The Taming of the Shrew
Played The Gladstone Theatre - April 19 - May 4, 2013
In April/May of 2013 Bear & Co. presented William Shakespeare's most outrageous comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Eleanor Crowder with music direction by Rachel Eugster.
The all-male cast featured Scott Florence, Nicholas Amott, Chris Bedford, Brie Barker, Guy Buller, Jim Murchison, Scott Humphrey and Tim Oberholzer.
The show was well received by Gladstone audiences and was seen by over 2000 patrons over the course of the 18 show run.
Bear & Co. thanks The Gladstone Theatre and its' patrons, and its' Bear Cares community partners for helping make our first production as part of the Gladstone Theatre's season programming a successful one.
The all-male cast featured Scott Florence, Nicholas Amott, Chris Bedford, Brie Barker, Guy Buller, Jim Murchison, Scott Humphrey and Tim Oberholzer.
The show was well received by Gladstone audiences and was seen by over 2000 patrons over the course of the 18 show run.
Bear & Co. thanks The Gladstone Theatre and its' patrons, and its' Bear Cares community partners for helping make our first production as part of the Gladstone Theatre's season programming a successful one.
Taming Of The Shrew Production Photos
Photos Courtesy of Andrew Alexander
The Reviews
Matthew Blenkarn, The Centretown News
Bear & Co.’s production of The Taming of the Shrew opens the way you’d expect a modern staging of a Shakespearean play to. Actors in tights, capes and frilly shirts bounce pithy lines off one another while giving the audience the necessary exposition.
Then, with a crash, Nicholas Amott, playing the heroine Kate, drunkenly staggers through the audience, before being thrown into a dress and shoved onto the stage. It’s an eye-grabbing opening, and one that unexpectedly sets the tone of the light and breezy production. (...read more)
Valerie Cardinal, The Charlebois Post
This is probably one of the more authentic stagings of Shakespeare I’ve seen. As in the 16th century, the cast is all male. Unlike that time, the director is a woman. Although I have certain qualms about Shakespeare’s script, Eleanor Crowder brings in a female perspective that is evident in how the material is dealt with. Taming of the Shrew centres on two sisters, the sweet and beautiful Bianca and the shrewish Kate. Their father decrees that Kate must be married before Bianca in order to fend off the younger daughter’s suitors. These suitors gather together to pay the visiting Petruchio to marry Kate – if he can tame her. Of course, since this is Shakespeare, mistaken identities and shenanigans ensue. (...read more)
Patrick Langston, Capital Critics Circle
Why do Shakespeare straight if you can spoof it? That’s the approach director Eleanor Crowder has taken with her all-male production of this early Shakespeare comedy. Problem is, while the show is often entertaining, it ultimately can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be a spoof, a comedic love story, a post-feminist broadside or some combination of all three. (... read more)
Kevin Reid, The Visitorium
Last Friday I caught the premiere of Bear and Company’s very first Gladstone Theatre production, Billy Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, just in time for his birthday. Now, Bear and Co. (and show director Eleanor Crowder) know them some Shakespeare, so I was fairly sure I was in for a good time with this’un. And I’d never even seen SHREW before, so it was a bit of a Shakespeare newbie for me, always fun. The action got started right out in the lobby, as the all-male cast (yes, folks, men in drag for this production…a cheap gag, admittedly, but it still works) rattled off a tune or two on the Gladstone Piano, and maybe caused a little trouble among the crowd. This was a nice touch, and not entirely unexpected…Crowder seems to enjoy treating the stage as more of a suggestion than anything else, and once the show got underway there was still plenty of action in the aisles and wings to enjoy. (... read more)
Alvina Ruprecht, Capital Critics Circle
...Whatever it may be, this version of The Taming of the Shrew has moments of great fun, it also has real weaknesses but it seems clear that the company must decide what they are trying to be, and I hope it is not another Company of Fools because there is already one in Ottawa. We want something new. What are they proposing then? No doubt, if Bear & Co. keeps searching, it will soon find its own language. (...read more)
The Cast
Scott Florence* - Petruchio
Scott Florence is the artistic director of a Company of Fools, an Ottawa-based Shakespeare and physical theatre ensemble. He works as an actor, clown, director, creator, teacher, and mask maker all across North America—his clown work has also brought him to China!
As an actor and clown, Scott has worked with a Company of Fools, Caravan Tall Ship Theatre, Eddie May Mysteries, Metaphysical Theatre, National Arts Centre, Odyssey Theatre, and SevenThirty Productions. As a director, he has worked with a Company of Fools, University of Ottawa, Arts Court Foundation, and Algonquin College.
