World Premiere! The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) September 23, 2011

Napa, California: Napa Valley Conservatory Theater (NVCT), in association with Napa Valley College (NVC), continues its upward artistic trajectory with the world premiere of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged). Running Sept. 23–Oct. 9, 2011, this outrageous comedy springs from the fertile imaginations of improvisational masters, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor (All the Great Books (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)). The production is directed by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor and stars North Bay favorites Dodds Delzell, Dan Saski and Chad Yarish. The three-man cast recently drew record crowds at Shakespeare Napa Valley performances of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

An irreverent but heartwarming trip through the holidays, The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) is festive, physical, family fun. Rekindle the joy, the inner-child, the familial dysfunction inside us all! But Christmas in September? “Why?” you ask. Because this is only the beginning for this tour-de-force comedy! After performing at NVCT, the show begins a national tour with Reed and Tichenor.

Special Events: You can be a part of this history-in-the-making! There are three public readings on Aug. 16 and 30 and Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to stay and share feedback with the playwrights afterward. Bring a wrapped gift of less than $10 in value and participate in our Christmas gift exchange.

The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) is an NVC Faculty and Friends production benefitting Napa Valley College Theater Department. It will be presented in the Studio Theater at the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy., Napa. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students/seniors/military. For tickets or information, go to www.napavalleytheater.org or call the box office at 707-256-7500.

Bios

Austin Tichenor (Writer/Director) is a Managing Partner of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, which he joined in 1992. Austin co-created and co-starred in the original RSC stage productions of The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: the Complete Word of God (abridged), Western Civilization: The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged), All the Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), and The Complete World of Sports (abridged); the half-hour UK TV film The Ring Reduced, and the radio productions of The Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show (BBC), The Reduced Shakespeare Company Round Table (NPR's All Things Considered), and The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas (Public Radio International). He also co-authored (with Reed Martin) Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention Impaired (abridged), published by Hyperion. Austin also produces and hosts the Podcast Award-nominated Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, available weekly on iTunes.

Prior to his RSC work, Austin served for seven seasons as Associate Producing Director of the American Stage Festival in Milford, NH, writing over 20 plays and musicals for young audiences, as well as directing summer-stocky things like The Foreigner, Much Ado About Nothing, and Jesus Christ Superstar and writing stage adaptations A Christmas Carol and Frankenstein. He has also played “Guys in Ties” on countless hours of episodic TV, ranging from recurring roles on The Practice, Ally McBeal, Felicity, Alias, and 24 to guest-starring roles on The West Wing, NPYD Blue, and The X-Files to small featured roles as doctor and attorney Blink N. Youmissme on Everwood, CSI:Miami, and The Mentalist.

A fifth-generation San Franciscan born on the 54th anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and the 185th anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride, Austin is older than he looks but short for his weight. He and his wife Dee Ryan live in Chicago with their two children and too many cats.

Reed Martin [Writer/Director] co-created and performed in the original Reduced Shakespeare Company productions of The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), and The Complete World of Sports (abridged). He also contributed additional material to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

Reed is a Managing Partner of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and has performed in London's West End, at Lincoln Center Theater, Kennedy Center, New Victory Theater in NYC, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, California Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The White House and Madison Square Garden, as well as in 11 foreign countries. Reed has performed at A.C.T. in San Francisco in Travesties by Tom Stoppard and The Government Inspector, as well as at the Magic Theatre in Moving Right Along which was written and directed by Elaine May and featured Marlo Thomas. He toured for two years as a clown/assistant ringmaster with Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus. His voice was heard in the animated feature film Balto and just about every other part of him was seen in the British film Carry On Columbus.

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. With Austin Tichenor, he co-authored the book The Greatest Story Ever Sold which published by John Knox/Westminster Press, as well as Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide For The Attention-Impaired (abridged) which is published by Hyperion.

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 Critics Circle Award. He has a BA in Political Science/Theatre from UC Berkeley, an MFA in Acting from UC San Diego and is a graduate of Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Clown College. A member of Dramatists Guild and The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Reed is also a former professional minor league baseball umpire. He lives in Northern California with his wife and two sons, all three of whom are much funnier than he is.