the hidden room presents: the Taming of the Shrew - Original Practices directed by beth burns  april 30th – may 23rd fridays and saturdays at 8pm sundays at 5pm - in a hidden room somewhere in downtown Austin -
Break ground with Austin’s first Original Practices Shakespearean production… Shakespeare’s fiery masterpiece is performed by an all-male cast,with live musicians on period instruments, and exquisite costumes built with attention to period detail. The Taming of the Shrew is performed with the quick, muscular textual delivery andexuberant character-driven style of the Elizabethans, by accomplished classical actors.
The artists for the Taming of the Shrew come from such noted organizations as theSteppenwolf Theatre Company, Rude Mechanicals, Bedlam Faction, The Groundlings, Second City, Penfold Theatre Company, Austin Shakespeare, the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art, and more.
Please contact the Matriarch for your reservations, as well as the secret location and password for admittance.
the matriarch (310) 243-6426 View beautiful high resolution photographs here… all photos by Kimberley Mead
Who is in the Hidden Room? The Hidden Room is a group of actors, artists, and alchemists who have individually produced theatre all over the world. We have joined together out of shared respect and a compulsion to create extraordinary work. We do not stay in one place long. The Hidden Room’s spaces are transitory, not only from production to production, but from show to show. One must search to find. Members of the Hidden Room Society are granted special access to events, creations, and secret happenings. Investigate, participate, and you shall be rewarded. What is “Original Practices?” Original Practices or “OP” productions strive to recreate the playing circumstances that existed when a play was first performed. We have found that using original practice solves textual problems and clarifies audience understanding far more than the ever-popular modernization approach achieves.
How is the Hidden Room achieving this work? We are grateful for the revolutionary OP work embarked upon by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre while under former artistic director Mark Rylance. Globe Education has been extremely generous in sharing their knowledge from those years of OP focus, and we have done our best to learn from them. We are also relying upon the renowned scholarship of Andrew Gurr, and the current work by the American Shakespeare Center. The Hidden Room has associations with actors at both the RSC and the Globe, and some of the world’s most renowned Shakespearean scholars. Our actors are all thoroughly trained in the rising iambic technique of textual delivery, and enjoy many hours of rigorous textual analysis. Our costumes, make-up, and props are being created using period appropriate materials and methods whenever possible. Music is pulled from extant sources and played on Renaissance instruments. Universal lighting illuminates our space, connecting play and audience. We have found this style, which we believe to be much like Shakespeare’s own, to be revelatory and we are eager to share our discoveries with you. | 
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