"[Jill plays] a Petruccio with the serene confidence of a college varsity athlete...This staged reading of the Shrew is a triumphant manumission for Swanson. Her Petruccio is wit and fire, encumbered with little earth. Seeing her smile and stride and chide is a pleasure, for it encourages us to believe that Petruccio is the only clear-eyed male onstage. With that vivacity, we are quickly won to the notion that the initially mistrustful Kate is attracted by him. This Petruccio tempts and tricks Kate but never lays a hand upon her in violence."
--Michael Miegs for Austinlivetheatre.com, reviewing Austin Shakespeare's staged reading of The Taming of the Shrew.
--Michael Miegs for Austinlivetheatre.com, reviewing Austin Shakespeare's staged reading of The Taming of the Shrew.
"Jill Swanson, in the male lead as Petruchio, must be singled out for merit... Her every movement and expression induces triple meaning – the meaning of the words, the meaning embedded in a farcical take on men, the meaning imbued by a woman who has herself been the subject of such seductions and says in her acting, 'Aren’t they silly but we do put up with them.' And that in itself is a reversal of the presumed meaning of the play – that men put up with women – either angelic or devilish."
"Jill Swanson blew the entire audience away with her performance [of] Petruchio. She was convincing, hilarious and just so fun to watch. "
--Karie, reviewing Taming of the Shrew for austinpost.com
--Karie, reviewing Taming of the Shrew for austinpost.com
"Jill K. Swanson as Phebe the shepherdess in love with Ganymede is a sharp, comic sketch. "
--Austinlivetheatre.com reviewing As You Like It at Scottish Rite.
--Austinlivetheatre.com reviewing As You Like It at Scottish Rite.
"[Director Beth Burns asked] some of the actors to utilize a fairly broad playing style, which works particularly well... especially for Jill K. Swanson as the fickle Phebe."
-- Barry Pineo reviewing As You Like It at Scottish Rite for the Austin Chronicle.
"bravo to Jill K. Swanson for her twinkling mischief"
--Austinlivetheatre.com reviewing Twelfth Night at Scottish Rite, 2008.
--Austinlivetheatre.com reviewing Twelfth Night at Scottish Rite, 2008.
"Pity short reviews do not lend themselves to detailed shout outs for each and every cast member, but suffice it to say, they all rock out with their codpieces out. Jill Swanson’s Maria is the perfect co-conspirator for Michael Mergen’s boisterous Toby and Judd Farris’s hilarious Andrew."
--Spike Gillespie reviewing Twelfth Night at Scottish Rite for The Austinist
"Jill Swanson is remarkable as Vernon Lee, the wounded creator, passionate art lover, and dear friend; she sits so naturally in the skin of the character, gracefully communicating Lee's piercing intelligence and ardor, tenderly exposing her heart. Swanson may well be the production's soul, her vulnerability and concern reminding us that art is more than what lies within a frame. It is and will ever be the people who make it and see it; more than poses and pigments, art is flesh and feeling, muscle, bone, and tears."
--Robert Faires, Arts Editor, Austin Chronicle, reviewing 2002's Madame X.
--Robert Faires, Arts Editor, Austin Chronicle, reviewing 2002's Madame X.
