Podcast appearances and mentions of davis mccallum

Final summer of shows before new theater debuts Beyond the new theater rising on a ridge above the river, things are percolating as the acting company now known as Hudson Valley Shakespeare prepares for its 38th and final season under the tent. After a rebrand, the "festival" suffix moved down the road. "We're more permanent than ever," says Davis McCallum, the artistic director, explaining the change. "Festivals are associated with a defined time period and then they head off, like the circus, but we still want to have that celebratory, freewheeling exuberance." The Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center is part of a $58 million project that includes the ecological restoration of the former golf course that is now the Hudson Valley Shakespeare campus and the addition of actor housing. This season, the company's full-production plays include Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, opening June 6, and The Matchmaker (June 8), by Thornton Wilder, which evolved into the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! and the 1968 film shot in part at Garrison's Landing. Will and Wilder alternate through Aug. 3. Then Octet, written by Beacon resident Dave Malloy, takes over the tent from Aug. 11 to Sept. 7. McCallum pursued the rights to the Tony-nominated play for five years; Hudson Valley Shakespeare is the first company to mount a full production after the show's Off-Broadway run in 2019. "The original rights-holders planned a commercial Broadway production and a film, but COVID hit, and it's only been shown twice since then in limited productions," says McCallum. Malloy's local ties extend to writing the music for Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage, the greatest hit so far by local house-party hosts Jason Craig and Jessica Jelliffe at Banana, Bag & Bodice productions. The following year, 2011, Malloy collaborated with Craig on Beardo, a rock musical about Rasputin. Hudson Valley Shakespeare recently commissioned a work from Banana, Bag & Bodice that's about halfway completed, says McCallum. Octet is billed as a "chamber choir musical" that references tarot cards and explores internet addiction and human alienation in the digital age through dialogue and an eight-part acapella harmony score. Only three of the troupe's regulars could pull off the singing-and-speaking task, so McCallum imported "ringers," he says. When the tent goes dark for a week to prepare the production, the company will roll out HVS Cabaret, which transforms The Valley restaurant into a 45-seat cabaret (Aug. 6 to 9). Performances include a solo work-in-progress musical, Fathertime: Birth, Death and Songs, the return of former troupe member Bebe Nicole Simpson and a performance by composer Alex Bechtel. In addition, a new production of Julius Caesar plays Sept. 9 and 10 for students and the public, with a stripped-down version moving to Bannerman Castle Trust on the island (Sept. 11 to 13). For the first time, the Shakespeare company will send teaching artists and actors to nearby schools for three weeks in September instead of in the spring. Next year, after the Scripps Theater opens, the company will continue to visit schools and, for the first time, bring students to the grounds. McCallum, who worked on The Matchmaker 30 years ago in London, considers Wilder to be "the best American playwright. He won two Pulitzers for drama and another one for a novel - the only American author who achieved that." For The Matchmaker, wife-and-husband team Nance Williamson and Kurt Rhoads, who live in Philipstown, star as Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder. Although overshadowed by the Broadway and movie adaptations, the original play complements The Comedy of Errors, McCallum says. "It's uncanny how much these two farces share structure, energy and momentum," he says. "Our actors are feeding off each other as they go back and forth working on them." Hudson Valley Shakespeare is located at 2015 Route 9 in Philipstown. For a schedule and tickets, which range from $10 to $100, see hvshakespear...

