The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s own Michael Faulkner and his wife, actor Amanda Pajer, have created new musical identities as Mike & Mandy, writing and producing new music that’s being heard and buzzed about all over the world. For this special Valentine’s Day episode, they discuss working together as a couple and the process of collaboration; how they survived the pandemic by turning it into an opportunity; the danger of doing Twitter all wrong; how their eclectic and diverse musical tastes make it difficult to define their "brand"; the fun of upgrading both your equipment and your skillset; and the amazing moment when you discover you already know everything you need to know. (Length 21:52)

Mike And Mandy

The world’s longest-running theatre podcast, which Broadway World calls “one of the Top 10 Podcasts for Theatre Fans!” HEAR HERE!

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Comedy

Improviser, improv coach, and "ensemble whisperer" Liz Allen discusses her one-person show Tonight, I Am My Mother, her darkly comic exploration of her mother’s alcoholism, in which Liz plays multiple roles (seamlessly). Liz talks about moments of discovery in her childhood; reveals her script's inspiration; shares stories of working with comedian Mike Birbiglia on his film, Don't Think Twice; marvels over her show's Shakespearean levels; confesses the importance of taking creative license; and celebrates the rewards of bringing a complicated family member back to life. (Length 24:39)

Liz Allen’s ‘Mother’

Scott Silberstein, the co-founder and executive producer of HMS Media, talks about filming Lookingglass Alice, the signature work of Chicago’s Tony-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company, and so beautifully capturing the circus-like energy of the live theatre experience. Scott reveals the importance of responding accurately and honestly to the story being told onstage; how his team are not only great technicians but also great improvisers; the inevitably of filming a concert on your phone and missing the experience not once but twice; how to keep the live element and not spoil the surprise; how you can stream Lookingglass Alice via the PBS Passport and Digital Theatre Plus streaming services; and the definitive answer to the question of whether it's more difficult to film live theatre or live sports. (Length 17:44) (PICTURED: Molly Hernandez as Alice [photo by Liz Lauren] in the Lookingglass Theatre production of Lookingglass Alice, directed by David Catlin.)

Filming ‘Lookingglass Alice’

Scott Bailey’s new book Romeo, Juliet, and Other Screwed-Up Teenagers: An Irreverent Guide to Introducing the World’s Most Staggeringly Inappropriate Play to a Classroom Full of Confused Freshmen is a funny and frank look at Shakespeare’s arguably most popular play, and a great resource for educators, students, and even professional actors. Scott reveals his Shakespeare background, both onstage and for almost 30 years in the classroom; how his Renaissance Faire origin story coincides with the early days of the RSC; the surprise of taking a year off and discovering you have a book in you; and finally, the wonder of constantly discovering new things about a 400-year-old play. (Length 22:47)

Screwed-Up Teenagers

He's fooled Penn & Teller three times, and now Ondřej Pšenička is fooling audiences every week at the Chicago Magic Lounge in his new show 52 Lovers. Ondřej reveals surprising secrets (but not all of them!) about how he builds his tricks; the difference between being a manipulator and being a conductor; how comedy can enhance the magic when it doesn’t accidentally ruin it; how his theatre background made him a better magician; the crucial importance of audience management; and magic’s inherent promise to bring audiences back to a place of wonder. (Photo by Martin Vecera.) (Length 21:24)

Ondřej Pšenička’s Magic

For his final production as thirty-year artistic director of Chicago's Tony-winning Court Theatre, Charles Newell transforms Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead into an unexpectedly joyful celebration of legacy and theater. Newell reveals his lengthy relationship with not only Stoppard's plays but with the man himself, and shares how he cast two halves of a whole; how he chose to respond instinctively to what was happening in rehearsal rather than adhere to an intricate plan; and how he embraced the counterintuitive and seemingly-oxymoronic phrase “joyful requiem.” (PICTURED: Erik Hellman and Nate Burger as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz in the Court Theatre production of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Charles Newell. Photo by Michael Brosilow.) (Length 20:20)

Mike And Mandy

Download our free app to listen on your phone