Do you remember this three person acting troupe in the Bay Area, c 2006?
November 23, 2015 3:54 PM Subscribe
Super vagueness coming up but would be so worth it if anyone knew the answer.
About 10(?) years ago, my husband took me to see a production of Shakespeare's Richard III, in Oakland. The troupe - or possibly just the way was written? - had only 3 actors, who did all the different characters. The actor who played Richard was a black man.
That's all I got. I think, but am not sure, that at least one of the other performers was a woman.
This production was so amazing. Thing is, I generally hate sitting through plays, including (but not limited to!) Shakespeare. But this was so incredibly well done that I enjoyed every minute. I would love to see if the troupe is still around, or if any of the actors are still performing somewhere nearby.
Anyone know what I'm talking about? Long shot, I know.
That's all I got. I think, but am not sure, that at least one of the other performers was a woman.
This production was so amazing. Thing is, I generally hate sitting through plays, including (but not limited to!) Shakespeare. But this was so incredibly well done that I enjoyed every minute. I would love to see if the troupe is still around, or if any of the actors are still performing somewhere nearby.
Anyone know what I'm talking about? Long shot, I know.
Upon further research, the Cal Shakes production had a bigger cast, so probably not that.
posted by zachlipton at 4:33 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by zachlipton at 4:33 PM on November 23, 2015
I saw a group like this back in 1993 when I was in college. They did Much Ado About Nothing with only three actors. Some research shows that the company I saw was called ACTER, which is now Actors From the London Stage. Does anything about that look familiar?
posted by MsMolly at 4:51 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by MsMolly at 4:51 PM on November 23, 2015
Any chance it was the Reduced Shakespeare Company?
posted by doteatop at 5:02 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by doteatop at 5:02 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Shotgun Players performed Richard III with 10 actors and a bare minimum of everything:
'When the Shotgun Players staged Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” about England’s bloody War of the Roses, they did it without Elizabethan costumes, stage props, elaborate sets, or even seats for the playgoers. Makeshift propane lamps lit the stage – a windy parking lot at King Middle School in North Berkeley. Audience members perched on plastic, five-gallon buckets or tried to get comfortable on the concrete for the nearly three-hour production. Actors wore a random assortment of street clothes, which the audience had been asked to bring with them (the costume designer had eloped and disappeared the week before).'
posted by zippy at 5:22 PM on November 23, 2015
'When the Shotgun Players staged Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” about England’s bloody War of the Roses, they did it without Elizabethan costumes, stage props, elaborate sets, or even seats for the playgoers. Makeshift propane lamps lit the stage – a windy parking lot at King Middle School in North Berkeley. Audience members perched on plastic, five-gallon buckets or tried to get comfortable on the concrete for the nearly three-hour production. Actors wore a random assortment of street clothes, which the audience had been asked to bring with them (the costume designer had eloped and disappeared the week before).'
posted by zippy at 5:22 PM on November 23, 2015
Response by poster: A friend of mine was in Shotgun Players, it definitely wasn't them; small world though. Not Reduced Shakespeare because they're funny, right? ACTER... maybe... will look more thoroughly. It was so long ago, but oh, it was so good! And I've hated every play I've tried to see since; this troupe was something really special.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:03 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:03 PM on November 23, 2015
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posted by zachlipton at 4:20 PM on November 23, 2015