Featuring the Inaugural Artistic Director of The Perelman Performing Arts Center and former Artistic Director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Bill Rauch | he/him : Will is pleased to welcome Bill to this very special bonus episode. We begin by ruminating on the cyclical nature of storytelling feeding queerness and queerness feeding storytelling. Bill shares the trials and triumphs of being the first openly gay AD of
OSF while urging all listeners to see the potential for outreach in even the most abrasive feedback. Will asks Bill to consider how directing his lifelong passion project, 2018’s genderqueer OKLAHOMA!, has forever changed his artistry. With the coming of the Winter Solstice, Will asks Bill to look ahead and expound on the future of The Perelman before a surprising end of year tarot spread.

In Teacakes and Tarot: Conversations with Queer Futurists, host Will Wilhelm (they/them) welcomes an artistic crush for an intimate chat and a reading. Each episode features a new queer guest discussing art, life in our industry, and their dreams and intentions while the world of performance waits in the wings. Together, they hold space to summon more inclusive, exciting, and queer-friendly ways to create. As the candle burns low,  Will offers their guest a unique tarot reading to give them greater insight on a personal journey. It's one part cocktail party and one part slumber party that will leave you stirred but never shaken. 

Teacakes & Tarot: Conversations with Queer Futurists is produced by Island Shakespeare Festival as part of the Shakespeare Playground Series. The series presents socially distanced programming that upholds ISF’s mission of accessible Shakespeare that embraces intersectional storytelling and artistic excellence. Find out more at islandshakespearefest.org!

Co-Created by Will Wilhelm (they/them) and Erin Murray (she/her)
Graphic Design by Ray Kathryn Morgen (they/them)
Theme Song: Raro Bueno by Chuzausen, licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
Audio & Mixing: Orion Schwalm (he/him)