Matt Daniels and theater as barroom

Matt Daniels as Bacchus at the Metropolitan Playhouse in New York

Seasoned actor Matt Daniels speaks to Mark Metcalf this week about changing the way we think about theater. Matt, who also teaches, directs and voice coaches, is a member of the just-formed theater cooperative goats & monkeys, founded largely by ex-members of now-defunct Milwaukee Shakespeare.

Matt has lived in Chicago and New York, and his experience with street-Shakespeare troupe Gorilla Rep in New York City informed his commitment to making theater an every day part of a community’s life. What if a theater building, he wonders, were like a bar — a place where you could just show up, interact with performers, meet your community and see what’s going on? And isn’t telling a joke in a bar, Mark poses, a way of participating in a theater as ancient as cave paintings and firepit storytelling?

Mark and Matt also discuss whether Shaw on unicycles is a good idea.

You can also subscribe to Backstage with Mark Metcalf through iTunes.

Matt Daniels appears next in In Tandem’s Scrooge in Rouge, 12/4 — 1/3.

Next week on the podcast, our series on plays and players continues with actress Laurie Birmingham.