from your audience, the removal of unconscious bias, and the important difference between dramaturgs and dramaturds. Recorded LIVE at the 2018 Shakespeare Theatre Association Conference. (Length 17:45)

The Cincinnati Magazine Inside the Issue podcast is back! (And we explain why it took so long.) We also delve into our September Fall Arts Preview: digital editor Amy Brownlee discusses the new look of the city's stage scene, and Brian Isaac Phillips, producing artistic director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, talks about the troupe's new theater. We also chat with Jay Gilbert about his Living In Cin column on WEBN's 50th anniversary, his long tenure with the station, and whether radio can still have that type impact on a city. Plus, we tease out our new Cincinnati Magazine Politics podcast series, dropping later this week.  Visit us online at cincinnatimagazine.com

In this episode, we learn about the exciting new changes coming to the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and also take a look at Ophelia and Laertes by Benjamin West. Other talking points include: impressing teens with Pearl Jam, winning at Shakespeare, Royal Looky-loos, Santa stick man, the birth of puke, King Lear in Detroit. Hosted by Russell Ihrig. Theme song: Offrande Musicale by Bacalao For more info and other programs, visit: cincinnatiartmuseum.org/ Links: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: https://cincyshakes.com/ Detroit's King Lear: http://www.dia.org/object-info/1f5a75ba-5312-48bc-9613-7e448f36622a.aspx?position=4 Museum of Fine Arts Boston's larger King Lear painting: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/king-lear-34327

John Faherty, Niamh O'Leary of Xavier University, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Brian Isaac Phillips discuss the plays of Shakespeare that appear in Emily St. John Mandel's novel Station 11.

Travis McElroy (My Brother, My Brother and Me, The Adventure Zone, Interrobang, Schmanners, Can I Pet Your Dog) stops by the show to talk about being a part of numerous popular podcasts, wanting to improve the internet, his friendship with a certain Lin Manuel-Miranda and learning My Brother, My Brother and Me got a shoutout in Hamilton, the battle of two Travises, working at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, losing his mom to cancer when he was in college and the way it affected his relationships with his brothers, meeting his wife, miscarriages and how no one talks about them, his fear of death, loving attention, getting verified on Twitter and so much more. We also took your questions and did a round of Just Me Or Everyone.

More real. More talk. More live. We took to the stage at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company -- which is in Cincinnati, you might have guessed -- to do our second live show ever. Come, share in the yuks! Also, the animosity.