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"The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragic al-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited:"

-Hamlet Act II, Scene 2

he Underground Shakespeare Company was founded in January 2001 by Akiva Fox and Nigel Caplan at the University of Pennsylvania. Our mission is to produce high quality, no-nonsense plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We use a variety of approaches to bring the plays alive, and to break down the barriers between actors and audience.

The Underground Shakespeare Company is resident at Harnwell College House, and usually performs in their beautiful Rooftop Lounge. From this comfortable lounge, 25 stories above the ground, the audience is treated to a panoramic view of Philadelphia, helping to create the fun, informal atmosphere which characterizes our group.

The Undergroundlings are a company of players - we have no committees or hierarchies, and we do not distinguish between actors in principal or secondary roles, musicians and techies. We all work together on all aspects of the production, and have a lot of fun in the process. Our philosophy calls for short rehearsal periods which stress the meaning of the text. The result is an authentic, organic performance.

As a company, we choose plays to perform and projects to undertake. We are an amateur student group, and we just want to put on plays that we enjoy preparing and that audiences enjoy watching.


How to get involved

Company auditions for actors, musicians and technical crew will be held before each production, and will announced on this web-site, on email listservs and on posters around the Penn campus. Please check here for details of our next production.

Join our e-mailing list!
If you would like to be added to our electronic mailing list which we will use to announce auditions and performances, please email us at Info@undergroundshakespeare.com

The Underground Shakespeare Company welcomes members from throughout the Penn community: undergraduates, graduates, visiting scholars and anyone remotely affiliated to this or any other local university.

Meet the Undergroundlings

The Cast and Crew of
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JULIUS CAESAR

THE PLAYERS
(In alphabetical order)

 

Yemisi Aina (Titinius, Set and Prop Design)

yemisiYesimi Aina brings not just a love of the Bard but also her nursing background to this production of Julius Caesar.  It comes as no surprise to her colleagues in Julius Caesar that Ms Aina has been nominated for a 2007 Nightingale Award for Best Portrayal of a Medical Procedure: Determining Death or Informing the Next of Kin.  It is unlikely that she will win, however, as killing herself after assessing her patient's death does not set the best example for aspiring medical professionals.



Devon Anderson (Lucillius)
devonRepresenting our brothers and siters of the north, Devon Anderson is Canada's official ambassador to the Undergound Shakespeare Company. She is the subject of this month's Canadian Shakespeare Annual cover story: "Love in the Time of Lucillius."

Rachel Aronson (Portia / Pindarus, Lighting Designer)

rachel a.Rachel Aronson's story is a typical one. Sold into clown slavery at an early age, Ms. Aronson was discoverd by the great Flo Zigefield in 1941, just prior to America's entry into "the great war." Having studied under the great masters of her time - notably Papa Smurf and Love-a-Lot Bear, Rachel has gone on to win ten consecutive Emmy Awards for her role as "Lou Grant Jr." on The New Mary Tyler Moore Show.


Jon Cinque (Marc Antony)

jonWhat with the all-night partying, hangovers, and crazy army of fangrrls always at his heels, it can be pretty exhausting to be Jon Cinque.  Er, Mark Antony.



Iva Cipuri (Soothsayer / Strato)

iva When cast as the Soothsayer, Iva Cipuri had no idea that she would be doubling as Obi-Wan Kenobi.   George Lucas commented "It was a bold and daring choice--the best blending of Shakespeare and Star Wars since Threepio and Juliet."


J. Michael DeAngelis (Cinna the Poet, "The Nigel")

michaelAs the leader of the Underground Shakespeare Company, J. Michael DeAngelis hopes that in taking the role of Cinna the Poet, he has proved that he is in fact willing to die for his art.


Phillip Deerwester (Lucius)

philMild-mannered Phillip Deerwester is accustomed to displaying his talents wielding an acoustic guitar.  He has been delighted in this, his first acting experience, to get to wield a baseball bat with deadly intent. The Underground Shakespeare Company's legal team has been asked not to comment on the pending legal matter between Mr. Deerwester and Cinna the Poet.