Scott teaches workshops all across North America for groups like the Vancouver International Improv Festival and the Moncton Comedy Festival, and at the University of Regina. His masks have been purchased and worn by a Company of Fools, Odyssey Theatre, and Algonquin College, and he has taught mask making to all ages from 6 to 60.
Scott is an associate professor at Algonquin College and a resident trainer with the Canadian Improv Games. He sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Improv Games and the Algonquin College Theatre Arts Advisory Board. He is also a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher.
As an actor and clown, Scott has worked with a Company of Fools, Caravan Tall Ship Theatre, Eddie May Mysteries, Metaphysical Theatre, National Arts Centre, Odyssey Theatre, and SevenThirty Productions. As a director, he has worked with a Company of Fools, University of Ottawa, Arts Court Foundation, and Algonquin College.
Scott teaches workshops all across North America for groups like the Vancouver International Improv Festival and the Moncton Comedy Festival, and at the University of Regina. His masks have been purchased and worn by a Company of Fools, Odyssey Theatre, and Algonquin College, and he has taught mask making to all ages from 6 to 60.
Scott is an associate professor at Algonquin College and a resident trainer with the Canadian Improv Games. He sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Improv Games and the Algonquin College Theatre Arts Advisory Board. He is also a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher.
Nicholas Amott - Kate
A graduate of the University of Ottawa, specializing in theatre, Nicholas was born and raised in this merry old Land of O-Town. Previous acting credits include Joey Piro in The Curse of the Pekanese Peregrine and Finn Studson in Murder in the 1st deGlee (Eddie May Murder Mysteries), and Macbeth (Sock ’n’ Buskin’).
The Taming of the Shrew is Nick’s third venture with Bear & Co., as he appeared this past summer as Charles in Bear’s parks tour of As You Like It, and as Grimaldi in ’Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. The lad is thrilled and honored to have this opportunity now, as Bear & Co makes their Gladstone debut, and he makes his own.
Nick is Artistic Director of FireFlood Theatre, and shall be performing in its newest production at the upcoming Ottawa Fringe Festival (The Fight, a combat-heavy, post-apoc collaboration) alongside co-creator Brennan Richardson.
The Taming of the Shrew is Nick’s third venture with Bear & Co., as he appeared this past summer as Charles in Bear’s parks tour of As You Like It, and as Grimaldi in ’Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. The lad is thrilled and honored to have this opportunity now, as Bear & Co makes their Gladstone debut, and he makes his own.
Nick is Artistic Director of FireFlood Theatre, and shall be performing in its newest production at the upcoming Ottawa Fringe Festival (The Fight, a combat-heavy, post-apoc collaboration) alongside co-creator Brennan Richardson.
Brie Barker* - Baptista / Curtis
Since moving to Ottawa in 2008, Brie has played the role of Florio in ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (Bear & Co.), Peter in the 2012 version of The Walk (Moondog Theatre), and Howie in Rabbit Hole (Gladstone Theatre). He also had a lead role in The Phoenix, by Ottawa filmmaker Carmello Zucco. Brie is Artistic Director of Peace Tower Playback Theatre (www.peacetowerplayback.ca), and has been a faculty member of the Ottawa Theatre School and an instructor with the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama. Brie currently designs and delivers learning and development programs for clients in government, business, and non-profit organizations through his company Creative Presence (www.creativepresence.ca). Brie attended Queen’s University and Ryerson Theatre School, and holds a B.A. in Creative Arts/Theatre from York University.
Guy Buller* - Hortensio / The Pedant
Guy is very pleased to be a part of this production of The Taming of the Shrew, and to be working with a great cast and crew. Past acting credits include The Man in The Walk by Moon Dog Productions, Iago with Salamander Shakespeare Company's production of Othello, and Jimmy in the Ottawa Fringe production of Who You Callin' Sweetheart? Guy has continued to develop as an artist and a writer with training in Toronto, Montreal, and New York over the past year, and through recent forays into the world of directing. Much thanks to his co-workers, friends, and family for their support in all of these endeavours. Your love and understanding is greatly appreciated.
Jim Murchison* - Gremio / Vincentio
Jim is editor-in-chief, a critic, and a writer for the Charlebois Post.