Project entails 32 units for performers Hudson Valley Shakespeare on Jan. 16 received approval to construct a residential compound for performers and guests that it says will eliminate the expense of housing actors at Fishkill hotels. After a three-month review, the Philipstown Planning Board approved five buildings that will form an L-shaped compound on the 98-acre property off Route 9. HVS anticipates the 32 units will be ready by the summer of 2026, about six months after the anticipated completion of Shakespeare's new open-air theater. Four buildings - two-story cottages totaling 1,000 square feet each - will have two separate bedrooms with a private bath on each floor, a kitchen and living area off the entrance and 100-square-foot porches. An additional 16 one-bedroom units with kitchens and bathrooms will be contained in a "barn" building with a 1,300-square-foot porch and a common kitchen, dining area and laundry. Under town law, performers cannot occupy the units for more than nine consecutive months. They will also be subject to quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., a restriction included in the Planning Board's approval in July of the organization's master plan for the property. During its offseason, HVS can rent the units to guests for stays capped at one month. Adam Stolorow, a representative for the project, said those lodgers would likely be guests attending weddings at Shakespeare's property, which includes a banquet hall, restaurant and eight-room inn. Hudson Valley Shakespeare held a groundbreaking in September for Phase 1 of its master plan, the hub of which is the hilltop Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center that honors the former lighting designer and performing arts patron. That 13,850-square-foot structure will seat 500 and be the first purpose-built theater in the U.S. with platinum certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It will have a green roof, solar panels and rainwater capture and be constructed of low-carbon materials. Since 2022, the festival has been staging its plays in a seasonal tent elsewhere on the site. Phase I also includes a back-of-house facility for actors and technicians, and concessions and bathroom pavilions. The plan allows for 12 additional housing units in a northeast section of the property. During the September groundbreaking, HVS said $50 million in private and public funding had been raised for the theater, ecological restoration at the property and financial reserves, with an additional $8 million needed for the lodging. A month later, Davis McCallum, HVS's artistic director, said a $10 million state grant for the theater and other funding had closed that gap.

Hopes to build 32 residences for seasonal performers Hudson Valley Shakespeare has applied to the Philipstown Planning Board to begin building a 32-bed residential compound for its performers, who have been housed at a hotel in Fishkill. Adam Stolorow, an attorney for HVS, and architect Susan Rodriguez introduced the project to the board on Oct. 17, years earlier than anticipated in the master plan approved for the theater organization in July. HVS, known until a rebranding this year as the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, broke ground last month on the first phase of its new home at the former Garrison Golf Course, an open-air theater with concessions, bathroom and back-of-house buildings. The nonprofit had said that actor lodging would follow in five to 15 years. Instead, HVS would like to begin construction in 2025. Davis McCallum, HVS's artistic director, said on Tuesday (Oct. 22) that a $10 million state grant for the theater, along with other funding awards, has helped the organization close the gap in a fundraising campaign for actor lodging. During a groundbreaking ceremony in September, HVS said $50 million in private and public funding had been raised for the theater, ecological restoration at the property and financial reserves, with an additional $8 million needed for the lodging. "We're still diligently raising money to make the artist lodging possible, and won't be in a position to proceed until that effort is successful," he said. In its application, HVS wants to start building the residences as the theater complex is being constructed and have performers occupy the units for the 2026 season. With 12 fewer units than the 44 approved in the master plan, the impacts will be "either the same or less as what was previously studied," said Stolorow. In place of hotel rooms, actors would spend the festival's season living in one of five residential buildings forming an L-shaped compound in the northwest section of HVS's 97-acre property. Four of the buildings - two-story cottages totaling 1,000 square feet each - would have two separate bedrooms with a private bath on each floor, and a kitchen and living area off the entrance. An additional 16 one-bedroom units with kitchens and bathrooms would be contained in a fifth "barn" building totaling 2,500 square feet. Attached to the building is a common kitchen and dining area, along with a laundry room. Set among existing and newly planted trees, the buildings would have gray metal roofs and natural wood siding, said Rodriguez. "They all have porches and a connection to the natural environment," she said. Philipstown law would prohibit artists from occupying the housing for more than nine consecutive months. During its offseason, HVS would be allowed to rent the units to guests for stays of less than a month. Sen. Charles Schumer visited Philipstown in August to announce a $1.5 million federal grant for the outdoor theater, which will be the first purpose-built theater in the nation certified LEED Platinum, the highest rating for sustainable design. It will have solar panels, a green roof, natural ventilation and rainwater-capture systems.

