American Theatre is proud to be the venue for Theatrical Mustang, an independently produced podcast from actor-writer-activist Woodzick. Each month they’ll bring listeners interviews with unbridled talent and cultural trailblazers from across the country.
This month they talk with Chicago-based actor, writer, and educator Will Wilhelm. Will is the performer and debut playwright of Gender Play, or What You Will, which they also co-created with Erin Murray. Gender Play, which enjoys its world premiere production with About Face Theatre May 4-June 3, explores Shakespeare through a gender-imaginative eye, expanding trans joy and possibility into the classics.
Wilhelm’s other select Chicago credits include Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (Theater Wit), Straight White Men (Steppenwolf Theatre), Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Goodman Theatre), and My Wonderful Birthday Suit (Chicago Children’s Theatre). Regional credits include Rent (Portland Center Stage), Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Shakespeare Theatre Company), and Oklahoma!, As You Like It, and Macbeth (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), where they were the first openly non-binary company member in the festival’s history.
With Erin Murray, they are also the co-creator and host of the video podcast series Teacakes & Tarot, produced by Island Shakespeare Festival in association with HowlRound Theatre Commons. Will received a BroadwayWorld Award in 2016 for their portrayal of Angel in Rent with Metropolis Performing Arts Center. In 2020, Will wrote “Gender Is Performance” for HowlRound and was featured in the Chicago Tribune. A proud Northwestern graduate, Will is represented by Gray Talent Group.
You can also listen to the episode here.
The Theatrical Mustang podcast is edited by CJ Higgins (they/them). Music by The Morgens using Citizen DJ Project, Library of Congress, National Jukebox.
This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Barton Cole, who coined the phrase “Theatrical Mustang.”
You can listen to episodes 1-138 of the Theatrical Mustang Podcast here. You can email us at theatricalmustang@gmail.com or send a tweet to @TheatricalM.
