Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor is a fifth-generation Californian born on the 54th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake and the 185th anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride, which makes him older than he looks but short for his weight. As co-managing partner of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, he co-created and co-starred in the original productions of The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged), All The Great Books (abridged), Completely Hollywood (abridged), The Complete World of Sports (abridged), The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), and The Complete History of Comedy (abridged). He also co-starred in the PBS broadcast of the RSC‘s signature work The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

Austin produces and hosts the podcast award-nominated Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast (listed in Broadway World’s Top Ten Podcasts for Theatre Fans), and with Reed Martin has written the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged) (published by Hyperion), and the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better), available as an e-book at blaspheming online bookstores everywhere. His play for young audiences Dancing on the Ceiling (an adaptation of Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”) and stage adaptation of Frankenstein are both published by Broadway Play Publishing.

On TV, Austin has played recurring roles on 24, Alias, Felicity, Ally McBeal, and The Practice, as well as guest starring as Guys In Ties on The West Wing, ER, The X-Files, The Mentalist, Nip/Tuck, Gilmore Girls, and on many other hours of episodic television. On stage, Austin’s performed off-Broadway, in the West End, at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre, across the country, and around the world. His material has been heard and seen on the BBC, NPR, and England’s Channel 4; other writings have appeared in The Independent newspaper in London, the Washington Post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the New York Times Book Review, and the men’s room wall of Spenger’s Fish Grotto in Berkeley, California. He also co-created and co-starred in, with Reed Martin, the TBS pilot The Week Reduced.

Austin has a BA in History and Theatre from UC Berkeley and an MFA from Boston University. A member of the Dramatists Guild, Austin and his wife, improviser and writer Dee Ryan, currently live in Chicago where they have two kids and too many cats.