Theater groundbreaking expected next month Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York came to Philipstown on Tuesday (Aug. 6) to announce that he had secured $1.5 million in federal funds for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's newly approved outdoor amphitheater. "Shakespeare himself, as brilliant a man as he was, couldn't create this gorgeous scenery which will serve as the backdrop for this new, permanent anchor for the arts in the Hudson Valley," said Schumer, standing on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. The bluff, which was formerly the 11th hole of the now-closed Garrison Golf Course, will soon be the front row of the structure, which will be the first purpose-built Platinum LEED-certified theater in the country. Touting the arts as an economic engine, Schumer said that HVSF's new permanent home (it has performed for decades in a seasonal tent) would not only attract tourism dollars but bolster the local workforce. "There will be good-paying construction jobs, and once construction is complete, HVSF plans to hire dozens of new staff positions," he said. "This is a job creator in every way." Schumer has some personal experience with the Bard, noting he once appeared in a production of Julius Caesar in western New York. "Guess what part I played?" he said. "A senator!" The majority leader also has a history with HVSF, having staged a photo in 2020 at Boscobel, the festival's former home, to promote the Save Our Stages Act, which provided funding during the pandemic to arts institutions that had to temporarily close. Davis McCallum, HVSF's artistic director, credited the legislation with saving the festival. The federal funding for HVSF will come from the fiscal year 2025 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, which also pays for development in rural communities. Schumer said that the bill already has enough bipartisan support to pass the Senate and is scheduled for a vote before the end of the year. He said that, although the bill is facing some opposition from "some intransigent folks over the Republican House side," as majority leader, "I've always been able to get the budget through. And they can't touch our earmarks." (See below.) When is an Earmark Not an Earmark? Technically, the $1.5 million in federal funding for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival will be included in a 2025 appropriations bill as "congressionally directed spending." Colloquially, it's known as an "earmark," although as Sen. Chuck Schumer said this week, that word doesn't quite mean what it used to. "Earmarks were actually good until they were abused," he said. In the past, they allowed members of Congress to direct federal spending to projects in their districts that they were familiar with. "I know what Putnam County needs more than some bureaucrat in Washington," Schumer said. "I've been here." But the process was also secretive. "You didn't know who was asking for what, and many of them were going to for-profit groups," said Schumer. Things came to a head with the infamous Bridge to Nowhere, a $223 million structure proposed in 2005 to connect Gravina Island, which had about 50 residents, to Alaska. [That would be $375 million today.] Although the project received an earmark, "they couldn't tell us who put it in the budget," said Schumer. The bridge quickly became a symbol of wasteful spending in Washington. The earmark for the bridge was canceled, followed by the earmark program itself. "But then we all realized that we needed them," Schumer said. "So we reformed them. Now they're all public. They have to have a hearing. You have to stand up and say, 'This is my earmark, and I'm proud to do it.' It can't go to anything for-profit. So now it works. [The HVSF theater] is one of many examples. I get more earmarks than anybody, and the whole state benefits." McCallum said that a groundbreaking ceremony for the theater, which received final approval from the Philipstown Planning ...

