The text has been chosen and cut, the actors given their parts, the play is rehearsed, and there's only one element missing: the audience. Nova Myhill, KP Powell, and Lia Wallace join us to discuss why the audience is perhaps the most crucial ingredient in the recipe of live performance, especially during a directorless Ren Season at the ASC.

Want to learn more? Read this blog post about how eye contact between actors and audiences generates empathy.

Got comments or questions? Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

What is it really like in a "ren" rehearsal room? How is that different from the way early modern plays portray "rehearsal"? Does rehearsal every really end? Scholar Richard Preiss and ASC favorites Sarah Fallon and Brandon Carter do a deep dive into the art of rehearsing.

Want to learn more? See our blogs on Open Rehearsals and Dress rehearsals.

Got comments or questions? Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

This week scholar Sarah Dustagheer, actor-scholar Bob Jones, and Sarah Enloe, ASC's former Director of Education, join us to discuss the multifaceted world of "original practices" and which of them ASC actor's embrace (and some we don't).

Got comments or questions? Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

Dr. Roslyn Knutson and actors Tyler Moss and Chris Johnston explore the limitations of what historical records can actually tell us about early modern playing companies, what scholars can only guess at, and what today's theatre professionals know to be true about repertory and the collaborative nature of their profession.

Want to learn more? See our blog on Collaboration and Companies.

Got comments or questions? Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

What do director-less actors do with their scripts once parts are distributed? How did Shakespeare’s actors negotiate lines and staging? How do ASC actors - veterans and newcomers to our stage - work through that process now? Ben Blyth, John Harrell and Meme García have a spirited conversation about what it takes to translate a work from page to stage.

Want to learn more? See our blog on Cutting and Line Negotiations. Got comments or questions?

Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

After the text comes the technology of how that text is distributed to actors. Scholar Jim Marino and actors Gregory Jon Phelps and John Harrell discuss what has changed (and what has not) in the 400 or so years from Shakespeare’s time to our current Actors' Renaissance Season.

Want to learn more? See our blog on Cue Scripts.

Got comments or questions? Email us at dr.ralphpresents@americanshakespearecenter.com.

This season we’re exploring the question, “What is a ‘Ren’ Season?”. Hear from past and present members of the American Shakespeare Center Company in discussions surrounding how the iconic ASC Actors' Renaissance Season works—

Episode 1:  Join in discussing all things TEXT - scansion, rhetoric, paraphrasing, and stage directions with Dr. Ralph Cohen, James Keegan, John Harrell, and Zoe Speas!

And now the thrilling conclusion of the first table read of Henry V!