The Shakespearean Shrew

For so long we have lauded the relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as the healthiest relationship amidst an an unhealthy plot, but Lady Fenton and Anne Page topple the Macbeths in Merry Wives of Windsor and OSP shows that, in Windsor (as should be everywhere), everyone gets a seat at the table. Join me as I talk with Kit Rasmussen in his debut role as Lady Fenton (yes, you read that correctly...

**This is a fun and raucous interview so choose your volume accordingly! For this episode we are going to talk size - no, not that kind of size - though there will be some talk of “eggplant emojis” in this episode. I mean the size of the role versus the impact of the part. Join us as we talk with Jimmy Pike, Denton Meehan, and Lucas Schrantz who are well-versed in playing many parts (sometimes wit...

The Merry Wives of Windso r is one of the lesser known and lesser performed plays of Shakespeare - but that certainly doesn’t make it less than. Join Lance Marsh as John Falstaff, and our Merry Wives - Lindsey Rollins as Mistress Ford and Denise Hughes as Mistress Page - as we discuss why this play is under performed and the big characters (emphasis on big - like fat suit big), big ideas, and big...

How do you play yourself while playing another actor while playing characters across Shakespeare’s 37 plays? Let’s find out! Join me as I talk with Kris Kuss, M. Smith Fraser, and Holly McNatt as we discuss how these actors survive this fast paced, high energy, whirlwind of a play, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) (Again) . We’ll discuss acting outside your comfort zone, mess...

Once again, I’m giving up the microphone as my student, Frederick Turner, takes over the show. He is talking to director, actor, and amazing human David Weber about his upcoming production of Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged Again taking place at OSP. They will talk about how to turn comedy to laughter and the importance of props, costumes, and actors with synergistic energy to create the fa...

Join me in a conversation with owners Kathryn Lynn and Britni Brecheen of Second Story Books in OKC, Steve "Echo" Gooch, owner of The Floating Bookshop in Automobile Alley, and Kim Mieda, owner of The Lore, in Norman. We are going to talk about the historical connection between coffee (and beer) and books, discuss how locations dictate the books and customers, options when trying to sepa...

Join me with educator and game master Brook Bullock as he shares with us the history of RPG and the social and psychological implications of “playing” different roles. We’ll learn about “the satanic panic” and how RPG has been brought out of the dungeon/basement and into the light - enhancing empathy and understanding our history through fantasy. Is RPG a new kind of improv? With the game master c...

For my Lynyrd Skynyrd fans out there, you’ll have to watch on YouTube if you want to know how to sign “free bird”. Watch or listen; either way, you don’t want to miss the hilarity that ensues. Join a pair of marvelous guests (and guest hosts) as we discuss ASL accessibility in theater! Actor Amanda Lee meets with actor and translator Michaela McCall to discuss the nuances of signed translation aft...

Join us as we talk with Brenna Wickstrom, theater educator, director, and founder of Storyteller Theater in OKC. We talk about accessibility of theater and how Storyteller Theater doesn’t have a physical space but pops up in CitySpace in the OKC Civic Center and the Harn Homestead Museum. Much like Elizabethan theater, these productions come to you!  Currently, they are producing Julius Caesar in...

Welcome to storytime with Amanda Lee, actor in OSP’s one woman and five musician show, Penelope , showing from February 20th to March 2nd. The link for tickets is below! This is the first musical in OSP’s 41-year history, so, of course, we are talking about musicals. Buckle up and get ready to hear about some wild adventures in life, acting, and directing. We’ll talk about how Penelope is actually...

*Please keep in mind that we are talking about staged violence. It gets a bit graphic, but please do not try any of these elements out without a fight choreographer present to assure that everything is being done safely.* First rule of Fight Club? Talk about Fight Club! Matthew T. Smith, fight choreographer, actor, director, and professor of choreography, talks with us about accuracy in theater. H...

Join us in a follow up with director and professor Collin Andrulonis and “Bottom,” senior Cole Shoemaker, performing in UCO’s upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream February 6-9th at UCO. Link to production information below! We’ll get the director perspective from Collin in terms of leaning into the fear and taking chances, how to find the best cast for your performance, and what is goi...

Welcome to one of my very first podcast recordings. I’m dreaming of warmer weather and fun with friends so join me in a conversation this summer past in San Diego at the Old Globe with the amazing Jake Millgard, an actor, director, fight choreographer, acting teacher, and much, much more. We will be talking about the levels of accessibility to Shakespeare, the Old Globe as they finished producing...