Not so fast, says festival Many Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival fans raised a tempest when they realized that the lineup for its 37th season has no plays written solely by the Bard. Davis McCallum, the artistic director of the Philipstown-based festival, concedes that even his mother expressed reservations about the schedule. "She likes the straight Shakespeare, but his influence infuses all of these plays," he says. The 2024 productions include By the Queen (which incorporates dialogue from Richard III and Henry VI), Medea: Re-Versed and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. All three shows begin in previews next week; the latter two are world premieres. "We love these plays and have a high degree of confidence that audiences will love them, too," says McCallum. In 2010, the festival produced A Bomb-itty of Errors, a rapped adaptation of A Comedy of Errors that went over well, he says. "Shakespeare wasn't 'the Bard' in his time," he says. "People had to support him or else none of his work would have survived. We went for it this summer because these plays are great and we're committed to developing the next generation of fantastic writers. This is my 10th year here and we've never been more excited about a season." (To be fair, HVSF brought a 90-minute version of Much Ado About Nothing to local schools in March and April and the company will present a reading on Aug. 17 of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Orlando Pabotoy, which it intends to produce in 2025.) By the Queen is written by Whitney White, a 2024 Tony Award nominee for her direction of Jaja's African Hair Braiding. White recasts the queen in question, Margaret, who "ages through her appearances" in Richard III and all three parts of Henry VI, says director Shana Cooper. "Of the three plays [being produced], this is the punk rock one." At least half the dialogue is by Shakespeare, says Cooper, and three actors portray Margaret at various stages of her life. "It's like his greatest hits molded into a radical and inventive interpretation," she says. The play premiered in Providence, Rhode Island. "I went up there and I've never seen anything like it," says McCallum. "It's a killer piece of theater." Under the HVSF tent, it will feature Luis Quintero, Jacob Ming-Trent, Travis Raeburn, Malika Samuel, Stephen Michael Spencer, Sarin Monae West and Nance Williamson. Another potential standout, Medea: Re-Versed, adapts the 2,500-year-old Greek saga of a woman scorned, though she perpetrates some horrible things to earn the wrath. Quintero, 30, in his fifth year as an HVSF cast member, wrote the inventive script and musical score. Director Nathan Winkelstein co-conceived the project, which lashes the audience with creative wordplay and improbable rhymes that illuminate the work's inherent conflicts. The chorus members will rap, sing and speak as they prowl the stage, casting imploring gazes and menacing glances. Though they engage in a sophisticated call-and-response, the proceedings appear to unfold with spontaneity, like a freestyle lyrical battle. The actors are accompanied by a band with minimalist guitar riffs from Siena D'Addario, furious bass lines by Melissa Mahoney and Mark Martin's looped beatbox parts assembled on the fly. After the run in Philipstown, the proceedings move to off-Broadway in Manhattan. For its third production, HVSF commissioned The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, adapted by Heidi Armbruster from a 1926 Agatha Christie novella. Directed by HVSF veteran Ryan Quinn, it stars Mahoney, Raeburn, Samuel and Williamson, along with Sean McNall and Kurt Rhoads. "Heidi tells the story in such a fluid and filmic way that is so right for us," McCallum says. "The main question is: Will you figure out the murderer before the inspector and his apprentice?" Fourth-wall-busting soliloquies convey deep thoughts, "so people have to turn on their gray cells to keep up." The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is located at 2015 Route 9 in Philipstown. Tickets are $10 to ...

Planning Board approves environmental remedies The Philipstown Planning Board on Nov. 16 approved the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's strategies for minimizing noise and traffic, and other environmental impacts from its new venue at the former Garrison Golf Course. With its unanimous approval of a "findings statement," the board completed an environmental review that began in July 2022 amid concerns from neighboring homeowners about noise from amplified performances, roads clogged by theater-goers and the destruction of scenic views from the property on Route 9. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) still has to secure site-plan approval from the Planning Board, zoning amendments from the Town Board and permits from various agencies. But that final plan will include new turn lanes and other measures to reduce traffic, the planting of new trees and other mitigation measures. "We are pleased to have reached this milestone, and we continue to be committed to serving as a good neighbor, a local cultural resource and a model for environmental sustainability in the performing arts," said Kendra Ekelund, managing director for the festival, and Davis McCallum, its artistic director. After leaving its longtime home at Boscobel, HVSF has staged its last two seasons at the former golf course, after receiving a donation of 98 acres there from Chris Davis, the property's owner. The first phase of its project, which will occur on 38 acres, includes a new permanent open-air tent, a back-of-house area and new concessions and bathrooms. A second phase, five to 15 years away, would include 26 units of new housing for artists and guests, rehearsal and administrative space and a welcome center. To mitigate the impact from the removal of 168 trees, nearly all of them in the area of the now-closed golf course, HVSF will convey 17 acres of forest to the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, plant 250 new trees, along with shrubs and perennials, and allow the "rewilding" of the course. The organization also said it will restrict tree removal to between Nov. 1 and March 31 to eliminate potential impacts to any Indiana and Northern Long-eared bats in the area, although an assessment determined that the trees identified for removal were not a "suitable nesting area" for either species. The review determined that the biggest impact from traffic will occur at the four-way intersection of Route 9 and Snake Hill and Travis Corners roads. While approval from the state Department of Transportation for a traffic light at the intersection is pending, HVSF will rely on police to direct drivers "during peak events," according to the findings statement. The festival also said it would install a right-turn lane on Snake Hill Road at the approach to its intersection with Route 9; a northbound left-turn lane on Route 9, where it intersects a driveway to the property; and a southbound left-turn lane on Route 9 at Coleman Road, opposite the driveway. HVSF said it will preserve a northwesterly view from a ridge by installing a gathering area north of the new tent for people attending shows. (HVSF plans to continue allowing neighbors to use the property for "passive" activities like dog-walking and snowshoeing.) Although an analysis of noise levels concluded that "even with simultaneous events," sound from the festival's performances will not exceed Philipstown's limits, Heidi Wendel, a member of the Planning Board, said neighbors have complained. For a period of five years after the permanent theater begins operating, HVSF said it will "investigate and evaluate" complaints about noise to the town's Building Department. The organization said it would pay for measurements when sources of noise "cannot be immediately identified and addressed by HVSF through changes in programing or management." After five years, HVSF said it will continue to respond to complaints, but will not foot the cost of noise measurements. "That does still bother me - that there are neighbors...