Gaelle Gouriage (Calpurnia / Voluminus, Producer)

gaelle Gaelle Gouriage spent all of winter break preparing for her role in Julius Caeser by working the graveyard shift at the Orange Julius stand in the Paramus Park Mall. Her best selling combo of the "Three Berry Blast" and "Southwest Chili Cheese Dog" is now known on the Orange Julius menu as the "Ides of March Special." Present this bio for $2.00 off your next purchase (Void where prohibited).

Serena Halley (Cassius)

serenaWhile it was inevitable that with the global explosion of the C Girls Serena Halley would have to contend with the tabloids casting her as "The C Girl with glasses," she finds some measure of comfort in the fact that celebrities like Bono and David Tennant rock specs like the Coliseum. 


Courtney Harris (Servant of Antony)

courtneyCourtney Harris appears in this production thanks to the "Doing Kenny Pearce a Favor Fund," to which she is the sole contributor.  All too late she realized the epic irony of this situation.  


Christopher Johnson (Decius Brutus, Assistant Director)

chris A biography of Chris Johnson that fell through a space-time vortex from the year 2024 reads as follows: "Leader of the Free World and benefactor of all mankind, Chris Johnson has never forgotten his roots as member of the Underground Shakespeare Company. Upon making his first billion dollars, Mr. Johnson gave the USC a huge endowment, which in future years allowed it to change the face of the planet with it's message of peace, love and men in tights."


Maura Krause (Cinna)

mauraRumour has it that international woman of mystery Maura Krause may in fact have been the inspiration for Gackt's opus "Emu."  Rumours that Ms Krause started this rumour herself are hateful lies by jealous and petty people who want to bring the C Girls down.


Alex Lapinski (Julius Caser)

alex Alex Lapinski returns to the Underground Shakespeare Company as part of the "Shakesperian Actors with Disablities" program. The Underground Shakespeare Company's management would like to stress the fact that Mr. Lapinski's previous run in with a two ton stage weight is unrelated to his current cane-dependant situation.


Jesse Lasser (Brutus)

jesseJesse Lasser: Six foot three and like Muhammed Ali, he floats like a butterfly and stings like poison ivy. Well, actually, more like five six, with all the mobility of yorkshire pudding, to be honest. But hey, room for improvement is good, right? Fortunately, you are unlikely to be subjected to any further performances by Mr. Lasser.

 

Natasha Mooney (Octavius Caeser)

natasha Natasha Mooney is delighted to make the cast laugh by wearing a too-large military jacket and brandishing a sword, but don't think these comic stylings fully tap the well of her talent.  As an honorary C Girl, Ms Mooney takes her responsibilities as an ambassador of hot chicks in Shakespeare seriously.  Look for her to adopt a Cambodian orphan in 2008.


Victoria Solly (Artemidorus the Cobbler)

vicky Victoria Solly spends most of Julius Caser drunk. Victoria says that she spent a lot of time practicing for this role whenever she could, even practicing during her regular working hours as an atomic scientist. Awl those puns would drive you to drink too.


Rachel Stone (Metellus Cimber)

rachel s. Irish step dancing sensation Rachel Stone is honored to be "the sweet red-headed C Girl."  The logical continuation of long and venerable tradition of all-girl supergroups like Charlie's Angels, the Spice Girls, and the Pussycat Dolls, the C Girls are sure to prove role models for a generation of empowered young women who want to be sexy and do Shakespeare.

 


Amelia Williams (Casca, Lighting Designer)

amelia Amelia Williams, while the youngest, is by no means a junior member of the ubiquitous C Girls.  While some fans don't know what to make of the facility with which Ms Williams discourses on dirty poetry and lighting design, true fans know that her incisive wit is an irreplaceable element in the incendiary ensemble.





THE PRODUCTION STAFF

Kenny Pearce (Director)

kennyPlato. Aristotle. Socrates.

Kenny Pearce.

These are the names that shall be echoed throughout history as the four greatest philosphers ever to stage a major Shakespearian drama in a college dorm.



Lyida Nassima Abdo (Assitant Producer, Costumes)

lydiaLydia Nassima Abdo wanted to perfectly recreate the world of Julius Caeser in her costumes, so she went to the video store to do some research. Sadly, she mistakenly rented Little Caeser, the 1931 gangster classic starring Edward G. Robinson. This lead to confusion at early dress rehearsals with much of the senate in pinstripe suits and Alex Lapinski feverishly chewing on a cigar, shouting "Now see here, Mugsy!" during the assasination scene.




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