Reduced Shakespeare to Perform COMPLETE HISTORY OF COMEDY (ABRIDGED) at MTC, 11/28-12/21

This December, Marin Theatre Company continues its 48th Season with a presentation of Reduced Shakespeare Company performing their The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), starring writer/directors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, with Dominic Conti. The "Bad Boys of Abridgement" will leave no joke untold as they deconstruct the entire history of comedy in a dizzying night's entertainment.

Tracing their roots back to Marin County, the internationally touring comedy troupe has been a North Bay audience favorite for over 30 years. MTC welcomes back these three hysterical men to the theater, where they last performed The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) in 1998. The production will run for a limited engagement of 29 performances from November 28 through December 21. Opening night is Tuesday, December 2. Based in Mill Valley, MTC is a 48-year old professional nonprofit theater that is a destination for smart contemporary American plays, uncommonly high quality productions and adventurous live theater experiences.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company has skewered history, the Bible and the world's most celebrated playwright. Now, they seek to answer one of life's greatest mysteries: What makes people laugh? From the high-brow to the low, The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) covers comedy through the ages, from Aristophanes and Shakespeare and Moliere to Vaudeville and Charlie Chaplin to The Daily Show and Anthony Weiner. This is the subject they were born to reduce! It's a "a madcap, breakneck-speed" 90 minutes that is "audacious, often outrageous and bawdy" (Boston Stages).

The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) is the comedy troupe's ninth original stage production, which had a tryout at Napa Valley Playhouse in August 2013, premiered at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in November 2013 and has since been presented at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Reston Center Stage in Virginia as part of "The Complete Works of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (abridged) Extravaganza" and Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis.

Founded in 1981, Reduced Shakespeare Company has grown from a pass-the-hat act at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato to an internationally renowned touring comedy group that has expanded beyond the original three performers Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, who created the company's first "abridged" comedy, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Current managing partners Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor have written, directed and performed in all eight of company's original stage productions since then: The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), The Complete World of Sports (abridged), The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) and The Complete History of Comedy (abridged). Reduced Shakespeare Company's work was produced professionally in the Bay Area most recently in 2011, when The Complete History of America (abridged) was staged by Marin Shakespeare Company, where The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) remains the most produced play in that company's 25 year history (with productions in 2007, 2000, 1999 and 1998).

Reduced Shakespeare Company closes out a busy year with The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) at Marin Theatre Company. 2014 began on a controversial note when the Council in Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland canceled the first performances of The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) UK Tour. With the resulting international outcry and press, it became the most successful tour in RSC history. In honor of William Shakespeare's 450th birthday in April, RSC set a Guinness World Record for Highest Theater Performance by performing Shakespeare on board an EasyJet flight from London to Verona (representatives from Guinness were on board to verify). In September, RSC produced "The Complete Works of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (abridged) Extravaganza," with nearly all of its performers past and present performing seven of the company's nine stage shows in repertory (the most its ever done at one time).

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Tickets: $37-$58, details below (discounts available for Seniors and those Under 30) - All Previews: $37; Opening Night (12/2): $53 side | $58 center; Tues, Wed, Thu Evenings: $39| $44; Fri: $48 | $53; Sat Evenings: $53 | $58; and Sun Evenings & All Matinees: $44 | $49. All prices subject to change.

Discounts available:
- RUSH tickets: $20, available one hour prior to show, based on availability
- Under 30: $20, all performances
- Senior discounts: $4 off, all performances
- Military personnel, their families & US veterans: $5 off, all performances, must show ID

MTC Loves Our Schools:
- Teen tickets: $10, must be purchased in person at the Box Office.
- Teacher tickets: $10, limit 2 per order, must work in Marin County; contact Education Department at 415.338.5200 x3310 to learn more.

For group sales, contact Margot Manburg, groupsales@marintheatre.org, (415) 388-5208.

MTC Engaged Special Events:

• Community Lecture at Osher Marin JCC; Wed, 11/5, at 1:00 p.m., 200 N San Pedro Rd, San Rafael

• Perspectives pre-show topical lecture: Thur 12/11, 12:00 p.m.

