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our story
Vagabond Shakespeare began as a little idea hiding in the soul of our founder, John Michael Cox:
How much can a company of actors streamline the theatrical process?
Why can't a team of actors also be a team of producers, directors, designers, managers, etc.?
Can we connect actors and audiences so closely that EVERYONE becomes a player in the stories we love?
Is this sort of unconventional "farmers market theatre" possible?
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Little did John Michael know so many encouraging colleagues would share his passion for
accessible stories, streamlined processes, artist sustainability, and community building.
In August of 2023, a virtual brainstorm community took shape, culminating five months later in
an undeniable company identity, clear vision and mission statements, and a company name:
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VAGABOND SHAKESPEARE​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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our vision​
Sustainability for Actors;
Accessibility for Audiences.
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our mission
To create, develop, & produce legendary stories
that build community for actor & audience.​
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our founding artistic director
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John Michael Cox is an actor, director, & fight director based in South Carolina. He earned his MFA in Classical Acting from The Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy at The George Washington University and has been working consistently ever since. He has performed in many of The Bard's works including As You Like it, Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Henry IV (1-2), Henry VI (1-3), Love’s Labour’s Lost, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Taming of the Shrew, Tempest, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Directing credits: Classic Players: Off the Boards, Comedy of Errors, Happily Ever After Please, Mary Poppins, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Murder on the Orient Express, Romeo & Juliet, Sorry Wrong Answer, This Could Be, To Theophilus, Twelfth Night, The White Rose.
Fight Directing credits: Alas & Other Remedies, Beauty & the Beast, Comedy of Errors, Great Expectations, Hamlet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Newsies, Peter & the Starcatcher, Richard III, Romeo & Juliet, Samson et Dalilah, Tale of Two Cities.
For John Michael, each new creative project is an invitation toward Trust, Curiosity, and Play.
His daughter, Rosalind, is why he smiles.
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our brainstormers
None of the stories you'll experience from Vagabond could exist
without the efforts of our brainstorm community that formed in summer of 2023.
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A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING BRAINSTORMERS:
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Grace Abele, Ryan Adolph, Hannah Allen, Travis Ascione, Christopher Atchison, Lindsay Morgan Bean, Mady Bell, Michael Beverley, Melissa Bonilla, Greta Boeringer, Josh Boulden, Gabby Boyd, Laura Brennan, Casey Brighton, Skye Bronfenbrenner, Renea Brown, Vania Bryson, Sophie Burke, Mark Cabus, Eli Carnahan, Chris Chamnes, Tara Chiusano, Isa Condo-Olvera, Sydney Cooper, Allison Hope Cox, John Michael Cox, Mark Cox, Mitchell Cox, Danny Crowe, Natalie Cutcher, Sean Dale, Beck Damron, Acacia Danielson, Quinn Davis, Joseph Delguste, Jack Ducat, D'Kameron Edmonson, Kurt Elftmann, Annette Eliasson, Rachel Felstein, Julia Fistere, Beckett Foxx, Jo Garcia-Reger, Paul Michael Garrison, ​Isaac Gibbs, Cynthia Gibson, Matt Giles, Caleb Gleason, Rebecca Viscioni, Colin Grice, Katharine Golightly, Sarah Hart, Shelby Hazel, Sasha Hildebrand, Mia Hilt, Charles Hsu, Timothy Hulbert, Josh Innerst, Om Jae, Charlotte Jaffe, JDew, Arianna Jenks, Beth Jones, Paul Jutras, Bess Kaye, Alyssa Kami, Drew Kenyon, Allyssa Kerston, Nick Kilgore, William Klapperich, Christina Landry, Eric Lane, Dave LaPage, Gabriel Lawrence, Gimmick León, AnnaGrace Leszkowicz, Audrey Loomis, Raghad Makhlouf, Omar Maldonado, Emma Massey, Wilbur Matthew Mauk III, Laura McCulloch, C.J. McElhiney, Erika McGonigal, Brendan McMahon, Séamus Miller, Gracyn Mix, Meetra Moyer, Andrew Mullin, Akasha Nelson, Dani Grace Nissen, Eliza Pagelle, Austin Phillips, Giuseppe Michael Pipicella, Nathan Pittack, Lilliana Pliska, Ben "Dutch" Porch, Jeff Raab, Charlotte Raines, Anna Rock, Stephanie Schlosser, Johnathan Schofield, Ellis Schoolfield, Clare Shaffer, Tro Shaw, Cameron Smith, Tim St. Clair II, Isaac Stephens, Taylor Stephens, Mark Swift, Kevin Thiel, Olivia Tippett, Maddie Tisdel, Markel Toler, Molly Van Pelt, Chase Whitehurst, Olivia Willcox, Austin Wilson, Caleb Woo, Shelley Wutka, Christina Yasi, Sophia Yastrebov, Nathan Young
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