As You Like It

Dramaturg’s Notes As “We” Like It “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts...” W illiam Shakespeare’s As You Like It , part playful fairy tale, part love story, and part social commentary, was written in 1599 and loosely based on Rosalynde , a pastoral romance written by Thomas Lodge. The pastoral romance was extremely popular in Elizabethan England, and Shakespeare both catered to this popularity (by using some pastoral conventions) and satirized it (by poking fun at the pastoral life and characters). Though As You Like It is part love story and fairy tale, it is grounded in reality, focusing on ideas and important themes rather than on a complicated plot or complex characters. The play stresses, in Ben Jonson’s words, “Words above action, matter above words.” Shakespeare addresses topics such as gender roles, social freedom, and romanticism, setting most of his play in the good, safe, and almost utopian Forest of Arden. Many rivalries are evident in As You Like It : court vs. country, realism vs. romanticism, the active life vs. the contem- plative life, nature vs. fortune, inherent nobility vs. acquired virtue. Yet, all of these rivalries are embodied and even reconciled in As You Like It ’s central and dominating character, Rosalind. She both mocks and revels in love, counsels and chastises other characters while maintaining awareness of her own failings and humanity, and laughs at life while realizing the value of contemplation. She is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known, rounded, and complete characters and has been delighting audiences and critics for 400 years. Elizabethan audiences would have “liked” seeing familiar pastoral conventions and characters; the events of the play unfold as the main characters, especially Rosalind, would “like” them to; and we get to experience a playful, entertaining, and thought-provoking play — just As “We” Like It. — Jason Pierson, Student Dramaturg* Cast In order of appearance Orlando ~ Brenon Garrett Christofer* Adam ~ Rob Chesnut Charles ~ Jonathan Culver Oliver ~ Scott Simons Dennis ~ Jeremy Law Touchstone ~ Dan Miner* Duke Frederick ~ Daniel Konopasek Lords of Duke Frederick ~ David Wenzel, Jacob M. Noftz, Joseph O’Neal Le Beau ~ Ryan Culpepper Duke Senior ~ Justin Swanson Lords of Duke Senior ~ Tim Cochrell, Jeremy Law, Brian Coon Amiens ~ Philip C. Sheward Jacques ~ Matt Hermiz* Corin ~ Josh Cain Sylvius ~ Michael Aaron Minahan William ~ Brian Coon Rosalind ~ Clarissa C. Band* Celia ~ Laura A. Livingston* Audrey ~ Vanessa Grace Baker* Phoebe ~ Joanna Robinson Sir Oliver Martext ~ Jacob Noftz Jacques de Boys ~ Joseph O’Neal Hymen ~ Michael L. Dorsey* * Indicates member of Alpha Beta Phi, the College chapter of the national honorary theatre society. There will be a 15-minute intermission.