Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company Presents:
AS YOU LIKE IT
By: William Shakespeare
Director: Frank Williams
Assistant Director: Cara S. Liander
The Play:
Set in Occupied France, circa 1940, As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle’s court, accompanied by her cousin Celia and Touchstone, a motley fool, to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. The wit and romance play out against the disputes of a divided pair of brothers, Orlando and Oliver who also escape to the pastoral forest, home to a peaceful Resistance and exiled duke. In Arden, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveler Jaques, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country.
Auditions:
Auditions will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 29 and June 30, from 1:00 to 5:00pm and 6:00 to 10:00pm in The Learning Center, Building G, at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301.
To make an audition appointment email Nikita Chernin at [email protected] with the preferable time slot and we will accommodate you as best as possible.
Performances will take place outside in the Connie Gretz Secret Garden on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center:
Friday, September 13 – 7:30pm
Saturday, September 14 – 7:30pm
Friday, September 20 – 7:30pm
Saturday, September 21 – 7:30pm
(Rain Dates: September 15 and 22)
ALL ROLES ARE OPEN. There will be a small stipend provided to actors
Please prepare a monologue from Shakespeare or similar works. Memorized is preferred, but rather have you on book than not there if interested.
This production is interested in having a diverse cast and actors of color and Latinx descent are encouraged to audition.
See the Facebook event here.
Characters:
- Rosalind: The play’s heroine, she falls in love with Orlando and shortly thereafter is exiled from the ducal court by Frederick. Accompanied by Celia and Touchstone, she goes to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man, Ganymede. In the forest, she is wooed by Orlando, who is unaware that she is, in reality, his beloved Rosalind.
- Orlando: Noble and pure of heart. His constant concern and care for Adam, the old family servant, immediately makes the audience esteem him. When he learns that his brother Oliver is planning to kill him, he leaves home and goes to the Forest of Arden with old Adam. In the forest, he attaches love poems addressed to Rosalind on all the trees. Finally, he and Rosalind are united and wed.
- Celia: She is Rosalind’s cousin and closest friend. When Rosalind is exiled by Celia’s father, Celia accompanies Rosalind to the Forest of Arden. Since Celia isn’t in love at the time, her practical answers to Rosalind’s queries about love help to explore the depth of Rosalind’s love for Orlando. Celia goes to the forest disguised as Aliena. Eventually she meets Orlando’s brother Oliver and falls in love with him.
- Oliver: He is supposed to teach his younger brother Orlando to be a gentleman, but he does not do so; he is a treacherous youth and tries to have Orlando killed. Orlando, however, saves him from being killed by a deadly snake and, later, from a fierce lioness, and finally the two brothers are reconciled. Oliver eventually falls in love with Celia.
- Touchstone: The court clown, he accompanies Rosalind and Celia to the Forest of Arden. There he falls in love with Audrey, a country woman. Touchstone is one of Shakespeare’s greatest “fools.” Yet he is very realistic in his philosophy, and he serves as a norm by which we can view the other characters.
- Jaques: He is a man of the world, a free spirit. In his travels, he has affected Continental mannerisms of speech and dress, and he believes that his ideas are terribly profound when actually they are very shallow and very generalized. Jaques is satirized by almost everyone with whom he holds “deep discussions.”
- Duke Senior: His ducal rights are usurped, and he is banished to the Forest of Arden by his younger brother, Frederick. Ultimately, his lands and his possessions are returned to him.
- Duke Frederick: The “villain” of this comedy, he banishes his elder brother, and eventually he also exiles his brother’s daughter, Rosalind, from the ducal palace.
- Silvius: This shepherd represents the romantic lover in the pastoral genre of Elizabethan literature. He loves the shepherdess Phoebe, but she constantly rejects him; despite this fact, however, he pines for her throughout the play.
- Phoebe: As the pastoral girl who is the beloved of Silvius, she is a stock figure of this type of romance — that is, she rejects the advances of Silvius, while he suffers from the woes of love-sickness. Surprisingly, she falls wildly in love with Ganymede (Rosalind in disguise), yet finally she weds Silvius.
- Adam: He is the de Boys’ old family retainer. He is dismissed by the nasty Oliver, and later he relates to Orlando that Oliver plans to kill Orlando while he sleeps. He accompanies Orlando to the Forest of Arden.
- Corin: In contrast to Silvius, Corin is a real shepherd; he is quite knowledgeable about sheep and their care. His lines serve as a contrast to the courtly wit of Touchstone.
- Audrey: This simple country woman serves as a contrast to the “town” characters. She has trouble expressing her thoughts and cannot fathom the wit of Touchstone, but their love is so rapturous that eventually they are wed.
- Le Beau: She represents the court gossip, with a talent for propaganda and spin.
- Amiens: A lady attending Duke Senior; she has a light, delightful role, and in this role, she sings some of the most beautiful lyrics that Shakespeare ever wrote.
- Charles: A professional wrestler whom Oliver tells to kill — or at least, maim — Orlando. Ironically, Orlando wins the match.
- William: He is a stock country character who serves as a contrast to the pastoral lovers, Silvius and Phebe, and also as a contrast to the “town characters.”
- Sir Oliver Martext: This vicar is not too knowledgeable; he almost joins Touchstone and Audrey in wedlock, but Touchstone is dissuaded at the last moment by Jaques.
