Lot o' Shakespeare

Comedy

As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Loves Labors Lost
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Nights Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Problem Plays

Cymbeline
Twelfth Night
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Troilus & Cressida
Two Noble Kinsmen
Winters Tale
All's Well That Ends Well
History

King John
Richard II
Henry IV, 1
Henry IV, 2
Henry V
Henry VI, 1
Henry VI, 2
Henry VI , 3
Richard III
Henry VIII
Tragedy

Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Antony & Cleopatra
Othello
Pericles
Romeo & Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus

TOUR DATES

Response

"The lithe actor with his mobile face and flexible, light voice, is made for comedy... [Lot o' Shakespeare] serves as a way to interest audiences in pieces from across the Bard’s entire canon--with a few sonnets thrown in for fun... The Sweet Swan of Avon, a savvy businessman as well as a genius, would no doubt have approved heartily... [Mooney] wants those not immersed in Shakespeare’s sometimes convoluted verse to understand and enjoy the words and characters, and in this he succeeds admirably." (Janis Hashe, Chattanooga Pulse)

(5 out of 5) Highly Recommended
"... a tour de force comprising no fewer than 19 Shakespeare scenes and sonnets. Mooney's interpretations were outstanding, and not infrequently cast new light on obscure corners of Shakespeare's work. Why did my high-school English teacher never point [these things] out? Sure would have spurred our adolescent interest in the not-so-boring bard of Avon!" (Chaim Eliyahu, KCStage.com)

"The man is a chameleon. Enraged, excited and electrifying, he is all over the stage and a joy to watch!" (Naomi Stauffer, Auburn University Montgomery Alumnus)

"The monologues were so entertaining that the Shakespeare I don't know, I will look up." (Ashley Portis, Junior at Booker T. Washington High School)

"I love how accessible you make Shakespeare."

"The IAGO game was exciting."

"What a fun concept." (Neil David Seibel, Asst Prof of theatre AUM)

"Great introduction to Shakespeare's Canon" (Neil David Seibel, Assistant Professor of Theatre AUM)

"Outstanding monologue choices. One-minute intros are excellent " inspiring performance." (Val Winkelman, Theatre Professor, AUM)

"This is wonderful for high school to expose them to Shakespeare. It would also be beneficial to college students studying his works or performing his plays." (E. Arendsen, Teacher)

About the Show

While I was on tour with my one-man show, "Moliere Than Thou," and performing in one of our southeastern states, one of my hosts informed me that a local Shakespeare Festival was looking to cast their Macbeth, and that I really ought to send them my resume. Having grown up as the stereotypical dweeby theatre major, it was somewhat of a shock to grasp that someone/anyone might look at me and say: "There's our Macbeth!"

And I started fantasizing about all of the Shakespeare roles that were now coming into my range in my middle years. I thought that I might be able to transform my performance tour into an audition tour. What if, no matter what Shakespeare play they were doing, I had a monologue from that show available to perform? So I might be able to ask, "So what shows are you doing this summer?" And when they said, "Pericles, Coriolanus and Henry VI, part 3? I could say, "Great! Lemme do those for you!".

I started envisioning an acting workshop and a one-man show and wondered what might be the best order in which I might package these speeches: in the order that the events in the plays actually occurred, according to their date of composition, by the position of the monologue within its play of origin? In the end, I decided to leave it to chance, select the order by lottery and let the audience play along with their own IAGO (Bingo) cards.

Link to PR Photos

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