Bring “Red, White & Bard” to your school, theatre, church, or anywhere else

“Red, White & Bard: A Celebration of William Shakespeare in America” is my new one-man show that debuted in April 2018 in Southern California. The show is a culmination of more than two decades of love and appreciation of the Bard–call it the “confessions of a Bardolater.”

For the past eight years, I’ve acted in many of Shakespeare’s plays and taught his works as a teaching artist in Southern California and elsewhere. In 2016, I gave a TED Talk that outlined some of what I’ve tried to accomplish in the classroom. This year, I turned my experiences as a teacher and actor into a show that would highlight the Bard’s prominent role in the United States. With the help of a slideshow and props, I bring in elements of popular culture (Lion King, Frederick Douglass, Keanu Reeves, stuffed animals, and Independence Day, among others) and encourage audience participation, besides reciting several of the famous speeches. The show entertains first and educates second through a joyous survey of Shakespeare in America.

While I’ve performed for elementary school children, my ideal audience is teens and adults. However, performances can be tailored to suit the needs of a specific audience.

Please contact me to see if “Red, White & Bard” is a show you’d like to see in a theatre or school near you!

Author: admin

Rob Crisell is an author, actor, teacher, and Shakespearean in Temecula, CA. He teaches poetry and Shakespeare with the Murrieta Valley Union School District as part of its Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program. He is a Shakespeare lecturer with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He has acted in The Merchant of Venice, Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Baskerville, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest (Prospero), Macbeth, Othello (Iago), and others. Over the quarantine, he has acted in Much Ado About Nothing and Merry Wives of Windsor (with Nathan Agin’s “A Working Actor’s Journey production) and King Lear (Quarantine Players). He has written and performed several one-man plays featuring Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Shakespeare in America. He’s the author of Shakespeare’s Book of Wisdom: Advice on Living a Wiser, Happier Life from William Shakespeare & Friends (DePortola Press 2018). His 2016 TED Talk is “How NOT to Hate Shakespeare.” His verse adaptation of Sophocles’ Electra will be produced by Full Circle Players in Riverside, California in October 2020. He is a graduate of Yale University and George Mason University Law School. For details, visit www.robcrisell.com or www.facebook/robcrisellactor/.