Episode 6: Shakespeare and the Arts during the time of Plague and War

TheatreComedy

Apr 13

Austin Tichenor loves his work, and it certainly comes through when you speak to him. He's funny, "I've always loved telling stories...and I have an irreverent sense of humor." He also lives in dread of taking himself too seriously. The arts tend to foster that, but he avoids it like the plague.

He says he's forever grateful to his father for telling that he would "hate law school" and that he shouldn't go. So he went into theatre, acting, and writing instead. He's been with the Reduced Shakespeare Company for 30 years. When asked "Why reduction?" he says it forces you to get to the point, again avoiding "gas bags," and those who take themselves too seriously.

On the arts, Austin says we don't give them enough attention:

"We all draw as kids and we make up stories, but we stop because we think they're not important....We all have the impulse....And we have to craft stories all the time, for dates, for jobs, but we have to tell our story to ourselves first."

Shakespeare, of course knew that, and he crafted stories that speak to us in our divided times, in our fear of plague, and during this time of war. In many ways Shakespeare's work centered on plague: he wrote amidst the plague, in its wake, and in dread of the anticipation of a next plague. In that way he tells stories of losing one's station (pivoting, if you will) and we respond to the existential fears he addresses, asking ourselves "What is normal?"

Nothing is normal about Austin's career, but his love of what he does allows him to suggest that although we often question whether we should be doing something different from what we are doing, particularly during our troubled times, what the arts help us see is that whatever you're doing now is what you're supposed to be doing.

Austin Tichenor is the Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and co-author of nine plays, including William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged), which premiered at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Austin has acted off-Broadway, in London's West End, at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, on PBS with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), with the LA Philharmonic, and in venues around the world.

Austin’s television credits include recurring roles on Alias, Ally McBeal, and Felicity; and guest starring roles on The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, ER, and The X-Files.

He is also the author of the creative illustrated book Pop-Up Shakespeare, the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged), and the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly for the Better). And Austin produces and hosts the weekly Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.

Below, Austin has a lot for us to enjoy!

William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged)