It's a special one today—a double-bill! Randall Duk Kim and his lifelong professional partner—and wife—Annie Occhiogrosso are one of the great teams of the American theatre. They have worked together their entire professional lives and are dedicated to the classics, and in particular, to the works of William Shakespeare. They, along with their partner Charles Bright, founded American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where Randall and Annie were co-Artistic Directors. Randall has worked as an actor for 50+ years, playing dozens of leading roles all over the country at major theatres. Annie has worked as an actress, director, dramaturg, and teacher.

 

Just a bit of what we cover in this episode with Randall and Annie:

• Not seeing race as any kind of barrier in theatre
• Moving to New York and submitting to every Shakespeare festival
• Why Annie initially despised Randall over his casting in a play
• The ideas and misconceptions behind "classical" and "method" acting
• Starting their own theatre to work on Shakespeare’s First Folio
• How Randall, a lifelong classical actor, ended up in The Matrix

 

And so much more! Plus, we get another mini-Shakespeare master class: Randall and Annie dive into Hamlet’s advice to the Players and share so many wonderful tips and tools!

 

Click here for full show notes and links.

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Hamlet by William Shakespeare

HAMLET (First Folio version)

Speake the Speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you trippingly on the Tongue: But if you mouth it, as many of your Players do, I had as liue the Town-Cryer had spoke my Lines: Nor do not saw the Ayre too much your hand thus, but vse all gently; for in the verie Tor- rent, Tempest, and (as I may say) the Whirle-winde of Passion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that may giue it Smoothnesse. O it offends mee to the Soule, to see a robustious Pery-wig-pated Fellow, teare a Passi- on to tatters, to verie ragges, to split the eares of the Groundlings: who (for the most part) are capeable of nothing, but inexplicable dumbe shewes, & noise: I could haue such a Fellow whipt for o're-doing Termagant: it out- Herod's Herod. Pray you auoid it. Be not too tame neyther: but let your owne Discretion be your Tutor. Sute the Action to the Word, the Word to the Action, with this speciall obseruance: That you ore-stop not the modestie of Nature; for any thing so ouer-done, is frõ the purpose of Playing, whose end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twer the Mirrour vp to Nature; to shew Vertue her owne Feature, Scorne her owne Image, and the verie Age and Bodie of the Time, his forme and pressure. Now, this ouer-done, or come tardie off, though it make the vnskil- full laugh, cannot but make the Iudicious greeue; The censure of the which One, must in your allowance o're- way a whole Theater of Others. Oh, there bee Players that I haue seene Play, and heard others praise, and that highly (not to speake it prophanely) that neyther hauing the accent of Christians, nor the gate of Christian, Pagan, or Norman, haue so strutted and bellowed, that I haue thought some of Natures Iouerney-men had made men, and not made them well, they imitated Humanity so ab- hominably.