The Shakespeareance – with Austin Tichenor

Good Question!

What is The Shakespeareance?

MANUSCRIPT REVIEW | PRIVATE COACHING | LECTURES | CONVERSATION

Fondling a First Folio at Miami University, 2016.

A lecture series hosted by Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (that’s me!), featuring voices from around the world — especially yours.

Once a month, I’ll present an online talk about Shakespeare in our lives and culture, followed by conversation and live Q&A with special guests. Patreon supporters get sneak previews, backstage access, premium content, customized perks, private lectures, and sonnets and songs singing your praises!

It’s a book club. A study group. A chance to nerd out with fellow Shakespeareans.

Join the Shakespeareance!

Directing Elise Dixon as Beatrice in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Pacific University. 2017.

Do you have a big audition coming up?

Or the first draft of a play or novel?

Or just want to work on some speeches for your own pleasure?

I offer private monologue coaching and manuscript review for actors and writers at every level of expertise.

Check out what some talented folks have said about working with me.

Contact me for rates and further information!

Join the Shakespeareance!

Who Is This Guy, Anyway?

Our Shakespeareanced Leader

Actor. Author. Speaker.

Austin Tichenor is an actor, playwright, director, and co-Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and has been creating Shakespeare-focused content for over 30 years. He’s the co-author of Pop-Up Shakespeare (2017; illustrated by Jennie Maizels), Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged) (2005), and ten stage comedies that include William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) and Hamlet’s Big Adventure! (a prequel), (all co-written with his RSC Partner Reed Martin).

Austin contributes monthly essays to the Folger Shakespeare Library; co-created and co-starred in the six-part BBC World Service comedy series The Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show (1993); co-created and co-hosts the web series Drawing on Shakespeare with artist Gary Andrews; and produces and hosts (since 2006!) the weekly Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.

He’s acted in films and television, acted and directed off-Broadway, in the West End, and on stages around the world including the Kennedy Center; the Folger Shakespeare Theater; Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; the Tony-winning theaters Lookingglass in Chicago and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; London’s Gielgud, Criterion, and Arts Theatres; and Northlight Theater in Chicago, where he played Shakespeare’s star actor Richard Burbage in the midwest premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will.

All his plays — which include adaptations of Frankenstein (influenced by The Tempest) and Dancing on the Ceiling (from Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”) — are published by Broadway Play Publishing. He’s been a featured guest speaker for the Center for Civic Mediation, the National Council of Jewish Women, and Phillips Exeter Academy, and recent directorial credits (apart from the RSC) include Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Much Ado About Nothing at Pacific University.

Messina High football jerseys spell out Shakespeare’s birthday in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Pacific University, 2017, directed by Austin Tichenor. Photo by Rebecca Allen. | (above, right) William Oliver Watkins as Orsino and Caitlin McWethy as Viola in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2018 production of TWELFTH NIGHT, directed by Austin Tichenor. By Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Drawing by Gary Andrews — Title card drawn by co-host Gary Andrews. 2020.

Nice Words From Talented Folks

Testimonials

Christopher MooreNew York Times bestselling comic novelist

"My go-to person"

“Austin is a consummate talent in all aspects of theater, from writing, editing, directing, and performance. His sense of comic timing is impeccable on the page and on the stage. He’s my go-to person for advice on all matters Shakespeare.”

(selected works)
FOOL
THE SERPENT OF VENICE
SHAKESPEARE FOR SQUIRRELS
LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST’S CHILDHOOD PAL

Nicole GallandNew York Times bestselling author

"A gifted, natural storyteller"

“Austin is a gifted, natural storyteller, which means he doesn’t just tell great tales on his own, he helps others improve theirs too. I could not have written my last novel (Master of the Revels) without Austin’s insights and suggestions – he got the sensibility of my work, understood how I needed to get from A to B and helped me get there – a guiding hand without stepping on my toes. And he made me laugh throughout – a priceless addition to any editorial process.”

(selected works)
I, IAGO
MASTER OF THE REVELS
THE RISE & FALL OF D.O.D.O. (w/ Neal Stephenson)

Peter HollandChair, International Shakespeare Association; Professor of Shakespeare Studies & Associate Dean for the Arts, University of Notre Dame

"The guide of all guides to the Shakespearean multiverse..."

“We need a good guide when we enter the strange spaces of Shakespeare-land. Someone knowledgeable, of course, but also generous, kind, thoughtful, provocative, responsive, caring, respectful – oh, and being very funny would be a help too. So it’s plain that the coach of all coaches, the adviser of all advisers, the guide of all guides to the mysterious Shakespearean multiverse must be Austin Tichenor! No-one is as Shakespeareanced as he is!”

Ellen MargolisPlaywright; Chair, Dept. of Theatre & Dance, Pacific University

"A master class...balancing pathos with pratfalls"

“Austin directed a superb production of MUCH ADO, where every rehearsal was a master class in Shakespeare’s techniques, comic timing, and balancing pathos with pratfalls. In class, he challenged all his students with innovative assignments while helping each one find their artistic voice.”

Louis BayardBestselling novelist; now playwright!

"He definitely lifted my work"

“I was a first-time playwright, and Austin read my maiden effort with such sympathy, such insight and such constructive candor that I felt as if a whole semester’s worth of playwriting classes had been condensed into a few email exchanges. He definitely lifted my work to the next level, and I know he could do the same with any other aspiring playwright.”

(selected works)
COURTING MR. LINCOLN
MR. TIMOTHY
THE PALE BLUE EYE
ROOSEVELT’S BEAST

Elise DixonActor; Beatrice in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Pacific University

"Working with him is FUN!"

“Austin has the uncanny ability to get to the heart of a text and helps you, the actor, do the same. My short time working with him equipped me with tools to better understand myself, my work, and Shakespeare, and I’ve used what I learned with him in every project since. Also, he’s delightful! Working with him is FUN!”

(selected roles)
Beatrice, MUCH ADO
Pheobe/Adam, AS YOU LIKE IT
Helena, MIDSUMMER
Anne Page, MERRY WIVES