Nine Nights of Twelfth Night

Written by TheFaulkner on September 1, 2014 – 8:30 pm -

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This summer I had the pleasure of performing a dream role at the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival. Two summers ago I donned yellow stockings as Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. This summer I strapped on my guitar and played Django-style in a Twelfth Night set in the Roaring 20’s as one of Shakespeare’s most famous fools, Feste.

As a young actor I got to play Fabian in Twelfth Night with at Shakespeare Santa Cruz and watched two masters of the stage tackle the roles of Feste and Malvolio. The production was directed by prolific theater director Tim Ocel and featured the brilliant James Winker as Malvolio and the inimitable, irrepressible James Newcomb as Feste. It was a master class for a young actor. I was bowled over to be in their company back then, and to get to do both roles now in quick succession (and to learn to do tricks with my bowler hat). Yes, I stole from both. But I was able to add a lot thanks to my on-the-job clown training over my past 13 years with the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Here are a few pics from the production. Thanks, Kingsmen Shakespeare, for this midsummer night’s dream. Click to embiggen.


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The Complete History of Comedy (abridged)

Written by TheFaulkner on June 3, 2014 – 9:08 pm -

There’s a new Reduced Shakespeare Company Show. And the Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) (touring this winter – just two performances!) hasn’t even been published yet. I love that my friends and authors at the Reduced have been churning out the shows the past few years… and this one is incredible. They finally tackled a subject close to all of our hearts.

I am blessed to be a part of this company, and was blessed to perform this show for 5 weeks in Massachusetts in May. New England Theater Geek said:

Dominic Conti, Michael Faulkner, and Jerry Kernion form a high-energy three-man team that works seamlessly together to bring the correct amount of yuckle to your chuckle. These extremely talented gentlemen deliver the material with comic dexterity. Zigging and zagging as an unstoppable force, they know exactly when to punch it and exactly when to let it ride on home. They are adept at handling an audience (even when literally handling them).

Seriously. Catch it on tour, whether I’m in that particular performance or not.

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