
Jeff McKerley and Dolph Amick, hamming it up.
Voices from inside the round "O" on Peachtree Street: hear what our actors, directors and staff have to say about the work we do at America's only Shakespeare Tavern!


Savvy blog readers will have noticed that former Apprentice company members sometime make reference to the insect they were, for instance my apprentice class was nicknamed “Butterflies.” Why and how did this practice start?
Technically, the practice didn’t begin until the 3rd Apprentice class was at the Tavern. Kirk Seaman (a 2nd year Apprentice company member, a “grasshopper”) and I were working in the Tavern offices, mostly by ourselves, when I started laughing. I was working on some grant narrative and in the place for achievements/education was listed “Pre-Professional Emerging Artist Training Program” – this was a grandiose way of listing “Apprentice Company.” What struck me as funny, and what I turned to Kirk to say, was the “Pre-Professional” description, considering that both Kirk and I (prior to joining the Apprentice program) had both been professional actors. When I shared the phrase with Kirk, he laughed and said “Emerging...what like pupa?”
From that we started joking about what our years would be named, and then a tradition emerged with each most recently graduated Apprentice class naming the current group.
Here’s a breakdown of what we have so far, as for the reasoning behind each name...well, let’s just say that’s an Apprentice/Tavern secret.
1st year: Butterfly
2nd year: Grasshopper
3rd year: Cicada
4th year: Worker Bee
5th year: Fruit Fly
6th year: Praying Mantis
7th year (current class): Silverfish.

Paul Hester joined the Shakespeare Tavern as a member of the 2003-2004 Apprentice Company. He was called back from a General Audition and he says that he really liked the feel of the Tavern the first time he ever saw a show here. After his apprenticeship, his big break at the Tavern came when he was cast in The Mandrake, which was also his favorite classical comedy here.
Paul has always wanted to entertain, though he was never quite sure in what way until he moved to Knoxville at the age of 14. He was visiting the high school that he would be attending and sat in on a drama class. The teacher had him join in with some improv and he had “the best time he had had in school ever.” From there, Paul became active in theatre and eventually attended Wright State University, earning a BFA in Acting.
Paul’s favorite non-Shakespeare role so far was Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Hi favorite Shakespeare role was Cassius in Julius Caesar. He says he really enjoyed playing the villain.
Paul hopes one day to play Treplyov in Chekov’s The Seagull. He says that he is really intrigued by the relationships in the play. It is a very tragic role and Paul would like to “take that ride”.
Paul would love to (but never will) play Aaron the Moor in Titus Andronicus. He would also like to play Henry V or Iago in Othello.
When asked about his favorite Shakespeare quote, Paul says that he has a monologue in mind of Hermione’s from The Winter’s Tale that he finds striking. He likes the monologue because in it Hermione “shows strength and resolve in the face of oppression and tyranny”.
In the future, Paul wants to be the most diverse actor he can be. He would like to work on some contemporary non-Shakespeare classical plays. He finds himself less drawn to film and television, but he says that he wouldn’t turn down a chance to be in a Joss Whedon show. Paul is moving to Minneapolis in the Spring and hopes to spend a month or so next year in New York City. He says that he “doesn’t want to do one thing his whole life.”
Something you didn’t know about Paul? He is very into turn tables and is a hard core scratch DJ in his spare time. He is into “real” hip hop and likes to go and home after shows and scratch to wind down.
You can see Paul as Bob Cratchett, Topper, and a narrator in A Christmas Carol during December. He says that he is greatly enjoying the role as it is “something new to chew on”.
Other featured actors appearing in A Christmas Carol include:
Matthew Felten
Andrew Houchins
Rivka Levin
Mary Ruth Ralston
Mary Ruth Ralston has been with the Shakespeare Tavern since 2006 when she joined the 2006-2007 Apprentice Company (the Fruit Flies). She had just graduated with a BA in Theatre from
Mary Ruth starting acting in High School. She had always been raised to be very playful. Her parents were imaginative and encouraged her by playing lots of games throughout her childhood.
In college, Mary Ruth chose to portray Lillian Hellman in Cakewalk for her senior thesis project. This was her favorite role. She says that Lillian is a crazy, selfish and funny person and that playing someone so far out of her age range was very challenging. She also felt that because she was portraying a real person, she had a responsibility to get it right.
Mary Ruth is currently playing Joan of Arc in Henry VI Part 1, which is her dream role in Shakespeare. She says that she “enjoys the outlandish take on her that Shakespeare had, making her a whorish witch instead of a saint”. She finds the whole role very fun, from mocking
In the future, she would love to play Viola in Twelfth Night.
Mary Ruth mostly enjoys performing in very classical work or very edgy contemporary plays.
In the future, she plans to stick with live performance. She finds having a live audience is more rewarding, especially as in film you only have to get it right once, but when you are on stage you have to get it right every time.
Mary Ruth also does stunt work, which she finds very fun.
This month, Mary Ruth is also playing Margery
When asked to tell me something most people don’t know about her, she replied “I have a scar on my tongue. This is why making faces at yourself in the mirror while standing on a plastic stool is a bad idea, kids”.