In his previous life, he was an actor in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Although he performed in commercials and film up to 2000, his last professional stage appearance in Ottawa was in the Oresteia of Aeschylus, when he was a member of the NAC resident company as a journeyman. The previous year, he performed as a guest artist at the NAC in Walsh. Other stage appearances were in The Red Peppers in Dorset, Vermont; Jitters at Centaur; The Subject Was Roses at the Phoenix Theatre in Montreal; The Kite for Silver Phoenix Theatre in Toronto, and an Equity Showcase production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Harbourfront Theatre in Toronto.
Film and TV credits include “Crunch,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “The Great Detective,” Rich Little’s “Robin Hood,” and the original “My Bloody Valentine,” the cast of which is still involved in signings at horror conventions.
Jim is more than delighted to return to the theatre in Ottawa with such an excellent team and interesting project.
In his previous life, he was an actor in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Although he performed in commercials and film up to 2000, his last professional stage appearance in Ottawa was in the Oresteia of Aeschylus, when he was a member of the NAC resident company as a journeyman. The previous year, he performed as a guest artist at the NAC in Walsh. Other stage appearances were in The Red Peppers in Dorset, Vermont; Jitters at Centaur; The Subject Was Roses at the Phoenix Theatre in Montreal; The Kite for Silver Phoenix Theatre in Toronto, and an Equity Showcase production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Harbourfront Theatre in Toronto.
Film and TV credits include “Crunch,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “The Great Detective,” Rich Little’s “Robin Hood,” and the original “My Bloody Valentine,” the cast of which is still involved in signings at horror conventions.
Jim is more than delighted to return to the theatre in Ottawa with such an excellent team and interesting project.
Scott Humphrey* - Lucentio
Scott Humphrey is now based in Montreal, but is proud to have grown up in Ottawa. He studied performance at Canterbury Arts High School, followed by Concordia University in Montreal. Last seen in Plosive Productions' Cyrano de Bergerac at the Gladstone in February, 2012, he has since appeared as Gonzalo in The Tempest with Kaleidoscope Theatre, at the Montreal Fringe in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in Incendo Productions' film The Surrogacy Trap, and in an episode of Image Entertainment Corporation's television program “Walter's World.”
Chris Bedford - Bianca / Grumio / Biondello
Tim Oberholzer - Tranio
Tim Oberholzer is an Ottawa-based actor, production manager, theatre technician, and a founding member of the Ottawa-based theatre collective Bear & Co.
Tim has appeared recently in Batboy: The Musical (Blacksheep Theatre); As You Like It and ’Tis Pity She’s A Whore (Bear & Co.); The Communication Cord, I Do Not Like Thee Dr. Fell, and A Flea In Her Ear (Seventhirty Productions); Miracle on 34th Street–The Radio Show, Cyrano De Bergerac, and The Shadow: A Christmas Mysteries Radio Show (Plosive Productions); The Radio Show: It’s A Wonderful Life (Gladstone Productions); Othello (Salamander Shakespeare Co.); The Curse Of The Pekinese Peregrine, Showbiz is Murder, and Murder in the First DeGlee (Eddie May Mysteries); and Tongue and Groove and The Mechanicsville Monologues 2 (Chamber Theatre Hintonburg).
In June, he will debut his first original work, The Vanity Project, at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe Festival, as well as collaborating on a second Fringe project with Bear & Co., and will appear in The Comedy of Errors (Bear & Co.) in July/August.
Tim has appeared recently in Batboy: The Musical (Blacksheep Theatre); As You Like It and ’Tis Pity She’s A Whore (Bear & Co.); The Communication Cord, I Do Not Like Thee Dr. Fell, and A Flea In Her Ear (Seventhirty Productions); Miracle on 34th Street–The Radio Show, Cyrano De Bergerac, and The Shadow: A Christmas Mysteries Radio Show (Plosive Productions); The Radio Show: It’s A Wonderful Life (Gladstone Productions); Othello (Salamander Shakespeare Co.); The Curse Of The Pekinese Peregrine, Showbiz is Murder, and Murder in the First DeGlee (Eddie May Mysteries); and Tongue and Groove and The Mechanicsville Monologues 2 (Chamber Theatre Hintonburg).
In June, he will debut his first original work, The Vanity Project, at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe Festival, as well as collaborating on a second Fringe project with Bear & Co., and will appear in The Comedy of Errors (Bear & Co.) in July/August.
The Production Team
Director - Eleanor Crowder*
Eleanor Crowder is a writer, director and actor. Ottawa audiences remember her Mother Courage for James Richardson and her Shrew for Peter Hinton.
