Bowls with the Bard is excited to announce the United State's first ever stoned Shakespeare experience! September 21=24 we will be producing A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Coffee Joint in Denver. Actors and audience alike will be allowed to indulge in marijuana during the show. Check out the Coffee Joint here: https://thecoffeejointco.com/Donate to our production of Midsummer: https://gofund.me/9bf72345
Is all’s well that ends well? This week Karen Shantz and Jackie Madejski try to untangle the tricky web that is All’s Well That Ends Well. Karen Shantz (she/her) is a writer and performer in Los Angeles. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre from The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America, and has also studied at the Second City Chicago Conservatory and Sketch Programs, and at The London Dramatic Academy. When not writing or performing, she’s probably knitting matching sweaters for herself and her 9 year old rescue dog, Penny. Catch her performing every third Wednesday of the month with her house sketch team, Night Coffee, at the Pack Theatre in Hollywood. Connect with Karen on all platforms @karen_shantzLunaris Podcast: @lunarispodcast on InstagramJackie Madejski (she/her/hers) is an actor, singer, dancer, puppeteer, and all-around swell gal. A proud Western New Yorker (go Bills) currently living in the DC area, Jackie has performed in plays, musicals, immersive theater, puppet shows, and of course Shakespeare. You can find Jackie on TikTok (@jdayskee) performing with an ever-growing cast of puppets (most of which were gifts from Cakes.) When not running between in front of her laptop, in-person rehearsals, and her spare bedroom filled with puppets, Jackie enjoys tuning out the world by listening to music and podcasts with her noise canceling headphones (much to her partner’s chagrin).Follow Jackie on Social Media: @jdayskee (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube)website: www.jackiemadejski.comBowls with the Bard: Insta: @stonedshakespeare TikTok: @BowlswiththeBard Facebook: Bowls with the Bard Twitter: @stonedshakespea Art by Lizzy Colandene Music by Constantino Fernandez Sound by Jonathan Miot Podcast by Micaela Mannix
The Merchant of Venice is officially categorized as a problem play… and boy does it present problems. This week we go down the habit hole that is the Merchant of Venice with Terry Burnsed and Stephen Reinstein.Terry Burnsed (He/Him/His) has been acting in Denver and environs for over four decades. He has a Masters and a PhD from CU Boulder, and served as Dramaturg for (the now defunct) CityStage ["CityStage" is one word here] Ensemble in the 1990s. CSE produced his first play The Heretic's Wake in 1990. He is currently at work on another tentatively titled Bloodthirsty Savages. He has taught theatre at MSU Denver, UC Denver, CCD, CC Aurora, and Front Range CC. Favorite roles include Roy Cohn and Prelapsarianov in Angels in America, Cusins in Major Barbara, King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Leopold Bloom in Chapter 15, Eddie in Hurlyburly, Salieri in Amadeus, Joseph Surface in The School for Scandal, and Feste and Malvoloio in Twelfth Night.Stephen Reinstein (he/him) is a Boston-based actor, playwright, novelist, and theatre educator. He has performed with Amazing Mustache Productions and Here Comes Everybody Players (HCE), and traveled to Dublin with HCE in 2014 to perform during the Bloomsday Festival. Since 2011, Stephen has been a teaching artist at Wheelock Family Theatre, where he specializes in playwriting classes. From 2012-2015, he oversaw Wheelock's Emerging Playwrights Program for Boston teens, which he also co-founded. In 2019, Stephen took a brief hiatus from his theatre career to focus on parenthood (which also overlapped with surviving a global pandemic). Stephen's favorite Shakespeare play used to be Merchant of Venice but the antisemitism became a bit too hard to ignore, so now it's... let's say Hamlet? (Is that too cliché? I don't know, it's a classic, don't judge me.)Follow Stephen on Twitter @reinfaceBowls with the Bard: Insta: @stonedshakespeare TikTok: @BowlswiththeBard Facebook: Bowls with the Bard Twitter: @stonedshakespea Art by Lizzy Colandene Music by Constantino Fernandez Sound by Jonathan Miot Podcast by Micaela Mannix
The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays... It's also one of his most problematic. This week Renea Brown and Aloha Rasmussen explore what it means to safely and responsibly produce The Tempest in 2023.Renea Brown (she/her) used to hate Shakespeare, so it’s a bit ironic this little black girl from Kentucky, turned into a broadsword-wielding-elizabethan-dancing-classical-actor. She also twerks and uses Megan The Stallions music as a vocal warm up, so you can trust that she's a well rounded human. Renea's favorite play by Billy is Titus Andronicus (fight her), she's played 37 Shakespearean roles, and she's done Macbeth 5 times. If Renea is not on stage, she's watching re-runs of The Office, or she's creating Shakespeare themed gift boxes for her company called Box o’th Bard!Follow Renea on IG & TikTok: @TherealdarkladySee Renea in the Legend of Georgia McBride in Arizona Theatre Company: https://atc.org/show/the-legend-of-georgia-mcbride/Logan UhiwaiO’Alohamailani Rasmussen (she/her) is a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) Chicago-based actor passionate about environmental conservation, community engagement and her indigenous culture. You can call her Aloha! She holds a BFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and is represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent, Inc. Recent Chicago credits include Babes with Blades Theatre Company (Richard III), and Theatre Evolve (Krugozor). Regionally she has worked with Great River Shakespeare Festival and Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. Coming up next, Aloha will be performing in Midsommer Flight’s production of Cymbeline, touring parks around Chicago. You can also catch her in an Animal Spotlight, or come along for a tour at Shedd Aquarium!Follow Aloha on IG: @aloha.rasmussenSee Aloha in Cymbeline: https://midsommerflight.com/cymbeline-summer-2023/Bowls with the Bard:Insta: @stonedshakespeareTikTok: @BowlswiththeBardFacebook: Bowls with the BardTwitter: @stonedshakespeaArt by Lizzy ColandeneMusic by Constantino FernandezSound by Jonathan MiotPodcast by Micaela Mannix
Never heard of Troilus and Cressida? You’re probably not alone! This week Stephanie Crugnola and B talk up this lesser known Shakespeare gem. Stephanie Crugnola (she/her) is a Jack of all trades and Master of Early Modern English Literature. Shakespeare is her passion, her boyfriend, her degree credentials, and her main podcast - Protest too Much, but there is so much more in the world of wholesome niche nerd chaos content that she loves! She has a D&D podcast - Adventure Incorporated, a soccer podcast - Swoontower Soccer, a chat stream - inADDition, and absolutely no time to start something else (just kidding, follow @crugglez to see what pops up next)! Her favorite Shakespeare play is Cymbeline because she thrive on chaos and being extra.Follow Steph & Protest Too MuchInsta, TikTok, Twitter: @p2mpodWalking Shadow Shakespeare: http://www.walkingshadowshakespeare.com/B (he/him) is a director and teacher based in the Baltimore area. He’s directed about half the Shakespeare canon and is starting a new podcast called The Shakespeare Cannon. He’s the founder of the Susquehanna Shakespeare Ensemble. Follow @ShakesCannon on twitter for information on the upcoming workBowls with the Bard:Insta: @stonedshakespeareTikTok: @BowlswiththeBardFacebook: Bowls with the BardTwitter: @stonedshakespeaArt by Lizzy ColandeneMusic by Constantino FernandezSound by Jonathan MiotPodcast by Micaela Mannix