OCU School of Theatre students earned high praise in Scotland at the famed Edinburg Festival Fringe with a must-see production of 鈥�Bad Shakespeare,鈥� an inventive theatrical examination of some of the playwright鈥檚 most iconic villains.
Compiled and directed by OCU acting professor and head of performance, D. Lance Marsh, 鈥淏ad Shakespeare鈥� examines the humanity of a variety of Shakespearean 鈥渂ad guys鈥� 鈥� from marquee names like Iago and Lady Macbeth to lesser-known scoundrels like Aaron of Titus Andronicus. Marsh and the company of 16 students (two separate casts of eight) collaborated to create a unique theatrical experience that combined the linguistic virtuosity of the bard鈥檚 timeless monologues with a witty infusion of contemporary commentary.
In her four-star review published on the website, Rachel Davies said of the show, 鈥淭he stark contrast between Shakespearean English in the monologues and Gen Z slang-fuelled [sic]asides in between makes for a charmingly self-deprecating show, with the performers not afraid to poke fun at their own characters and ideas.鈥�
TheatreOCU鈥檚 production of 鈥淏ad Shakespeare鈥� concluded a faculty-led summer study abroad trip headed by Marsh. The collection of students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, studied performance 鈥� in Europe.
鈥淚 believe that training student artists means exposing students to a whole world of possibilities, which includes the opportunity to study abroad, so in the last two years we have been to Rome, London, Beijing, and next summer in Cyprus. As we like to say, at TheatreOCU, all the world is your stage,鈥� Marsh said.
鈥淏ad Shakespeare,鈥� performed at Greenside @ Riddles Court in Thistle Theatre, was well received by festival audiences. Andrew Girdwood, whose review of the production was featured on the website, commented, 鈥淚鈥檝e seen over a dozen shows in this year鈥檚 festival season, and 鈥楤ad Shakespeare鈥� currently holds the record for best audience reactions. There were whoops and hollas.鈥�
Established in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world鈥檚 largest performance arts festival with the 2024 event issuing 2.6 million tickets to 3,300 different shows by artists representing 60 countries in more than 250 venues over the span of 25 days. With such a large number of productions available, the reception to 鈥淏ad Shakespeare鈥� is all the more impressive.
As Davies stated in her review: 鈥淔or 鈥榖ardolators,鈥� is a must. If you鈥檝e never watched Shakespeare before, this is an excellent gateway into understanding more of the bard鈥檚 work 鈥� and having a great time while doing it.鈥�
Seniors Jordan Smith and Erica Heiselman were two of the 16 students attending from OCU. They echoed Marsh鈥檚 commendation of such travelling learning experiences.
During their month-long trip they got to see historical places 鈥� theatrical and otherwise, mingle with fellow artists and of course, see show after show after show. The festival schedule features a full range of productions, from free or pay-what-you-can one-person shows to mega productions like Cirque de Soleil. There鈥檚 also a large variety of genres available including stand-up comedy, acrobatics and musicals. All of it is connected to a smartphone app to make it easy and efficient to plan a festival visit.
鈥淎 majority of the productions run about 50 minutes long, so you can catch a lot in a day,鈥� Heiselman said. 鈥淪ome were portions of new shows being workshopped or experimental productions making their debut.鈥�
The two OCU casts alternated performances, giving the 鈥渙ff-duty鈥� cast a chance to take in another show, distribute flyers promoting their 鈥淏ad Shakespeare,鈥� or take in some sightseeing around Edinburg.
Prior to the festival, the students experienced the theater-rich city of London. Marsh headed up the logistics, including greeting the students as they arrived at Heathrow Airport and leading them to their temporary accommodations in the dorms of the University of London. The casts came off-book ready and spent several days rehearsing together at UL鈥檚 Goldsmiths. Marsh also designed a scavenger hunt around London so the students, independently or in smaller groups, could visit significant sites like Big Ben and the British Museum.
As a bonus, the OCU students were treated to a production of 鈥淢uch Ado about Nothing鈥� at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe Theatre, standing so close they were using the stage as an armrest. They also travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon to see Shakespeare鈥檚 birthplace, grave and 鈥淭he Merry Wives of Windsor鈥� at the famed Royal Shakespeare Company.
Smith said they enjoyed making connections with fellow stage actors from all over the world. They shared the Greenside venue building with a one-man show from England, who created a naturalistic piece about James Bond reconnecting with his father in the aptly named 鈥淏onding.鈥� They got to know a group of theater majors from Canada鈥檚 York University, who were staging 鈥淩otting of Girlhood鈥� with writer and director Payton Oswald at the festival.
They also enjoyed discovering new and interesting productions they would otherwise have never found. One such standout for Smith was 鈥淐ount to Five鈥� by Zamalisa, an exploration of five images of female rage.
鈥淭he festival atmosphere was so much fun to be part of,鈥� she said. 鈥淪eeing show posters all over the city and street performers everywhere, it was such a great experience.鈥�
The following OCU students performed at the Edinburg Festival Fringe
Blue Cast:
Olivia Akers*
Ezra Moore
Jane Ahn
Kaitlyn Johnson*
Lauren Rogers
Sydney Preskitt*
Ariana Sofia*
Peyton Woolf *
White Cast:
Cami Kristoff*
Austin Vinall*
Liana Paglia
Megan Gosse*
Sofia Zafaridas*
Michael Marinello
Jordan Smith*
Erica Heiselman*
* Denotes Theatre majors
