The Merchant of Venice; Act 3, Scene 1 ShylockNovember 10, 2025

The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.” Actor and storyteller Saul Rubinek takes us inside his one-man show Playing Shylock, now on stage at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in New York City. Rubinek explores Shylock’s confounding genesis and reveals why one of Shakespeare’s so-called “minor” roles continues to be one of the most groundbreaking, misunderstood and controversial characters in theater history.

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Click here for Saul's book, All in the Telling.

Click here for a transcript of "The Stranger's Case" by Thomas More.

Measure for Measure; Act 2, Scene 4 AngeloOctober 20, 2025

If the goal is to be a working actor, is training optional? Terry Knickerbocker offers his perspective on the purpose of actor training. And in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, we confront a timeless dilemma: is it better to perish for the sake of principle, or debase yourself and survive?

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Romeo & Juliet; Act 1, Scene 4 RomeoSeptember 3, 2025

From forth the fatal loins of civil strife springs a bold new Romeo and Juliet. The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey presents this re-envisioned classic, starring Isaac Hickox-Young and directed by Bonnie J. Monte. Is it love, lust, or something more sinister that propels the star-crossed lovers to their untimely end?

Romeo and Juliet runs from September 10th to October 5th at the Shakespeare Theater of NJ.

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King John; Act 3, Scene 1 ConstanceAugust 5, 2025

Words, words, words. A love of words makes Tracy Michelle Arnold the perfect candidate to run the Language Project at American Player's Theater. With the focus on language, words, syntax, punctuation, Arnold is the perfect guest for the State of Shakespeare. The Language Project is the latest innovation that this gem of theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin has brought us.

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Twelfth Night Folger TheaterJune 18, 2025

“Most wonderful!” Olivia’s (ahem) climactic outburst isn’t just a line, it’s the line that catches the spirit of director Mei Ann Teo’s current production of Twelfth Night at the Folger Theatre. Teo, who also serves as Artistic Leader at Ping Chong and Company, teases how to treat Shakespeare’s classic as if it’s a new love (er… play.)

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https://www.folger.edu/whats-on/twelfth-night

Shakespeare, Appreciated Hamlet; Act 5, Scene 2May 29, 2025

Gideon Rappaport, author of Appreciating Shakespeare, has released a newly annotated edition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Can modern readers and actors truly grasp Shakespeare’s work as he intended? Rappaport believes they not only can, but they must.

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Gideon's Media Connections:

Appreciating Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Real Take

Gideon's podcast

Anonymous Agnostic Antichrists

March 31, 2025

The Authorship Question may ebb and flow in popularity, but the mystery behind the origins of the Bard’s works remains endlessly intriguing. What better way to explore the rich world of Shakespeare’s contemporaries than by investigating who might have truly penned the plays? Our guest, author Derek Hunter, has spent over thirty years pursuing the possibilities. His tetralogy, Anonymous Agnostic Antichrists, presents four compelling theories.

Amazon: Anonymouse Agnostic Antichrists

Shakespeare in the U.S.February 24, 2025

As the Artistic Producer and Dramaturg at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., Drew Lichtenberg has a front-row seat to the unfolding drama at one of the globe's most powerful artistic and political nexuses. In a recent essay for The New York Times, he shared hard truths about the state of Shakespeare in contemporary America. Over the past half-decade, the number of Shakespeare productions has declined steeply. What might be driving this trend, and is it likely to change?

New York TImes: Who's Afraid of William Shakespeare

New York TImes: Cancel Shakespeare

Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Falstaff; Act 4, Scene 2 Henry IV, Part 2January 10, 2025

Falstaff is Shakespeare’s greatest comic creation.  John Ahlin is the greatest ‘Simon Says’ player in the world.   Discover how this talent helped launch a career that has seen him play the role sixteen times… and counting.   Just don't call it a bit!

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Macbeth; Act 3, Scene 1 MacbethSeptember 20, 2024

From Whiffenpoof to Macbeth.  Graham Stevens has worn many hats in his career, none of which fits as comfortably as Macbeth's crown. How does he bring all of his diversity of skills to bear in the role of the Scottish King? And it isn't just the kilt...

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