ACCESS - For visually impaired patrons, Large Print playbills are available with one week's advance notice. To request a Large Print playbill, call MTC's Box Office, (415) 388-5208, or use the California Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing "711." For hearing impaired patrons, amplified sound Listening Devices are available.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES:

Dominic Conti helped develop tonight's production in its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse, where he also performed The Complete History of America (abridged) and All the Great Books (abridged) with the RSC. He also performed and helped develop Completely Hollywood (abridged) at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and the Kennedy Center, and has performed America (abridged), Hollywood (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) at Chicago's Royal George Theater and San Diego Rep, and The Complete World of Sports (abridged) all over. He's appeared at regional theaters across the country including Plasticene (Original Theatre Award for Best Ensemble, Live Feed: 11/11/05), Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Second City, Goodman Theatre, The Noble Fool Theater, Next Theatre Company (Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Ensemble, Among the Thugs), A Red Orchid Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago; Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles; Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts; Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut; Beaver Creek Theatre Festival in Colorado; and Madison Repertory Theatre in Wisconsin. His film credits include the title role in Martian American (Best Actor, Glendale International Film Fest), A Zombie Possession, Nothing in Los Angeles, Fiona's Fortune, Hinnon Valley, Shades of Hope, The Interview (Best Actor in a Short, Chicago Comedy Film Fest; also co-wrote/produced), Another Stupid Day, Zombie Holocaust and You!, April, The Real Truth Behind the Real True Story: Donnie Miller, I Am He and Gentlemen, Gentlemen. Conti also performed in The Roaring Twenties television pilot. He has also appeared in the webisodes: Red Scare, Broken Dreams Boulevard, The Family Curse and The Best Friend (also Associate Producer and co-wrote three episodes).

Reed Martin co-created and performed in the original productions of The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), The Complete World of Sports (abridged) and The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged). He also contributed additional material to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). He has performed in London's West End, at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, ACT San Francisco, McCarter Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The White House and Madison Square Garden, as well as in 11 foreign countries. He toured for two years as a clown/assistant ringmaster with Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus. Reed has written for the BBC, National Public Radio, TBS, Britain's Channel Four, RTE Ireland, Public Radio International, Sky TV UK, the Washington Post and Vogue magazine. Reed's work has been nominated for an Olivier Award in London, a Helen Hayes Award in Washington, DC, and a San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Circle Award. He lives in Northern California with his wife and two sons, all three of whom are much funnier than he is.

Austin Tichenor is a fifth-generation San Franciscan born on the 54th anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and the 185th anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride, which makes him older than he looks but short for his weight. He's performed with the RSC around the world, off-Broadway, in London's West End and in the PBS version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). He has written stage adaptations of Frankenstein, a Kafka-for-kids adaptation of "The Metamorphosis" called Dancing on the Ceiling, and (with Reed Martin) the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged), the comic e-book memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better) and the stage comedies The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) (Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best New Play), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), The Complete World of Sports (abridged) and The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), all of which are published and/or translated into over a dozen languages. His television credits include recurring roles on Alias, 24, The Practice, Ally McBeal and Felicity, as well as guys in ties on ER, X-Files, West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Nip/Tuck and shows like them. Tichenor produces and hosts the weekly Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, now in its eighth year, available on iTunes, Stitcher, and at reducedshakespeare.com. Follow him on Twitter @austintichenor.

ABOUT RSC - The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a three-man comedy troupe that takes long, serious subjects and reduces them to short, sharp comedies. The "Bad Boys of Abridgment" have created nine stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots and numerous radio pieces - all of which have been performed, seen and heard the world over. The company's itinerary has included stops Off-Broadway, at the White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London's West End... and even Marin Theatre Company back in 1998. RSC has been reducing expectations since 1981, when the troupe began as a pass-the-hat act at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California, in Marin County.

ABOUT MTC - Founded in 1966, Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area's premier mid-sized theater and the leading professional theater in the North Bay. We produce a six-show season of provocative plays by passionate playwrights from the 20th century and today in our 231-seat main stage theater, as well as a five-show Theater Series for Young Audiences (in partnership with the Bay Area Children's Theatre) in our 99-seat studio theater. We are committed to the development and production of new plays by American playwrights, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of premieres, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards, readings and workshops by the nation's best emerging playwrights and membership in the National New Play Network. Our numerous education programs serve more than 8,500 students from over 50 Bay Area schools each year. MTC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

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