The State of Shakespeare

Gideon Rappaport

May 292025

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Shakespeare, Appreciated
Hamlet; Act 5, Scene 2
May 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.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here to see the Folio Version.

Gideon’s Media Connections:

Appreciating Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Real Take

Gideon’s podcast

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Derek Hunter

Mar 312025

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

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

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Drew Lichtenberg

Feb 242025

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

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.

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

John Ahlin

Feb 082025

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Falstaff; Act 4, Scene 2
Henry IV, Part 2
January 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!

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here for a First Folio Version.

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Graham Stevens

Sep 202024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Macbeth; Act 3, Scene 1
Macbeth
September 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…

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here for a First Folio Version.

Click here for a scanned version.

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Vanessa Morosco

Jul 312024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

The American Shakespeare Center
July 30, 2024

Vanessa Morosco likes asking the big questions. As Executive Director of the American Shakespeare Center, she is perfectly positioned to do just that. Using Original Practices, Vanessa and ASC are re-centering the focus on Shakespeare for the 21st Century.

Click here for more information on the American Shakespeare Center

Click here for more information on Vanessa’s 50/50 Shakespeare Project

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Jasmine Bracey

Jun 282024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Henry IV, Part I; Act 5, Scene 1
Worcester
June 30, 2024

Inside-out or outside-in? Accomplished stage actor and teacher Jasmine Bracey gives Stanislvaski his due, but argues for a more visceral approach to crafting character. Either way, her objective is all about change.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here for a First Folio Version.

Click here for a scanned version.

Click here for more information on the Backroom Theater Project.

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Rod Kinter

May 302024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Fight Direction
Shakespeare
May 30, 2024

There’s more to choreographing stage combat than beating shields and bashing heads. Fight Director Rod Kinter works closely with Actors, Directors and Designers on “Designing the Fight”. Safety and repeatability are paramount, but swords are optional.

Click here for more information about Rod Kinter

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Jason King Jones

Apr 302024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Henry V; Prologue
Prologue
April 30, 2024

In his second season as the Artistic Director of the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Jason King Jones brings a seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm to the leadership role. This summer, PSF will produce 8 shows, the equivalent of a full regional theatre season, in just sixteen weeks.

Click here for more information about Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here to see a First Folio Version

Click here to see a Scanned Version

Artists, Interviews, Podcasts

Ben Steinfeld 2.0

Mar 122024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

Pericles; Act 5, Scene 1
Pericles and Marina
March 12, 2024

We welcome one of our favorite guests back to the State of Shakespeare. Ben Steinfeld catches us up on his own epic journey and on Fiasco Theatre’s production of Pericles, in performances now at the Classic Stage Company in NYC.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here For More information about Pericles at the Classic Stage Company