<p>In this episode, we’re talking with Austin Tichenor, co-Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and longtime actor, author, podcaster, and Folger Shakespeare Library blogger. Austin takes us back to the early Renaissance Faire days of the RSC, and tells us about the Company’s experiences reducing other Great Works and Notable Events—from being banned in Belfast for their Bible play to revising their “Compete History of America (Abridged)” to meet our current political moment.</p>

“Think me not vain for writing my life”

Hosts Caroline Bicks and Michelle Ephraim are Shakespeare professors and close friends who love to bond over the ways Shakespeare’s plays help them through their everyday dramas.  

In each episode, they go back to Shakespeare’s day to bring you some funny, fresh insights into a pressing modern problem. They’ll explore popular Renaissance writings – from parenting books to cosmetics manuals – and, of course, plays – and talk about their uncanny connections to our everyday struggles. Whether you’re dealing with an aging libido, a pandemic, or a dysfunctional family gathering, you’ll feel a little bit better when Bard meets life.

Caroline is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, and Michelle is Professor of English at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They've shared their unique brand of Bard-meets-life humor everywhere from the New York Times and the Moth Radio Hour to McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and are the co-authors of Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas. 

Who says an English major is useless?



"The Everyday Shakespeare Podcast" is produced by Jill Ruby.