Most of her work tours, playing school gyms, community halls, ruins and glorious found spaces. Her devising and writing runs from first impulse (Family Stories with Kate Grier, coming to a kitchen table near you) to grandscale (The Chinese Bowl, Murder at the Avalon and GleeBE, the Musical). Her most recent play, Momma’s Boy, plays intimacy with big theatre values.
Eleanor recently directed Bear & Co.'s 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, and will return to direct their upcoming production of The Taming Of The Shrew in April/May 2013, and her new play Windfall Jelly at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe Festival. She appeared as twin Dukes in Bear & Co.'s As You Like It and appeared in, wrote and directed Bear & Co.'s Momma's Boy.
The bio: Belfast, Kingston, Calgary, Sudan, Ottawa, experimental theatre, physical theatre, nationalist voices, popular theatre, theatre in education, as many risky experiments as a young family will allow. Outaouais Popular Theatre, theatre in action. Salamander Theatre. Asterisk Rising. And continuing gratitude and respect to my unfurling repertory of actors and co-creators spread across the country.
Most of her work tours, playing school gyms, community halls, ruins and glorious found spaces. Her devising and writing runs from first impulse (Family Stories with Kate Grier, coming to a kitchen table near you) to grandscale (The Chinese Bowl, Murder at the Avalon and GleeBE, the Musical). Her most recent play, Momma’s Boy, plays intimacy with big theatre values.
Eleanor recently directed Bear & Co.'s 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, and will return to direct their upcoming production of The Taming Of The Shrew in April/May 2013, and her new play Windfall Jelly at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe Festival. She appeared as twin Dukes in Bear & Co.'s As You Like It and appeared in, wrote and directed Bear & Co.'s Momma's Boy.
The bio: Belfast, Kingston, Calgary, Sudan, Ottawa, experimental theatre, physical theatre, nationalist voices, popular theatre, theatre in education, as many risky experiments as a young family will allow. Outaouais Popular Theatre, theatre in action. Salamander Theatre. Asterisk Rising. And continuing gratitude and respect to my unfurling repertory of actors and co-creators spread across the country.
Music Director - Rachel Eugster*
An actor and lyric soprano, Rachel Eugster is comfortable in a wide range of musical and theatrical genres. South of the border, she originated leads in a musical comedy adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, the Arthurian drama Avalon; and Conventional Behavior, a send-up of science fiction conventions.
In Ottawa, Rachel has appeared in The Walk (Moon Dog Productions), in Momma’s Boy at the 2011 Fringe Festival, in the Gladstone’s Farndale Christmas Carol, as a Gladstone Sister in Miracle on 24th Street,, and as soprano soloist with various choirs and orchestras. Rachel is interim conductor for Aiyue Choir (the Choral Society of Ottawa’s Chinese Community); has served as music director for Bear & Co., Salamander Shakespeare Co., and GNAG Theatre; and was artist in residence at Parkdale United Church.
Rachel trained with Wayne Conner at the Peabody Conservatory (Master of Music, Applied Voice), and with Mary Burgess at Marlboro College (Honors BA, Music and Theater). She also holds an AFTRA Conservatory Certificate.
To learn more, please visit http://RachelEugster.com/.
In Ottawa, Rachel has appeared in The Walk (Moon Dog Productions), in Momma’s Boy at the 2011 Fringe Festival, in the Gladstone’s Farndale Christmas Carol, as a Gladstone Sister in Miracle on 24th Street,, and as soprano soloist with various choirs and orchestras. Rachel is interim conductor for Aiyue Choir (the Choral Society of Ottawa’s Chinese Community); has served as music director for Bear & Co., Salamander Shakespeare Co., and GNAG Theatre; and was artist in residence at Parkdale United Church.
Rachel trained with Wayne Conner at the Peabody Conservatory (Master of Music, Applied Voice), and with Mary Burgess at Marlboro College (Honors BA, Music and Theater). She also holds an AFTRA Conservatory Certificate.
To learn more, please visit http://RachelEugster.com/.
Stage Manager - Anna Lewis
Anna Lewis hails from Vancouver. She has a BFA from Concordia University, and can be found acting, designing, stage managing, directing and teaching, as opportunities allow. Most recently, she has designed costumes for Absurd Person Singular (SevenThirty Productions), developed The god Monologues for Faith and Arts Ottawa, and performed in Edmond (Chamber Theatre Hintonburg). Catch her in Windfall Jelly at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, and directing Bear & Co.'s summer tour of The Comedy of Errors.
*Bear & Co. engages under the terms of the INDIE 2.0, professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association