items tagged with Cait Bodenbender

Certainly, there was cause for concern.

When the Prenzie Players made their 2003 debut with Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, they did so at Rock Island's Peanut Gallery, which didn't have a proper stage and could only seat, at maximum, 40 people. The show had an inadequate budget (between $200 and $300), a run of only two performances, and no word-of-mouth; Prenzie's founders - Cait Bodenbender, John "J.C." Luxton, Aaron Sullivan, and Denise Yoder - had every reason to expect Measure for Measure to fail.

Yet Friday night's show played to a full house. And on Saturday ... .

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rock Island Masonic Temple

Theatre audiences are often witness to romance and, with the right director and performers, occasionally even to true love on stage. Yet it’s rare to find passion and even rarer to witness carnality, two qualities that the Prenzie Players present in abundance in their juicy new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rock Island Masonic Temple.

In the Prenzie Players’ hugely entertaining production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: Or, What You Will, there’s an encounter so heart-stoppingly strong that it might be the single most effective stage moment I’ve witnessed all year.

The Prenzie Players are so serious about presenting innovative interpretations of Shakespeare’s scripts, they promise audience members “won’t forget our shows, ever.” Pretty lofty standards for a small group of Quad Cities actors who hold performances in rented found spaces (currently the Rock Island Housing Authority building) and use minimal props, costumes, staging, and production.
Read More About "The Tempest" Continues Prenzie’S “Guerrilla” Style...

About a year ago, Genesius Guild members J.C. Luxton and Cait Woolley had an idea: to bring Shakespearean theatre to a more intimate space than the outdoor Lincoln Park venue in which the Guild performs every summer.
Read More About Shakespeare In The Peanut Gallery...