April 13, 2023 - "You Want A Social Life With Friends" By Kenneth Koch, Read By Davis McCallum by The Desmond-Fish Public Library & The Highlands Current, hosted by Ryan Biracree

Intro: Boz didn't win Powerball Let Me Run This By You: 10 Strange QuestionsInterview: We talk to Kelley Curran about The Gilded Age, having career faith, Fordham at Lincoln Center, The Acting Company, 4.48 Psychosis, Heather Lind, Michaela McManus, Taylor Schilling, Betty Gilpin, Kate Burton, Lawrence Sacharow, Marian Seldes, Roger Reese, Cherry Jones, Fiona Shaw, Oregon Shakespeare, Shakespeare in the Park, Lady Percy in Henry IV, Davis McCallum, Carrie Coon, playing a villain, Telsey and Co., Angels in America, Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, Michael Engler, Tim Kubart, and doing a nude scene for millions.

This summer, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare festival presents a trio of shows in its open-air tent overlooking the Hudson River, including an age-blind production of “Romeo & Juliet,” “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” which takes its inspiration from “The Simpsons,” and “Where We Belong” - an intimate solo performance by Mohegan writer-director-actor Madeline Sayet.This season's performances are being performed on the festival's iconic open air tent - but on their new grounds in Garrison, NY.Davis McCallum is the Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and he joins us now to share more details about these exciting productions.

April 19, 2022 - "When I Am Among The Trees" By Mary Oliver, Read By Davis McCallum by The Desmond-Fish Public Library & The Highlands Current, hosted by Ryan Biracree

This summer, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival will present “The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trail of Miz Martha Washington” by James Ijames and Shakespeare's “The Tempest.” Since 1987, HVSF has presented plays in rep under the theatre tent at Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison, New York. At the close of this season, their revels there will end and the company will move to a new property. Davis McCallum is the Artistic Director of Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and he joins us.

April 19, 2021 - "A Tale Begun" By Wislawa Szymborska, Read By Davis McCallum by The Desmond-Fish Public Library & The Highlands Current, hosted by Ryan Biracree

This episode, was recorded at a live One-on-One Conversation event sponsored by Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation on April 8th, 2019. The event, entitled “STATE OF THE ART: DIRECTING SHAKESPEARE IN THE AMERICAN THEATRE” featured directors Davis McCallum and Erica Schmidt, and was moderated by SDC Foundation Trustee Ethan McSweeny.

