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agencytheatercollective · 8 years ago

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I’m Always There - Tashina Richardson

This series will help acquaint you with the talented weirdos who are (almost) always at No Shame Theatre every Saturday night. Here’s Ms. Richardson.

Who the hell are you? A Texas transplant who found a bunch of weirdos to hang out with (almost) every Saturday.

Why do you seem so familiar to me? I probably don't? Unless you're like "who's the blonde girl that's not Anna Lucero?"

What the hell do you perform at No Shame? Movement/dance pieces, primarily. But I've written some stream-of-consciousness stuff (most of it involves yelling at men), and done a few original songs as well.

What draws you to movement theatre? I'm gonna be vain and quote myself here, although it's in relation to movement as an exercise rather than performance: "Good movement exercises let you figure out how to relax into your character and naturally react to the people around you without TELLING you to do it. The actor becomes a proactive part of the process, creating in the moment, rather than just taking direction and figuring out how to motivate action later." It's a little different on the No Shame stage than in a fully-realized production, but I believe the intent is the same. Creating in the moment and naturally reacting to environment are important aspects of performing for me, and I feel most comfortable doing those through movement. (Click here if you want to read more of me yammering on about movement.)

Who/What are you favorite artists/songs to move/dance to? Radiohead. Radiohead. Radiohead. Bjork, Adele, Sigur Rós, The Cinematic Orchestra, Sia, Alt-J... and Radiohead.

How’d you get started coming to No Shame? My friend Cody is a member of The Agency, and he along with Billy Baraw had mentioned it to me before I moved to Chicago. I decided to experience my first No Shame on July 18, 2015 - which also happened to be my birthday. I haven't looked back... except that one time, when I thought someone was following me.

Do you have any favorite f**cking No Shame memories? I've seen a ton of good stuff at No Shame, but my favorite memories are probably when I yell at men after the show because they spout some sexist crap at me. (I wouldn't normally say "crap" but I don't know if this is PG-13 or if Ethan and Huck are gonna whip out their wangs.)

Have you ever gotten engaged to someone you met at No Shame?? HOW DID YOU KNOW?!?!? I did actually meet my fiancé at No Shame. I proposed to him on our one year anniversary with an art print from The Lincoln Loft that says "Bill You Murray Me?" He's a musician named Josh Rowe. Go like his Facebook page and buy his albums so that he gets rich and we can afford a wedding.

I like the cut of your jib, Ms. Richardson. I have a bunch of non sequitur questions for you now.

What’s up, doc? Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits.

You and Whose Army? Come on. Come on.

What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss? I'm not sure, but I used to eat coins all the time as a child. I hope the sewer monsters got all of it and took it to the casino!

Who framed Roger Rabbit? Christopher Lloyd? I think. Let's be honest, we were all too busy imagining what it'd be like to bang Jessica Rabbit. Or Bob Hoskins. Or both.

Are we human or are we dancer? We are all The Killers. The Killers are we.

Lastly, is there anything you’re working on now that you’d like to promote? How kind of you to ask! I am actually starting rehearsals on an original play called "ID," which I created with my friend Brittany Alyse Willis through our multi-city arts collective, Lady Square Arts. The play is like a millennial post-modern The Iceman Cometh. The production runs February 17-19 and 24-26 at The Lincoln Loft - if you come on a Saturday, you can stay afterwards for No Shame!

#Tashina Richardson #No Shame #No Shame Theatre #Chicago No Shame

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