No Script: The Podcast

"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare | S15.E15

This week on No Script, Jacob sits down with singer-songwriter, composer, and emerging theatre-maker Grace Yurchuk for a rich conversation about Julius Caesar. They, of course, discuss the power of rhetoric in Shakespeare’s original political thriller and how Grace’s bold musical adaptation takes on that challenge.

Together, Jacob and Grace unpack what makes Julius Caesar such a gripping and surprisingly contemporary play: its uneasy relationship with power, the psychology of persuasion, the danger of rhetoric, and the shifting loyalties that drive the story toward tragedy. Grace shares her process of transforming a Roman tragedy into modern musical language.

Whether you’re a Shakespeare lover, a musical theatre fan, or an artist fascinated by adaptation, this episode offers a vibrant look at how old stories become new again — and how young theatre-makers like Grace Yurchuk are reshaping the classical canon with fresh perspectives and fearless creativity.

Tune in for a conversation full of insight, artistry, and the thrill of reinventing Shakespeare.

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"Pride's Crossing" by Tina Howe | S15.E14

This week on No Script: The Podcast, Jackson and Jacob dive into Tina Howe’s lyrical memory play Pride’s Crossing — winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play and a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The play centers on 90-year-old Mabel Tidings Bigelow, once the first woman to swim the English Channel from England to France. From her croquet party in Pride’s Crossing, Massachusetts, time flows backward and forward as Mabel revisits a lifetime of opportunity seized and missed. Listen in as Jackson and Jacob unpack Howe’s impressionistic structure, the challenges of staging Mabel at multiple ages, and the opportunities this script offers directors, actors, and teachers—especially those interested in complex female protagonists, non-linear storytelling, and intimate ensemble work in a “big” memory play. They’ll also touch on where Pride’s Crossing sits alongside Howe’s other major works, like Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances, in the landscape of contemporary American drama.

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"The Oregon Trail" by Bekah Brunstetter | S15.E13

In the finale of Adaptation Month, Jackson and Jacob discuss Bekah Brunstetter's play "The Oregon Trail." You guessed it -- the play is based on the famous video game and follows two sisters in two different timelines as they navigate life's difficult choices. Listen in!

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"Carrie" by Lawrence D. Cohen, Dean Pitchford, and Michael Gore | S15.E12

Jackson and Jacob continue Adaptation Month by discussing the cult-classic musical adaption of Stephen King's Carrie, by Lawrence D. Cohen, Dean Pitchford, and Michael Gore. Listen as J&J chat about how musicals inherently alter the storytelling, and how Carrie: The Musical gained its infamous reputation.  

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Kate Hamill | S15.E11

Jackson and Jacob continue their themed month, Adaptation Month, by discussing Kate Hamill's adaptation of one of the most famous novels of all time: "Pride and Prejudice." Listen in as J&J chat about Hamill's unique and brilliant techniques of adaptation. 

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"John Proctor is the Villian" by Kimberly Belflower | S15.E10

Jackson and Jacob kick off Adaptation Month by discussing Kimberly Belflower's recent Broadway hit "John Proctor is the Villian." Based on Arthur Miller's famous play "The Crucible," this contemporary play ignites a fire in a close-knit school community. Listen in!

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"The Whale" by Samuel D. Hunter | S15.E09

This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob discuss Samuel D. Hunter's play "The Whale." Recently adapted into a film starring Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink, "The Whale" is a complex play about hard-won hope. Listen in as J&J discuss the way Hunter has layered his themes and questions into masterful dramatic scenes. 

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"Cry It Out" by Molly Smith Metzler | S15.E08

Jackson and Jacob discuss Molly Smith Metzler's play "Cry It Out," which premiered at the Humana Festival of New Plays. This touching drama follows two women who become fast friends during their maternity leaves. Listen in!

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"The Playboy of the Western World" by John Millington Synge | S15.E07

Jackson and Jacob discuss John Millington Synge's famous comedy "The Playboy of the Western World." This Irish classic has been adapted countless times, but it's original story remains a quirky comedy which relies heavily on dramatic irony. Listen in! 

------------------------------

Check out this article on the riots that took place in Dublin: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/23/playboy-western-world-old-vic

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

"The Walworth Farce" by Enda Walsh | S15.E06

Jackson and Jacob discuss Enda Walsh's wild, Beckett-like comedy "The Walworth Farce." In a small flat in London, a father and his two sons replay the same day of their lives over and over again. But what happens when, one day, a stranger knocks at their door? Listen in! 

------------------------------

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue. 

https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast

 -----------------------------

We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at: 

Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/

------------------------------

Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.