Seth Bockley is a playwright and theater director, specializing in literary adaptation, physical and object theater as well as multimedia works. As a director, Seth has led productions throughout the United States and around the world, including Mexico, Colombia, and Ireland. Just a few of the theatres where he has recently directed include The Goodman Theater, Victory Gardens, Redmoon Theater, Foundry Theater, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. As a playwright, his works include 2666, adapted with Robert Falls from the novel by Roberto Bolaño; which won the 2016 Equity Jeff Award for New Adaptation, Wilderness with En Garde Arts, The Death and Life of Billy The Kid with Cabinet of Curiosity Events, February House, a collaboration with lyricist and composer Gabriel Kahane, and directed by Davis McCallum, which premiered off-Broadway at The Public Theater, Ask Aunt Susan which premiered at The Goodman Theatre, and Jon, an adaptation of a George Saunders short story, which won the 2009 Equity Jeff Citation for Best New Adaptation, Fun facts: Seth once dressed up as a skeleton for the Obamas’ first Halloween party. He made a clown show with a theatre troupe in Mexico that toured a maximum-security prison, and Seth has recently written for A Prairie Home Companion in Saint Paul Minnesota, where he currently lives with his family. Seth shares with Marc about his love for collaboration, his newest projects, his appreciation for many types of Chicago theater, his process for writing literary adaptations, and how he creates theater that is of image, that is poetic, and that is lyrical.

Davis McCallum is the Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where he’s also directing The Book of Will, which is now playing.  His recent productions in New York include Fashions for Men, which received Drama Desk, Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Nominations for Best Revival; The Whale, winner of the Lortel Award for Best Play, and Davis received a Calloway Nomination for Best Director, Water by the Spoonful, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, February House, nominated for Best Musical by the Outer Critics Circle; and London Wall with both Drama Desk and Lortel Nominations for Best Revival. Davis has also directed productions at Playwrights Horizons, Mint Theater, Second Stage, Signature Theater Company, 13P, Clubbed Thumb, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and the New Victory Theater, in addition to many theaters and festivals across the country. Davis is a graduate of Princeton where he studied Shakespeare at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and trained as a director at LAMDA.  Davis shares with Marc about leading the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, its impressive lineup of plays and directors for this summer, what it means to stage American Shakespeare, his collaboration with Samuel D. Hunter, his approach to working with actors and directing Shakespeare, and what it means to put the story and core of the play over concept. This post Leading the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival appeared first on Talking Theater. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Telemundo's Odalys Molina leads a panel discussion with "Water by the Spoonful" playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, director Davis McCallum, and cast members Ryan Shams, Bill Heck, Sue Jean Kim, Armando Riesco and Zabryna Guevara. Recorded on December 10, 2012 at SECOND STAGE THEATRE

Following the preview performance of "Water by the Spoonful" on December 15, 2012, subscribers were invited to stay for a post-show discussion with 2ST Associate Artistic Director Chris Burney and director Davis McCallum. WATER BY THE SPOONFUL by Quiara Alegria Hudes directed by Davis McCallum SECOND STAGE THEATRE December 11, 2012 - February 10, 2013 2ST.com

Following the preview performance of "Water by the Spoonful" on December 29, 2012, subscribers were invited to stay for a post-show discussion with 2ST Director of Play Development Kyle Frisina, playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, and director Davis McCallum. WATER BY THE SPOONFUL by Quiara Alegria Hudes directed by Davis McCallum SECOND STAGE THEATRE December 11, 2012 - February 10, 2013 2ST.com

The name Quiara Alegría Hudes may not be on the average theatergoer’s short list of major playwrights, but it’s well-known to the Pulitzer Prize committee. Hudes wrote the book for In the Heights, the Tony Award-winning musical, which was a finalist in 2009 for a Pulitzer Prize. Hudes was a Pulitzer Prize finalist before that, for her 2007 play, Elliott, a Soldier’s Fugue, the first part of a trilogy exploring the world of a Puerto Rican-American soldier returning home from the war in Iraq. Last year, Hudes won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the second part of the trilogy, Water by the Spoonful. That play is now in its initial New York production, at Second Stage Theatre and directed by Davis McCallum, who staged the premiere at Hartford Stage last season. New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood brings us his review.

In the first episode of Shakespeare Talks, director Davis McCallum sits down with author of The Shakespeare Wars, Ron Rosenbaum to discuss directing Shakespeare, speaking verse, and King Lear.