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As You Like It Near the End of the at the Duke's Court: 1590S ASF's 2014-15 Schools' Tour of Asby William You Shakespeare Like It Director Set Design Costume Design Lighting Design Greta Lambert Heidi Ensslin Elizabeth Novak Tom Rodman Contact ASF @: www.asf.net Study materials written by 1.800.841-4273 Susan Willis, ASF Dramaturg [email protected] ASF/ 1 As You Likeby William It Shakespeare Welcome to Intolerant authorityAs You figures, Like young It! runaways, a forest, love, exuberance—and Ganymede and Rosalind sheep! All the ingredients of a great romantic comedy, as Shakespeare well knew when CHARACTERS he wrote As You Like It near the end of the at the Duke's court: 1590s. In it, Shakespeare combines many Duke Frederick, usurper of his of his favorite comic devices and a trendy older brother pastoral convention to meditate on the nature of love, his favorite comic subject. Young lovers Le Beau, a courtier abound; relationships get tangled, not least Oliver sons of Sir because a girl disguises herself as a boy; and Orlando } Roland de Boys a threatening political situation dissolves at Adam, servant loyal to Orlando the edge of the forest. Whereas Shakespeare Charles, the Duke's wrestler famously explores a night in an enchanted "green world" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Touchstone, the court fool As You Like It offers a daylight visit to the woods, Rosalind, daughter of the A S F ( 2 0 0 5 ) — one that begins more nearly in midwinter than Ruth Eglsaer as banished duke midsummer, but which inevitably moves toward Ganymede, and, Celia, her cousin, daughter of spring—and the birds and the bees. right, as Rosalind Frederick The lovers in As You Like It grow from at her wedding ( W h i l e t h i s infatuation to mature love with a side glance production was set in the Forest of Arden: at chemistry and commitment. Four couples earlier than the tour Duke Senior, the banished approach the altar at the conclusion, and getting will be, the pictures duke them there is the crux of the play. Kickstarting this can give you a feel for the play.) Jaques, lord exiled with Duke romantic action is a tale of political usurpation at Senior court, a tale of brothers and rivalry focused on two families, one involving the dukes and one the Silvius, a young shepherd de Boys brothers, Oliver and Orlando. Flavored Phebe, the shepherdess Silvius with Touchstone's wise foolery, Jaques's cynical loves jibes, and Corin's practical insights, As You Audrey, a goatherdess Like It shows Shakespeare's mature approach Other lords at court and in the to romantic comedy with zippy prose, heartfelt forest verse, and a bevy of songs. Characters not in the touring version of the play And to Our Tour Jacques, middle son of Sir OurWelcome love of Shakespeare runs deep at ASF, herself a renowned Shakespeare actress, the Roland de Boys and we are happy to share it with schools across touring show features eight actors chosen from Dennis, Oliver's servant Alabama and neighboring states, because New York auditions who are joining the ASF Amiens, exiled lord in forest there is just nothing like the experience of live company for the 2014-15 season. These eight Corin, an older shepherd Shakespeare comedy—finding out that the will perform all the roles in As You Like It, doubling Bard is entertaining and funny and knows us or tripling their casting just as Shakespeare's William, a country lad in love very well. own company did. They also serve as their with Audrey Touring with shorter scripts and a smaller own crew and staff—bringing you a complete Sir Oliver Martext, a country company was a regular part of English theatre in theatre with set, costumes, props, and actors vicar Shakespeare's time. In that spirit, this adaptation in a van and a trailer. of Shakespeare's sprightly comedy trims As In addition, we offer you and your students Setting: The ASF touring You Like It to just over an hour so it will nearly a series of workshops following the play, so your production will have a fit in a class period while keeping the great students can work with the actors on theatre 1930s' look with a hint of characters, the verse, and the compelling arc skills and Shakespeare's language. We're on Celtic—homespun and of action. Directed by ASF's Greta Lambert, the road and hope to head your way! natural with a "Robin Hood" flair. ASF/ 2 As You Likeby William It Shakespeare The Story of As You Like It CrisisThe at ducal Court court is recovering from a recent FlightIn theto Forestthe Forest of Arden, Duke Senior and coup in which the current duke, Frederick, other lords loyal to him live a spare existence usurped and exiled his older brother, Duke and welcome Orlando when he arrives with Four Sets of Senior. Other aristocrats also feel less than Adam, seeking food. Rosalind and Celia, • two sets of aristocrats:Lovers brotherly love, for Oliver de Boys has grown disguised for safety as a boy and his sister Orlando/Rosalind and envious of his younger brother Orlando and called Ganymede and Aliena, also arrive in Oliver/Celia keeps him home unschooled, working as a the forest, buy a sheepcote, and meet Silvius,a • one set of country folk: farm laborer on his estate. When Orlando finally shepherd desperately in love with a disdainful Silvius/Phebe, who falls rebels and demands his inheritance, Oliver shepherdess, Phebe. When Ganymede for Ganymede (Rosalind in plans to have him killed in a wrestling match. chastizes Phebe for her attitude, Phebe falls in disguise) Yet Orlando defeats the court wrestler while love with this new "boy." • one court/country pair: being cheered on by two young women, Celia Touchstone/Audrey Orlando hangs love poems to Rosalind and Rosalind—and Orlando and Rosalind fall on trees in the forest, and Rosalind and Celia in love at first sight. discover the poems and then Orlando. Caught Rosalind and Celia, cousins who are in disguise, Rosalind decides to test and counsel more like sisters, get caught up in court her avid admirer on the nature of love. She politics when Celia's father, Duke Frederick, pretends Ganymede can cure love and gets banishes Rosalind just as suddenly as he had Orlando to promise to come "woo" a pretend earlier usurped her father, Duke Senior. Celia "Rosalind" that Ganymede will play, saying stays loyal to Rosalind, and the young women this "Rosalind" will show Orlando how women plan to escape to the Forest of Arden, taking really behave. This way Rosalind can be wooed Touchstone, the court fool, along with them. without revealing herself. Orlando agrees to Where Is Returning home, Orlando again finds himself play the game to pass the time and to talk about ShakespeareArden? based the plot of his beloved. As You Like It on a prose romance, threatened. Warned by the servant Adam that Rosalynde, written in 1586-87 by Oliver now plans to torch his dwelling, Orlando Thomas Lodge. Its story takes and Adam make plans to flee. Duke Frederick, NewsWhen and OrlandoNuptials is late for one of their place in France in the great Forest displeased by all the runaways, dispossesses "wooings," Rosalind despairs; then Oliver of Ardennes. True to his source, Oliver unless he finds his brother. appears with an apology from Orlando, who then, Shakespeare's play is full of had discovered his brother endangered by a French-named characters—Jaques, lion and saved him. The brothers reconcile, Le Beau, the de Boys family (bois and Oliver is now a changed man, with whom means woods), and Amiens. Celia instantly falls in love, and the two decide to Yet just north of Shakespeare's marry. Ganymede promises Orlando he will be home in Stratford-upon-Avon lay married, too, and says she will also help Phebe remnants of England's own once and Silvius to marry happily. Lusty Touchstone, vast Forest of Arden, akin to the more northerly Sherwood Forest, the fool, shows up for the festivities to wed the home of Robin Hood and his merry country girl, Audrey, since that is the only way men, where the medieval version of she will agree to sleep with him. News arrives the Orlando story took place. that Duke Frederick was marching to attack the Forest By the late sixteenth century, forest, but aborted his plan to become a hermit, of Arden however, deforestation had shrunk so after the weddings the courtiers can return the Forest of Arden to patches of happily to the court and their estates. forest amid more developed land, now fields and pastures. Consequently, Forest of the combination of forest and pasture Ardennes is a timely aspect of Shakespeare's play. Amid the French setting in his source, Shakespeare also places Audrey and a number of other rural folk, all new additions to the story and all unmistakably English. ASF/ 3 As You Likeby William It Shakespeare The Actions of As You Like It WrestlingWrestling best describes all the action at WooingIf rivalry and contest shape the court court in As You Like It. In wrestling two men vie scenes, such forces cannot dampen the new for power and dominance, an image that aptly arrivals' exuberance at being in the forest and describes the relationships between the two in love. All the young people seem to end up sets of brothers. in love, and wooing becomes the dominant We get two forms of wrestling matches—the mode of rhetoric, given Orlando's love poems, first a sudeden explosion of temper between Sylvius's entreaties, and Touchstone's urgings.
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