The Underground Shakespeare Company

"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 REVENGER'S TRAGEDY

THE PLAYERS
(In alphabetical order)

Cyndi Chung (The Dutchess)

Cyndi Chung is now well-versed in the arts of seemething lasciviously and playing dead.

Stephanie Deerwester (Supervacio)

Stephanie Deerwester

Megan Edelman (Lussurisso)

Megan Edelman would like you to draw nearer. Nearer yet. If you do not draw near enough, she will threaten you with iron's perpetual prisonment and lay this ironage upon you! She's serious. The duchess' chamber door shall not control her.

Lauren Frazer (Hippolito)

Lauren Frazer is not Carlo. I have never been Carlo, and I have no plans to become Carlo in the future. Shame on your face (behind your back) for even thinking that. Fall back

Willa Granger (Judge/Piero)

Willa Granger is so happy that her knifing/dancing skills have finally been put to good use.

Jaclyn Hall (Gratiana)

Jaclyn Hall is strongly opposed to iron nipples.

Anne Huang (Castiza)

Anne Huang studies pre-1600 literature and is in Penn’s F-word literary magazine. She enjoys Assyrian palace reliefs, tap-dancing, and Martin McDonagh. She lived in the Valley as a small child. She was rooting for Johnny Weir to medal in the Olympics

Maura Krause (Spurio)

Maura Krause hates to admit it, but she makes a pretty good shady dude.

Jeremy LaBuff (Gaurd)

Jeremy LaBuff would tell you about himself, but he has to take care of another set change.

Jon McCaffery (Duke's Man)

Jon McCaffery (repeatedly) takes the fall.

Devin Plantamura (Vindice)

Devin Plantamura would like to thank his father, Prince, his mother, Paula Deen, and his uncle, R. Kelly, for bestowing him with the smooth voice, slick dance moves, and skill with a knife that were required to play Vindice.