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About the show- Shakespeare (abridged) |
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July
10-12 & 17-19, 2009
View Photos from 2007
Production
Back by popular demand- an encore performance
of our 2007 hit production! Using their real names and playing
themselves, the three actors from our original production
present a HIGH ENERGY, FAST PACED comic romp through all 37 of
Shakespeare’s works! Alas, do not worry; the works are all
shortened and incredibly entertaining. YOU may even get the
chance to perform!! Shakespeare will be rolling over in his
grave….FROM LAUGHTER! There will be 6 performances
Friday-Saturday performances will be at 7:00 pm, and Sunday
matinees will be at 2:00 pm. All tickets are $5.00 each, and the
seating is reserved. Tickets go on sale to patrons on May 29,
2009 and to the general public on June 12, 2009.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED)
is a parody of the plays written by William Shakespeare with all
of them being performed (in shortened form) during the show. The
play is unique in that only three actors are involved in it.
Typically, the actors use their real names and play themselves
rather than certain characters. The fourth wall is nonexistent
in the performance with the actors speaking directly to the
audience during much of the play, and some scenes involve
audience participation. The director and stage crew also may be
directly involved in the performance and become characters
themselves.
The script was published in 1994 and contains many humorous
footnotes on the text that are often not included in the
performance. However, improv plays a heavy role and it is normal
for the actors to deviate from the script and have spontaneous
conversations about the material to each other or to the
audience. It is also common for them to make references to pop
culture or to talk about local people and places in the area
where performance is done. As a result, each performance can be
vastly different from another, even with the same cast.
The play was written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and
first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987 and
played for many years at the Criterion Theatre in London. The Reduced Shakespeare Company
is a
three-man comedy troupe known for taking long, serious subjects
and reducing them into short, sharp comedies. The troupe has
created six stage shows, two television specials, and numerous
radio pieces. When first produced, the
Reduced Shakespeare Company notes that they were “young and
indestructible, and seven years of doing aerobic choreography in
direct sunlight on outdoor stages, eating dust, sweating through
three layers of costumes, being interrupted by parades, croaking
through laryngitis, colds, and nodes, and dragging our tired
butts all over the world” and this is why they were able to give
birth to the script.
"The three comics of the Reduced Shakespeare Company may
sound like silly, sophomoric smart alecks, whereas they're
actually... well, exactly that, but with fully-engaged brains
and a purposeful glint in their eyes. These inspired parodists
are so good that they play the accordion and they're still
funny. And it's never as sophomoric as you think. The RSC
technique is to lull you into condescension over some bit of
obvious undergraduate foolery and then whipsaw you the other way
with a flash of original intelligence or surreal fancy. They
belong in select company." Christopher Rawson - Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette |
