As You Like It Enrichment Guide
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AS YOU LIKE IT ENRICHMENT GUIDE Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Adapted and Directed by DARYL CLORAN Conceived by DARYL CLORAN and Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival In Association with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre TABLE OF CONTENTS Theatre Etiquette Page 2 Who’s Involved Page 3 Director’s Note Page 4 About the Creators Page 4 Characters Page 6 Synopsis Page 6 Production Elements Page 7 Themes Page 9 Curriculum Alignment Page 11 References Page 12 THEATRE ETIQUETTE Going to the theatre is an engaging and interactive experience. We want you to be an active participant when you see our shows; laugh when it’s funny, cry when it’s sad, gasp when it’s shocking, and enjoy the experience as much as possible. But we want you to do this in the most respectful way possible, for both the performers and your fellow audience members. To ensure the most positive experience, please review the following information prior to arriving at the theatre. Not Allowed in the Theatre: • No outside food or beverages. Only beverages purchased in the lobby and placed in a Citadel Sippy and bottled water will be allowed in the theatre. Unwrapped ice cream bars may be taken into the theatre. Please enjoy all other snacks in the lobby. • Cameras and other recording devices (please note that taking photographs or other recordings in the theatre are strictly prohibited by law). Basic Courtesy: • Turn OFF and put away all electronic devices such as cell phones, iPods, video game systems, etc. prior to entering the theatre. • Do not place your feet on the seat in front of you. • The actors onstage can see and hear the audience during the performance – it is important that audience members not talk, move around, or fidget during the performance, as this can be distracting for the actors, as well as fellow audience members. • There is no dress code at the Citadel Theatre, but we respectfully request that patrons refrain from wearing hats in the theatre. • For the safety of those with allergies, please refrain from using perfumes or scented products before coming to the theatre. • Do not place backpacks or other bags in the aisle in front of your feet, as this may impair the ability of persons to exit the row in an emergency. Inappropriate Behaviour: Citadel Theatre representatives watch carefully during performances for inappropriate behaviour, especially behaviour that could endanger an actor or audience member. Inappropriate behaviour includes, but is not limited to: • Talking in the audience • The use of laser pointers or other light or sound-emitting devices • Interfering with an actor or the performance (tripping, throwing items on or near the stage, etc.) • Audience members identified as engaging in this type of behaviour will be removed from the theatre during the performance or at intermission 2 WHO’S INVOLVED CAST LINDSEY ANGELL Rosalind BENJAMIN CAMENZULI Forest Lord/2nd Brother SARAH CONSTIBLE Jaques/Le Beau SHARON CRANDALL Corin/Duke’s Attendant EMILY DALLAS Phoebe OSCAR DERKX Forest Lord/William/Hymen AUSTIN ECKERT Charles the Wrestler/Amiens PAUL ESSIEMBRE Duke Senior/Duke Frederick JEFF IRVING Orlando KAYVON KHOSHKAM Touchstone JENNY McKILLOP Audrey JAMEELA McNEIL Celia ROBB PATERSON Adam/Sir Oliver Martext JUSTIN STADNYK Oliver/Forest Lord FARREN TIMOTEO Silvius MUSICIANS BENJAMIN CAMENZULI Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar SHARON CRANDALL Piano EMILY DALLAS Piano OSCAR DERKX Guitar AUSTIN ECKERT Bass Guitar, Guitar PAUL ESSIEMBRE Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums KAYVON KHOSHKAM Harmonica ROBB PATERSON Bass Guitar JUSTIN STADNYK Piano, Trombone, Trumpet CREATIVE TEAM Director DARYL CLORAN Music Director BEN ELLIOTT Choreographer/Fight Director JONATHAN HAWLEY PURVIS Set Designer PAM JOHNSON Costume Designer CARMEN ALATORRE Lighting Designer GERALD KING Sound Designer PETER McBOYLE Stage Manager WAYNE PAQUETTE Assistant Stage Manager LESLIE WATSON Apprentice Stage Manager ISABEL BERGQUIST Assistant Director KAYVON KHOSHKAM Assistant Set Designer KSENIA BRODA-MILIAN Assistant Lighting Designer EVAN WOHLGEMUT Fight Captain PAUL ESSIEMBRE Music Captain JUSTIN STADNYK Dance Captain SHARON CRANDALL Creative Consultant RICK BOYNTON Clearance & Music Consulting JOHN CICCONE, Copyright Music & Visuals 3 DIRECTOR’S NOTE I have set this production of As You Like It right here – in Bard’s own backyard. It’s the 1960s, and we’re in Kitsilano - home of Vancouver’s counter-culture. We start at a wrestling match, much like Vancouver’s All-Star Wrestling of the 1960s, and then our lovers escape to the Okanagan (which, for Shakespeare purists, scans the same as “For’st of Arden”!), just like many freethinkers of the ‘60s escaped Vancouver to get “back to the land” in the interior of B.C. As You Like It is a love story. Love in its many forms. From youthful romantic love, to the love of a father and a daughter, to the belief that to get what we want in life, truly, all we need to do is love and respect each other - a belief that resonated as much in Shakespeare’s time as it did in the sixties – and as it does today. We are telling this story with “a little help from our friends”, the Beatles. The Fab Four’s songs fit perfectly into this story. The challenge for me was not how to include the songs; it was how to narrow down our choices! There are twenty-five Beatles songs in this production. Needless to say, I have cut A LOT of Shakespeare’s text to make room for the songs. The Bard’s story comes alive through song, as the characters find themselves in the woods where emotions can no longer be contained by words alone. Orlando’s love letters become love songs. Amiens and the Lords sing as they refine their philosophy about life and love. Even the evolution of the Beatles’ song writing is perfect for the story arc of As You Like It. The early Beatles songs are naïve and youthful, which is where the young lovers start when they run to the forest. But as we meet the thinkers in the forest and life becomes more complicated, we are able to transition into the Beatles’ later more spiritual and philosophical song writing, exploring the notion that change is possible if we all find a way to love each other. Shakespeare, Vancouver, the 1960s, and The Beatles are a perfect combination. I’m so glad you have joined us for this adventure into the forest. I hope by the end of the play we will send you out of the tent with a song in your heart and a belief in our shared humanity. - Daryl Cloran Link to Daryl Cloran speaking about As You Like It to the Vancouver Sun before it ran at the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaln3A_A5sg ABOUT THE CREATORS Playwright: William Shakespeare An English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon.” His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Such theories are often criticised for failing to adequately note that few records survive of most commoners of the period. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. Until about 1608, he wrote mainly tragedies, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights. 4 Adapted by Daryl Cloran Prior to helming Western Canada Theatre, Cloran was the Founding Artistic Director of Theatrefront, an independent Toronto theatre company where he directed: The Mill (four Dora Awards, winning one for Outstanding Production); forward (2 Dora nominations); the critically acclaimed Our Country's Good (2 Dora nominations); Swimming in the Shallows; The Underpants; Mojo; Sweet Phoebe; and I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe. Most notable of Cloran's work with Theatrefront are the international collaborations, Return (The Sarajevo Project) and Ubuntu (The Cape Town Project). The critically acclaimed Return (The Sarajevo Project) was created and produced in Bosnia and Toronto by a company of Bosnian and Canadian artists. It garnered five Dora nominations and was published by Playwrights Press Canada. Ubuntu (The Cape Town Project) was collectively created by Daryl Cloran and an ensemble of Canadian and South African artists. It is a bilingual work combining physical and text-based theatre. It was also published by Playwrights Canada Press. Developed in Toronto and Cape Town, it was produced in South Africa, Halifax, western Canada, and Toronto.