JONI VS THE BARD: THE SHAKESPEARE SMACKDOWN

Two-time Emmy winner Joan Darling returns to the New York stage with her regionally acclaimed one-woman show Joni vs The Bard: The Shakespeare Smackdown.

In the vein of Al Pacino's Looking for Richard and Ian McKellen's Acting Shakespeare, Joan will share her lifelong passion for Shakespeare and how it can be thrilling, engaging, and most important FUN. Melt into the worlds Shakespeare creates as she performs some of her favorite selections from Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar. This show has a jolly, interactive nature and is perfect for anyone ranging from middle schoolers first learning the work to aged Shakespeare veterans.
 

Joan Darling

Joan is no stranger to Shakespeare. She starred at the Ashland Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons, and was awarded "Best Actress" both years. She went on to perform at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford as Viola in Twelfth Night, to much acclaim. Joan then joined the award winning improvisational theater company, The Premise, with Gene Hackman, Tom Aldredge, and Ron Liebman as well as starring on Broadway in Leda had a Little Swan and A Minor Adjustment. She won an Emmy for her performance in Dorothy Parker, Woven in Crazy Plaid.

She was the first woman nominated for an Emmy for directing. She has been nominated four times and won an Emmy for directing Mom's on Strike. Her episode of "The Nurses" for M.A.S.H. was nominated for an Emmy and is included in the Best of M.A.S.H. episode.

She is considered the first woman director of the modern age and blazed the way for the women who followed in her footsteps. Her first directing assignment was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which was featured on the cover of every major magazine from Newsweek to Rolling Stone within six weeks of its debut. She followed that by directing the world famous episode "Chuckles the Clown" of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, named by the New York Times as the funniest half hour ever on television, and selected by TV Guide as the number one television episode of all time.

Her first feature, First Love, was named one of the Ten Best of 1978 by CBS. She was the first woman to direct Magnum P.I. and among her many other television credits are Rich Man, Poor Man, Doc, Rhoda, Doogie Howser, M.D., and Civil Wars.

She is renowned as a teacher (her classes in LA have had up to a five year waiting list) and is a lifelong Shakespeare enthusiast. She created the "Directing the Actor" workshop for the Sundance Institute and has served as a creative adviser at the Director's Lab at Sundance for the last seventeen years. She also has served as a creative adviser at the European Moonstone Labs. Joan Darling has been honored by the Museum of Broadcasting as a "Woman Who Made It."

Joni vs The Bard: The Shakespeare Smackdown

Written by and Starring Joan Darling

Directed by Blake Bradford

Assistant Director: Karen Brelsford

Stage Manager: Gabriel Garcia

Music Director: Mark Evans

Costumes: Peggy Queener