Shakespeare Saturdays Taming of the Shrew

Directed by Kate Konigisor

November 10, 2007

Kesh Baggan

as BAPTISTA / LORD

Monisha Chowdhary

as HORTENSIO

Megan Cooper

as HOSTESS / MESSENGER / PETER / SERVANT / TAILOR / WIDOW

David Thomas Crowe

as CHIRSTOPHER SLY / CURTIS / HABERDASHER / VINCENTIO

Rainbow Dickerson

as KATHERINA / DOG

Margaret Ying Drake

as BIANCA / DOG / PLAYER

Philippe Garcesto

as TRANIO / PLAYER / SERVANT

Carlos Gomez-Marquez

as LUCENTIO / HUNTSMAN

Franz Hewitt

as GREMIO / DOG / PLAYER

Catherine Leong

as BIONDELLO / NICHOLAS / SERVANT

Lawrence Lesher

as PETRUCHIO / PAGE

James McKnight

as NATHANIEL / PEDANT

Brendan Rothman-Hicks

as GRUMIO / HUNTSMAN

Kate Konigisor

Director

Of course this is the play that makes feminists crazy. And I'm a feminist. But I love this play. I love it because I think the relationship between Kate and Petruchio is so much more complex than just he-dominates-her-and-turns-her-into-the-traditional-submissive wife. If the play is portrayed with only that surface element, it fails on every level.

Is Kate a strong and outspoken woman? You bet. Is Petruchio mercenary and a bit arrogant? Most assuredly. But in their journey together, the whole turns out to be much stronger than the separate parts. Both Kate and Petruchio learn something from one and other that changes who they are at their very core. And each, at the end, is a better and happier person.

This play is a love story. And Kate and Petruchio are one of the great, loving couples of all time. At the end.

I have very definite ideas about how all this comes about. I am looking for actors who are in for the journey of making that clear to an audience.

I need a cast of actors who understand that human relationships are complex and that humans are wonderful and deeply flawed. I need actors who know how to make that believable, interesting, and here's the hard part.... funny.

The main story may be Kate and Petruchio's, but Bianca and Lucentio also offer their questions to be asked and answered. Is the "traditional" woman really more desirable? Will she really make a better wife? Should Lucentio and Hortensio be careful what they wish for?

And while all of the above may be the central questions, one can never forget that the play is a comedy with mistaken identities, disguises, and smart-alecky servants. Every role has its integral place and its moment in the sun.

So come on out and audition for us! We're going to have a blast.