Study Materials for Contact ASF at: www.asf.net Study materials written by 1.800.841-4273 Susan Willis, ASF Dramaturg [email protected] ASF/ 1 Welcome to As You Like It Intolerant authority figures, young Ganymede Is Rosalind?! runaways, a forest, love, exuberance—and sheep! All the ingredients of a great romantic CHARACTERS comedy, as Shakespeare well knew when 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 Le Beau, a courtier of love, his favorite comic subject. Young lovers Oliver sons of Sir abound; relationships get tangled, not least Orlando } Roland de Boys because a girl disguises herself as a boy; and Adam, servant loyal to Orlando a threatening political situation dissolves at Charles, the Duke's wrestler the edge of the forest. Whereas Shakespeare Touchstone, the court fool famously explores a night in an enchanted Rosalind, daughter of the "green world" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, banished duke As You Like It offers a daylight visit to the woods, Celia, her cousin, daughter of one that begins more nearly in midwinter than Frederick midsummer, but which inevitably moves toward spring—and the birds and the bees. in the Forest of Arden: The lovers in As You Like It grow from Duke Senior, the banished infatuation to mature love with a side glance duke at chemistry and commitment. Four couples Jaques, lord exiled with Duke approach the altar at the conclusion, and getting Senior them there is the crux of the play. Kickstarting this Silvius, a young shepherd romantic action is a tale of political usurpation at Phebe, the shepherdess Silvius court, a tale of brothers and rivalry focused on loves two families, one involving the dukes and one the ASF (2005)— Audrey, a goatherdess de Boys brothers, Oliver and Orlando. Flavored Ruth Eglsaer as Other lords at court and in the with Touchstone's wise foolery, Jaques's cynical Ganymede, and, forest jibes, and Corin's practical insights, As You right, as Rosalind Like It shows Shakespeare's mature approach at her wedding Characters not in the touring to romantic comedy with zippy prose, heartfelt version of the play verse, and a bevy of songs. Jacques, middle son of Sir Roland de Boys … And Welcome to Our Tour Dennis, Oliver's servant Our love of Shakespeare runs deep at ASF, Shakespeare actress, the touring show features Amiens, exiled lord in forest and we are happy to share it with schools across eight young actors who are joining the ASF Corin, an older shepherd Alabama and neighboring states, because company as Acting Fellows for the 2018-19 William, a country lad in love there is just nothing like the experience of live season. These eight will perform all the roles in with Audrey Shakespeare comedy—finding out that the Bard As You Like It, doubling or tripling their casting Sir Oliver Martext, a country is entertaining and funny and knows us very well. just as Shakespeare's own company did. They vicar Touring with shorter scripts and a smaller also serve as their own crew and staff—bringing company was a regular part of English theatre in you a complete theatre with set, costumes, Setting: The ASF touring Shakespeare's time. In that spirit, this adaptation props, sound, and actors in a van and a trailer. production has an of Shakespeare's sprightly comedy trims As You In addition, we offer you and your students Appalachian setting Like It to just over an hour so it will fit in a class a series of workshops following the play, so your period while keeping the great characters, the students can work with the actors on role playing, verse, and the compelling arc of action. Directed theatre skills, and Shakespeare's language. by ASF's Greta Lambert, herself a renowned We're on the road and hope to head your way! ASF/ 2 Director Greta Lambert Talks about As You Like It We spoke with ASF Associate Artistic adventure. He seems to know how fierce Director Greta Lambert about her love of a mother’s love can be. I am always Shakespeare and her views on As You Like It. So amazed that the last act of Antony and far in her career she has explored Shakespeare Cleopatra is mostly Cleopatra, not Antony by performing Rosalind, Cressida, Viola, or Caesar. He is interested in how SHE Miranda, Kate, Titania, Princess Katherine, Lady faces death and immortality. Ann, Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth, Constance, Q: What interests you about As You Like It? Mistress Page, Emilia, and Gertrude and by GL: The comedies are full of characters directing Much Ado, Two Gents, Comedy discovering themselves, and As You Like of Errors, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, It has always been one of my top three Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, favorite Shakespeare plays. I love what and Macbeth. role the forest plays on everyone who Q: Why do performers love Shakespeare? enters. Rosalind escapes suppression GL: Shakespeare offers a performer the and discovers her intellect, her wit, her opportunity to explore extraordinary fearless spirit and what freedom really characters in extraordinary situations. Yet means to her and to her relationship. every human can relate to the feelings and You can feel her expanding as the play Greta Lambert, now ASF's thoughts of his characters. Characters progresses – owning herself. She will not Associate Artistic Director, as are complex but passionate and deeply become a “dutiful wife.” She will enter Rosalind in As You Like It set in the human. His language is so perfectly marriage as a true equal partner with 18th century (ASF, 1988) precise to the life experience. No one Orlando. says it better! Probably my favorite passage is Duke Q: There were no women acting on his stage; Senior’s speech at the top of Act II, “Now how well does he portray women? my co-mates in exile … / And this our GL: It is amazing to me that a man who wrote life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds female characters for men to play, can so tongues in trees, books in the running About These Study Materials fully present the complexity of women. I brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in We offer an array of information think he was thinking ahead to a time everything.” and topics to fit your when women would play his women. He This describes so beautifully what nature has curriculum needs: seems to capture the innocence of his to offer mankind, how it can heal, teach, Unit 1: Character young women and yet also understand transform, and show man “what I am.” Unit 2: The Poetry and Songs their desires to know love, sex, wit and Unit 3: The Context, Genre and the Pastoral Convention Unit 4: Page to Stage with the Why Doesn't He Recognize Her? First Folio text plus Viewing Resources, Left: Orlando with discussion points/writing Rosalind, the former prompts, and activities. Duke's daugher; and Adapt them to your class level right, with Ganymede, a young guy who owns and current topics. a sheepcote near the These study materials and forest. (Sean Mahan, activities cover Alabama Ruth Eglsaer, rear CCR Anchor Standards Lauren Bloom) 1-10 for Reading Literature This is the girl Orlando meets. What do guys think, "hey, aren't you…?" What does Orlando see first? What guy who meets a gorgeous, see when he first meets Rosalind? Who does well-dressed, sophisticated young lady at court he see in the forest? How closely does he would look at a scruffy kid in the forest and look? What does "his Rosalind" look like? ASF/ 3 The Story and Action of As You Like It Wrestling Wooing Wrestling best describes all the action at If rivalry shapes the court scenes, it cannot court in As You Like It. In wrestling two men vie dampen the new arrivals' exuberance because for physical power and dominance, an image all the young people end up in love, and wooing that aptly describes the relationships between becomes the dominant mode of rhetoric, given the two sets of brothers. Orlando's love poems, Sylvius's entreaties, and We get two forms of wrestling matches— Touchstone's urgings. Shakespeare heightens the first a sudden explosion of temper between the fun by crossing the wires of the wooing when brothers with no rules and no limits; the second Rosalind maintaind her disguise so that Orlando a formal match, but lethal all the same. Charles unknowingly describes his ardor to his beloved. says he "wrestles for his honor" in the court Lest Rosalind get too cocky, Shakespeare also match, therefore mortally wounds those who traps her when her disguise attracts Phebe. challenge him. In a way, Orlando also wrestles Among the exiles, metaphoric "wooing" for his honor in both frays, for he is sure he leads the Duke to is being dishonored by his current treatment beseech Jaques to at home. Duke Frederick has wrested, if not philosophize, Jaques to wrestled, the political power from his brother in ask Touchstone to be Sean Mahan as Orlando a coup that put a wrestling fan in charge of the witty, and Orlando initially fighting with Oliver (James dukedom. Moreover, the wrestling breaks ribs to entreat some food at Denvil) at ASF, 2005; opposite, and threatens life in the formal match, just as sword point. The de Boys Jack Laskey and Naomi Duke Frederick threatens the safety of Orlando, brothers meet again, this Frederick as Orlando and Rosalind, and shortly thereafter even Oliver while time to wrestle a lion.