Shalom, Internet!
I just returned from my second consecutive summer season with Vermont Shakespeare Company, and as you can see by the above picture by Jan Nagle, it was once again a total joy to work with this amazing group of artists. Playing Autolycus in “The Winter’s Tale” was a beautiful challenge: I got to sing, do lots of physical comedy, and perform Shakespeare outside! A fabulous experience.
Here is what the reviews had to say about my performance (please click on the links for the full articles):
“The production asks eight cast members to handle a variety of roles, and a couple of those actors whose bit parts add up to a wonderful whole include Molly Pietz Walsh … and the rubbery Dean Linnard, whose marvelous portrayals of criminals and goofballs are matched only by the loveliness of his melancholy singing and chanting that links several scenes in both acts.”
Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press
“Dean Linnard shines as Autolycus, a charming thief and scoundrel. He’s faced with a lot of Shakespearean wordplay, but he distills the humor for us with an expressive face and engaging physicality. When [director John] Nagle has him pick a pocket by removing the wallet, followed by the pants, we find ourselves loving the crime.”
Alex Brown, Seven Days
And finally, regarding our production at large (also from the Seven Days review):
“Director John Nagle and eight skilled actors find new treasures in The Winter’s Tale, and make its pastiche of somber fairy tale, spit-take comedy and pastoral romance delightfully coherent … Bring a picnic, and bring your kids. If it’s their first taste of Shakespeare, or yours, this production offers an opportunity to be arrested by the intensity of a moment in an imagined world. A child who realizes, for the first time, that this is how theater works will go to sleep that night with marvels in mind.”
Below is another pic of me as Autolycus (photo by Jan Nagle), next to the beautiful and talented Maggie McDowell rockin’ the uke:
