TAMING OF THE SHREW is Shakespeare’s classic comedy about an eccentric fortune-seeker who courts and marries a wealthy, defiant woman widely known as a “shrew”. To counter her rebellious temperament, he uses a number of tactics to render her an obedient wife.

In 2024, Ben Natan of Small Boat Productions and Karsten Otto of kotto Productions co-founded what is known now as Shakespeare CSE; Clearly, Suddenly, and Entirely. Shakespeare, Clearly is a training program based around Shakespearean acting technique with a heavy emphasis on honoring verse structure, Shakespeare, Suddenly is a reading series that surprises audiences with a play, and Shakespeare, Entirely will stage productions of each of Shakespeare’s plays in full with no textual cuts. For the first Shakespeare Entirely, director and co-founder Karsten Otto will tackle TAMING OF THE SHREW.

TAMING OF THE SHREW will feature Juan Arturo Villar-Ojito, Kate Eastman, McLean Peterson, Uma Paranjpe, Mario C. Brown, Romeo Torres, Milena Makse, Will Sarratt, Jennifer Kim, Langston Darby, Evan Ayer, and Shannon Mastel. Alexandra Haddad will serve as assistant director and fight/intimacy director. Olivia Vaughn Hern is designing costumes. Marissa Todd will be set designer. Amara McNeil will design lighting. Mitchell Polonsky will design sound. Ellie Berry will serve as stage manager. The production team also includes Ben Natan and AJ Liu of Small Boat Productions, Karsten Otto of kotto Productions, Arya Davachi of Dramafriend, Carolina Bowe, Liz Haberland-Ervin, and Caroline Shriver.

Karsten Otto on why he is directing TAMING OF THE SHREW now: “First and foremost, it’s one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, allowing us to start this project near the beginning of his career. Secondly, it is a play that directors and producers have a tendency to ‘fix’ in order to produce it for a modern audience. And finally, it’s a hilarious play until it isn’t. And then it is very unsettling. Every time I’ve heard TAMING OF THE SHREW aloud, I’m struck by how easily a community can sell out one of their own when offered an easy, charismatic solution. In order to combat harshness in society, we must remember that people deserve safety and care even when they may make your life more difficult.”