Like all good comedies, As You Like It addresses social norms and encourages audiences to question the status quo. In this seemingly light comedy (that most people remember as the “one where she goes to the forest dressed like a guy”) Shakespeare makes his voice heard on the most pressing topics of his day- gender roles, land grabbing, and censorship. Using traditions defined by the Italian Comedy, Shakespeare brings universal truths to light through laughter. Jonathan Swift, Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame, and Stephen Colbert clearly took note.

While the entire play is full of terrific food for thought, three characters are shining examples of Shakespeare’s subversive ideas. The court fool Touchstone delivers some of the most glaring social commentary in the play. With his name, which references an actual touchstone- an object that tells us whether or not something is real or fake- Shakespeare sends us the not-so-subtle message to heed the truth that Touchstone speaks. Since the days of the court jester, the clown has played the role of truth-teller. Spreading subversive ideas gets a lot easier when you can shrug these ideas off as a silly joke.  One of Touchstones most enduring lines, “The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly” harkens to this point exactly.

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We are about two weeks away from opening night. That means scripts are gone, costumes are being adjusted, lights are being hung, and tickets are being sold! It’s an exciting and busy time for us.

Recently, I was lucky enough to get some photos from Technical Director Charles Raffetto that show the evolution of the set for As You Like It. Students in the afternoon program in technical theatre are working tirelessly to bring the Forest of Arden to life on the Williston stage. I managed to sneak into the costume shop to grab a few pictures of the original creations costume designer Ilene Goldstein has made for the show. Here are a few snapshots of our progress.

It would never occur to me that someone might think I could walk into a rehearsal for As You Like It and know everything there is to know about a scene. But that’s exactly what happened a few weeks back. We were working a joke- one that is particularly complicated. (Without giving too much away it has to do with mustard, pancakes, and the Queen.) We discussed the historical references in the joke, which goes on for about half a page, line by line. At a certain point I asked the group if there were any questions. One student said, with an incredulous look on their face, “Yes…how do you know all that?”

I have lived with Shakespeare all my life. Yet, even still, when I pick up a play I haven’t read in a while much of the meaning eludes me. I am not afraid to admit this.  I actually want people to know how much I don’t know. This might sound odd coming from an educator (aren’t we supposed to know everything?) but I think it’s the key to helping others fall in love with Shakespeare as much as I have. We shy away from Shakespeare because it’s a little scary. We are afraid of being the only person in the room who doesn’t “get it” when in fact, most of us don’t get it. But once we get over the fact that none of us gets it, we can embark on the task of getting it.

In that spirit, I shared with my students exactly how I “know all that:” I spend about two hours with my script before each rehearsal going through the words line by line. I have two versions of the play with me (Norton Critical and Folger), a Shakespeare Glossary, my own research, a pencil, my script, and the internet. Between these tools I can guarantee that I will do my job in understanding what every character is saying. This information passes from me to the actors who then get to put their own spin on things. And that’s exactly what happened after we figured out what the business was with the pancakes and the mustard.

While As You Like It doesn’t open until mid-April, actors, dancers, musicians and designers are already hard at work bringing the play to life. It takes time to tackle Shakespeare’s language, build a set that will transport audiences to the forest of Arden, and to learn music and dances that will bring the spirit of the forest to life. (If you are wondering what dancers and musicians are doing in a Shakespeare play, As You Like It may be the closest thing Shakespeare gets to a musical. Luckily our trusty creative team from Urinetown, music director Joshua Harper and choreographer Debra Vega, are on board! More on that in another post.)

Below you will find a few snapshots of the actors working to bring the play to life through blocking and a sneak peak of the set which is being built as we speak.

We open this Friday and as we head into the last couple of rehearsals, the students are all working hard to tie up loose ends, and make sure the backstage work is fully integrated with the onstage action. I took some video and wanted to share it here so that you can see what we have been up recently in order to get these one acts ready for our audiences. Much of it is behind the scenes, but I’ve included a tiny teaser for 2 of the 4 plays. So get your tickets and we’ll see you this weekend!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sVu8uKffr4