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0-9739093-4-X
68 pp  6 x 9 in
$12.95 (Cdn) pb
April 2006

Cast Size: 34-100
Running Time: 75 Min
$30/Performance

Excerpt

“Now Hercules, be thy speed young man!”

About the Play
Swifter. Higher. Stronger. Funnier! Another four summers have passed and with it come the age-old Games known for it’s athletic achievements, dedication, perseverance, and…urinating into little cups. As the comically-charged competition hurdles forward, teams from Greece, England, France, and Italy showcase their top athletes in such standard events as Love Letter Relay, Infidelity Aquatics, Shooting Love Riddles, Cross Dressage, and the crowd favourite Clown Decathlon, all culminating in the always physically demanding Marital Marathon. Add to the mix such demonstration sports as Bear Baiting and Rodeo Shrew Taming and the Slapstick Shenanigans erupt with more hilarity than you can shake a Shtick at! 

Upstart Crow Sports Network (UCSN) proudly brings you Shakespeare’s Comic Olympics, a clever hybrid of improvised sporting play and spectacle theatre transforming Shakespeare’s Comedies and Romances into Olympic events. Ben Jonson and Jack Falstaff provide all the play-by-play colour commentary with interviews and updates from that on-the-track historian/reporter Raphael Holinshed, as Olympic athletes overcome incredible obstacles and comic feats of timing in their quest for that coveted Ring Finger Gold!

About the Authors
Chris Coculuzzi works as an educator for the Toronto District School Board and is a co-founder and member of an independent democratic school. He also works in theatre as a producer, director, actor, and playwright. He is the co-author and editor of the Shakespeare's Sports Canon series of five plays: Shakespeare's Rugby Wars, Shakespeare's World Cup, Shakespeare's Gladiator Games, Shakespeare's Comic Olympics, and Shakespeare's NHL (National History League). Other adaptations include Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and an abridged version of Cyrano de Bergerac (co-authored with Roxanne Deans). He currently resides in Toronto with his companion Kathy and their children Cabiria, Lórien, and Paisley.

Greg Corkum has worked in theatre as an actor and a playwright.  In addition to his contribution to Shakespeare's Comic Olympics, Greg has written several one act plays, including Southern Exposure and For I Have Sinned, and was the staff writer for The Lunenburg Dinner Theatre Company.  Currently he works for the City of Toronto and lives with his wife Tara Baxendale.

Stephen Flett is an award-winning Toronto actor who also dabbles in directing, producing and writing. In addition to co-authoring Shakespeare’s Comic Olympics, he performed in all five of the Shakespeare’s Sports Canon shows as anchor desk commentator Jack Falstaff (and his Roman precursor), and contributed much non-scripted dialogue. Other writing credits include sketch comedy and co-authoring the critically acclaimed Pseudolus: A Tricky Roman Comedy for Cabbagetown Theatre. Among his many acting credits are productions of three Matt Toner plays: Killing Time at the Crossroads of the World, The Pimp Hand of God and We Unhappy Few. When not involved with theatre, he works in post-secondary education as an information specialist.

David Howse is a graphic designer who works on catalog creation and online content for an international office supply group, as well as his own freelance work through his company David Howse Designs. His theatre work includes set and lighting design, stage management, acting and directing. In addition to his co-authorship for Shakespeare’s Comic Olympics, David also participated in script development for Shakespeare’s World Cup. He also adapted and directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream to a New Orleans “Mardi Gras Night’s Dream” (Upstart Crow, 1998). David currently lives with his wife Tanya and their daughter Shelby in Oakville, Ontario.

Nathan Shrubsole is a graduate of Centennial College's Book and Magazine Publishing program in Toronto, Ontario. He has worked as a ghost writer/editor on film scripts, and has currently placed his personal writing projects on hold to pursue the profession of teaching, attending OISE/UT in the fall of 2007. In addition to his writing credit for Shakespeare's Comic Olympics, Nathan also acted as the chief copyeditor and cover designer for the published series of Shakespeare's Sports Canon plays.

Quotes
"Olympic Gold!" - NOW Magazine

"The banter is clever, with Shakespearean verse and modern pop-culture references easily intermingling…” - The Varsity