According to award winning director and professor Collin Andrulonis, if you aren’t at least a little scared, you’re doing it wrong. We will be talking about teaching theater, teaching the next teachers, the obstacles that teachers face, and what makes it worth it. We will also be taking a look at the director's side of life. Do you want some insights on how productions are chosen, how actors are c...

What does the yo-yo and a mega mouth (and I mean that as a compliment) have in common? They are some unsuspecting tools of the acting trade. Join me as I talk to Paxton Kliewer about finding the tools that work for you and dealing with the critics. Paxton will show us techniques for learning lines, finding the meaning in Shakespeare’s language, and for becoming embarrassment proof. Find your Kyle...

Episode 25 on the first day of 2025: Happy New Year! Join us as the Shakespearean Shrew (Karen Feiner) and the Brew Shrew (Michelle Coffman) answer some questions about ourselves, Shakespeare, the podcast, and beer, and make some arroz con leche. This is going to be a journey of rant and ramble as we make our way into the new year.  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! www.theshakespeareanshrew.com   https://www.you...

Okay, this is an episode that you are going to want to SEE, so please feel free to go to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@ShakespeareanShrew The marvelous Michaela McCall, a junior at OCU majoring in ASL and theater, will talk to us about the ASL community, how we can embrace an amazing community that is often overlooked, and how interpreting is performative and often an exercise in impr...

As you think about what to buy your friends and family this holiday season, maybe it’s time to think big. No, not a car with a red bow on it. (Stupid commercials. Who buys someone a car?) Think books. Something that will change the way they see the world - how Dickensian is that? I have some great, local places for you to shop and some bookstore owners you need to know. I am joined by owners Kathr...

Time for some girl talk with Jane Austen (Kalie Sloan), Elizabeth Bennett (Charli Henn), Lydia Bennett (Naomi Love), and Marianne Dashwood (Bethany Woemmel). Let’s talk crushes - Lizzie Bennett was number one with a bullet amongst the ladies, Darcy, unsurprisingly, enters the conversations, and Bingley, and his authenticity, cannot be ignored. We’ll dissect the characters and what makes each lady...

Hey y’all! Join us for a cup of tea as I talk to some of Jane Austen’s leading men: Colonel Brandon (Jimmy Pike), Captain Wentworth (Paxton Kliewer), Edward Ferrers (Karam Alkhatib), Fitzwilliam Darcy (Corban Melder). We’ll talk about beautiful women, beautiful men (there is a mathematical equation), and the things that are hard to say in literature and life. We’ll talk the line between performing...

What questions should we ask of the literary relationships we love? Let’s sit down, drink some tea, and share some tea with Marriage and Family Therapist Danyelle Kuss. Let's talk function and dysfunction in Jane Austen’s amazing relations. We’ll talk about the first recorded experience of ghosting (okay, that’s an assumption but it MIGHT be true) and what makes a great relationship versus throwin...

Laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh (yes, we do both in this episode) as I talk with actor, director, and acting teacher David Weber about his critically acclaimed Christmas Carol adaptation: “An Actor’s Carol: One clown’s Dickensian marathon towards redemption.” We talk about regrets, redemption, and one of the most powerful and dangerous things in the world: hope. So let’s talk clowns, f...

Erin Woods, playwright, director, actor, and artistic designer, breaks down how she adapted Jane Austen’s beloved characters and joined them together for the Jane Austen Christmas Cracker and how playwrights adapt their works to the needs and abilities of the stage. You will learn which characters will grace this year’s performance (and which leading man we fangirled over - sorry, Tyler). We talke...

Join me in Seoul, South Korea with Executive Director, actor, and artist Joongwon Charles Jeong, and board member, director, and actor Jason Lane Cutler from Seoul Shakespeare Company. We’ll be talking reputations of the Bard, difficulties of translation, and funding. We’ll go into the beauty of community behind the scenes and in the audience but also the emerging boundaries between making the aud...

Happy Halloween and welcome to our Halloween episode of The Shakespearean Shrew. Did you know that, in addition to the witch trials that we are so familiar with, there were also werewolf trials? Neither did I!  Today we are joined from Seoul, South Korea by Joe McPherson, owner of the Zen Kimchi Experience, and Shawn Morrisey, a heritage researcher with a focus on folklore. We will talk about how...