Episoder
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In "Romeo and Juliet," Mercutio becomes the tipping point that turns this tale of two star-crossed lovers from a romantic comedy to a tragedy. Episode 11 delves into what kind of friend Mercutio is to Romeo, various approaches to his famed Queen Mab speech, imaginings of Mercutio’s own romantic history, and why Mercutio — after speaking in only four scenes — remains one of the most memorable and beloved parts of this iconic play. Guests on this episode are André Martin, who played Mercutio with the Independent Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles in 2014; Brian Grey, who plays the role in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s current production; and Martine Kei Green-Rogers, assistant professor in the Theater Arts department at State University of New York at New Paltz and President-Elect of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
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Ariel, the sprite who serves Prospero in “The Tempest” is the first non-human character featured on Shakespeare’s Shadows. Dr. Brinda Charry — an English professor at Keene State College — and Mark Quartley — currently playing Ariel for the Royal Shakespeare Company — discuss Ariel’s complicated relationship with his master, varying interpretations of the moment he is set free, and how Ariel discovers what it is to be human. Quartley also talks about his unique experience playing Ariel via real-time motion-capture technology in this stage production running at the Barbican Theatre in London through August 18th. He co-stars opposite Simon Russell Beale, returning to the RSC as Prospero after having taken on the role of Ariel in 1993.
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Mangler du episoder?
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For a character that doesn’t appear onstage for much of the play, there is a lot to unpack with Cordelia, and she has a major impact on the journey of her father, the title character of “King Lear.” In this episode, UCSB professor Jim Kearney returns to the podcast, and Erika Soto shares her experience playing Cordelia earlier this year at A Noise Within in Pasadena, California. Discussed here are the changes Shakespeare made to his source material for “King Lear,” how an actress can bide her time while staying in the zone through Cordelia’s long stretch backstage waiting for her return in Act 4, and why it’s essential to remember that Cordelia leads an army into battle.
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The most recognizable image of perhaps any Shakespeare heroine is Ophelia drowning — Gertrude’s description of Ophelia “mermaid-like” in the brook has inspired numerous painters. But her untimely death is not her full story. In this episode, we discuss the young woman tangled up in Hamlet’s drama with guests Deanne Williams, an English professor at York University in Toronto; Jennie Greenberry, who played Ophelia last year at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and Mariah Gale, who took on the role in the Bard’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, co-starring opposite David Tennant in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008 “Hamlet” production. Their recollections of performing and teaching “Hamlet” reveal far more than the languid victim seen in those iconic paintings and illuminate a woman of courage, compassion, and perhaps more ingenuity than first meets the eye.
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With more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s canon, Rosalind stands apart. Both a romantic and a cynic when it comes to love, she chooses her own husband and launches discourse with him negotiating their domestic life — near-unheard of for a noblewoman in her time of arranged marriages. Featuring interviews with Jessika D. Williams — currently starring in CalShakes’ “As You Like It” — and Cal State Dominguez Hills professor Kimberly Huth, this episode delves into how Rosalind’s gender exploration remains utterly relevant to modern audiences, whether her disguise as Ganymede is actually convincing, and that fourth wall-breaking epilogue. And we gab about a squee-filled moment when “As You Like It” basically embodies a certain catchy “Grease” song.
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“Twelfth Night” is a comedy, so it calls for a happy ending — but not all of the play’s characters get a wedding and a ride off into the Illyrian sunset. Amid all the the farce and revelry of “Twelfth Night,” Malvolio’s story is a darker one. Featuring interviews with Amin El Gamal (“Prison Break,” “The Newsroom”) and UCLA English department chair Lowell Gallagher, this episode takes a closer look at why Malvolio fantasies about marrying Olivia, varying views on what Malvolio’s revenge might be, and how a problem we can see Shakespeare thinking through with Malvolio is ultimately solved in “Hamlet.” And, of course, what’s up with those cross-gartered yellow stockings.
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In episode 5, Richard II is in the spotlight — right where he likes to be. This is the diva king who loves to hear himself talk but is tragically lacking leadership skills beyond his talents as an orator. Shakespeare’s late 1590s play about the king usurped 200 years prior raises compelling questions about the nature of leaders’ relationships with their subjects. Discussing all this and more in this episode are guests UC Davis professor Frances Dolan, Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor Christopher Liam Moore, and Len Cariou (known for his current role on CBS series "Blue Bloods" and for originating the role of Sweeney Todd), who recalls how "Richard II" inspired him early in his theater career.
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Hermione is a rarity among Shakespeare’s characters: She’s mother of young children. This queen at the center of “The Winter’s Tale” gets put through the wringer before she can be reunited with her daughter. In this episode, LMU professor Theresia de Vroom and Amy Kim Waschke — who played Hermione at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last year — discuss how to approach the moment that calls Hermione’s faithfulness into question, what’s remarkable about her trial scene, and varying interpretations of that spectacle of a statue.
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Henry IV: Actor Harry Lennix and UCSB professor Jim Kearney delve into Henry IV’s fraught relationship with his son (the future King Henry V), his anxieties over creating a legitimate rule after forcefully taking the crown, and the prophecy that keeps him believing he’s destined to fight a holy war in Jerusalem. Lennix also discusses his film adaptation, “H4,” which places the text of “Henry IV Part 1” and “Part 2” in the experience of modern black America. // guide to the many Henrys of the Henriad: http://ow.ly/D0gS30b2cw5
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Twelfth Night’s Viola: The real reason for this Shakespeare heroine’s disguise as a young man, the nuances of a tricky love triangle, and Viola’s curious silence at the end of Act 5 are all discussed with this episode’s guests — actors Sara Bruner and Lisa Wolpe and University of Southern California professor Carla Della Gatta.
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King Lear: This episode’s guests — actors Fran Kranz and John Slade and University of California, Irvine professor Julia Lupton — discuss Lear’s descent into madness, varying interpretations of a pivotal moment with his daughter Cordelia, and where there may be optimism within the arc of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragic characters.
