The Rude Mechanicals, one of AU’s two student-run theatre organizations, has assembled a healthy slate of shows for its fall schedule, including a classic tragedy with a modernized twist and a celebration of Shakespeare’s most piercing insults.
The Rudes, as they often call themselves, focus primarily on producing Shakespeare-inspired plays, with some forays into classically inspired works like Greek myths.
School of Public Affairs senior Caitlyn Wan will be this year’s executive director said the group’s goal is to update Shakespeare’s classic stories for greater appeal to a modern sensibility.
“Even though we are Shakespeare focused we have some variety in what we do,” she said.
Each year, the Rudes puts on a non-Shakespearean holiday show, often coupled with a charity effort.
Here’s a look at the Rudes’ fall season:
The Annual Shakespeare Variety Show: Shakespeare’s Insults
Performances: Oct. 3-5
Auditions: Sept. 4, 7-11 p.m.
Directors: College of Arts and Sciences junior Carson Bear, School of International Service and CAS sophomore Sakari Ishetiar, School of Communication and CAS sophomore Ryan Mays, SIS and SPA sophomore Lucette Moran, SOC sophomore Sarah Voelker
Members of the Rudes voted on a theme for this series, which will be short scenes from several of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. After deciding on “Shakespeare’s Insults,” the Executive Board pored over five proposals from students who wanted to direct a scene that fit this theme, ultimately accepting all of them.
The show will feature scenes from “Henry V,” “Measure for Measure,” “Titus Andronicus,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and “King Lear.”
Othello
Performances: Nov. 21-23
Auditions: Oct. 8, 7-11 p.m.
Director: SOC senior Neil Denninger
Whether you dutifully read “Othello” in high school or have a lifelong passion for this dramatic play, you’ll notice some departures from the original text.
This version of “Othello” takes place in 1960s corporate America, with Othello the Midwestern upstart adrift in the overwhelming business world.
“We’re going for a ‘Mad Men’, Hitchcock vibe,” Wan said.
The Rudes’ “Othello” will also clarify Iago’s motivations, often cloudy by design in other iterations of the classic tragedy.
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues
Performances: Dec. 5-7
Auditions: Nov. 4, 7-11 p.m.
Author: Jess Goode
Director: SPA senior Caitlyn Wan
Despite the holiday-themed title and the timing on the schedule, Wan said this show is decidedly different from traditional holiday fare. An allegorical show filled with social commentary, “The Eight” follows a group of eight reindeer who each have a different take on the rape that serves as the show’s inciting incident. Yet another twist? The alleged rapist is none other than Kris Kingle himself.
Wan said the plays touches on race, harassment, gender discrimination, power dynamics, homophobia, feminism and political activism.
The Rudes have strategically scheduled this show to draw an audience who might normally be turned off by the Shakespeare of it all. Wan said she also hopes the show will attract AU’s socially conscious student body to experience an unusual drama.
