Gettin Jiggy in the Forest

If you couldn't figure it out from the blog title we are kickin' it 90's style this summer!

I love Shakespeare, I love directing, and I love the 90's. What could be better than combining all of these things??? Nothing. Shakespeare doesn't require historically accurate Elizabethan costumes. While the shows certainly can be presented that way, and still be accessible and dynamic productions; the themes and characters can be set against numerous backdrops without losing any of their power and context. So this summer our backdrop is going to be the phatest decade of them all. The 1990's! We will still be in the forest of Arden, but instead of wearing doublet and hose, we will be rocking a lot of distressed denim, mini skirts, plaid everything, holey sweaters, combat boots, and maybe a snapback cap or two.

The 90's were awesome. This show will be awesome. So sign up for an audition spot already.

Character Descriptions

Character descriptions!!! The ages listed are the ages of the characters, not the intended ages for performers. You will also see that some are listed as M/F or F/M which means that the gender of these characters is fluid, and both genders will be considered for those roles. So many of the roles in Shakespeare were written for men, not because women can't take them on, but because women were not allowed to perform. So we are potentially going to gender swap a few of these roles! Whoop! Gender equity y'all! Have fun prepping for auditions!!!

Rosalind (F, 20-22): Daughter of the exiled Duke Senior, cousin to Celia. She is determined and clever. She does not wallow in self pity when she is exiled, rather she sees it as an opportunity to make her own way in the world. She disguises herself as  Ganymede – a young man – and runs off into the forest of Arden with her cousin. She offers services to Orlando as a tutor in the art of romance. She is a delightful mix of cynicism and youthful wonder. She pushes those around her to better themselves, and doles out life lessons whether they are asked for or not. She should be full of energy and should enjoy the game of being Ganymede.

Orlando (M, 20-24): The youngest son of Sir Rowland de Bois. He was brought up by his older brother Oliver after the death of their father. He is gregarious and attractive, but he is not the brightest bulb. His education is sparse, as is his training in the ways of combat. But he gets by on his charm and good looks, and believes that he will attain greatness. He is a good man, kind and forgiving, eager to do the right thing. He cares for his aging manservant and rescues his cruel brother in the forest of Arden. While he is by no means as clever as Rosalind, his good nature and his love for her make him a good match for her.

Duke Senior (M/F, 50-60) – The father (or mother) of Rosalind and the rightful ruler who has been banished by his brother Frederick. The Duke lives in the Forest of Arden with a group of nobles who are loyal to him. The duke makes the best of whatever situation he finds himself in, he is a bit of a philosopher and shows himself to be a benevolent ruler.

Jaques (M, 30-35) – A melancholy lord who has followed the duke into exile. Jaques is more of an observer than a participant in life. He stands off to the side and passes judgement on those around him. He is quiet, but must be compelling. He alone decides to stay behind and live a solitary life rather than returning to court with Duke Senior.

Celia (F, 18-21) – Rosalind’s cousin and the daughter of Duke Frederick. Celia loves her cousin and would rather follow her into exile than to be parted from her. She is kind and good, but a little daft. She decided to disguise herself as a shepherdess and calls herself Aliena. She is feels things deeply, sometimes to excess. In the end of the play she meets and immediately falls for Orlando’s brother Oliver.

Duke Frederick (M, 45-50) – The brother of Duke Senior. He usurped the throne and cast his older brother into exile. He is prone to anger and cruelty. He looses his temper and casts Rosalind out of the court and into exile for no real reason. He is basically the worst. But by the end of the play, he has repented and decides to return the crown to the rightful duke.

Touchstone (F/M, 30-35) – The clown of Duke Frederick’s court who follows Rosalind and Celia into exile. S/he is constantly pointing out the foolishness of everyone else, but without the charm and grace that Rosalind employs. Touchstone is dry and acerbic, and has a very broad and bawdy sense of humor.

Oliver (M, 30) – The elder brother of Orlando and heir to their father’s estate. He hates his brother and does his best to cause Orlando’s downfall. He is cruel and spiteful, but he is touched by his brother’s actions in the forest, and decides to turn his life around. He falls in love with Celia and asks her to marry him without knowing that she is a noblewoman.

Phoebe (F, 17-19) – A young shepherdess who falls in love with Ganymede not knowing that it is really Rosalind in disguise. She has an inflated sense of self, and is dismissive and manipulative to Silvius who loves her in spite of how poorly she treats him.

Silivius (M, 17-19) – The poor young shepherd who is in love with Phoebe, and puts up with her bad behavior and treatment of him.

Lord Amiens (M/F, 20’s) – One of the Lords who follows Duke Senior into the forest, he loves music and plays and sings throughout the show.

Charles (M, 25) – A professional wrestler in Duke Ferdinand’s court who is thrashed by young Orlando in a match.

Adam (M 70-80) – The old manservant who follows Orlando into the forest. He knows how poorly Orlando has been treated and he offers to follow him into exile and to give up his life’s savings to fund the trip.

Aubrey/Audrey (M/F, 25-30) – An attractive but simple goat herder who is wooed by Touchstone.

Wilhelmina/William (F/M, 30) – In love with Aubrey/Audrey

Audition Info!!!

Please prepare one of the following monologues for your audition. All the selections are from As You Like It. The act and scene the monologue can be found in is listed at the end of the monologue so you can understand the context.

Guys

Orlando: Hang there my verse, in witness of my love.
And thou, thrice-crowned queen of night, survey
With thy chaste eye, from thy pale sphere above,
Thy huntress' name that my full life doth sway
O Rosalind, these trees shall be my books,
And in their barks my thoughts I character,
That every eye which in this forest looks
Shall see thy virtue everywhere.
Run, run, Orlando, carve on every tree
The fair, the chaste, and unexpressive she. (act 3, scene 2)

Silvius: Sweet Pheobe, do not scorn me. Do not, Phoebe.
Say that you love me not, but say not so in bitterness.
The common executioner,
Whose heart th' accustomed sight of death make hard,
Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck
But first begs pardon. Will you sterner be
Than he that dies and lives by bloody drops? (act 3, scene 5)

Adam: O unhappy youth,
Come not within these doors. Within this roof
The enemy of all your grace lives.
Your brother - no, no brother - yet the son -
Yet not the son, I will not call him son -
Of him I was about to call his father,
Hath heard your praises, and this night he means
To burn the lodging where you use to lie,
And you within it. If he fail of that,
He will have other means to cut you off.
I overheard him and his practices.
This is no place, this house is but a butchery.
Abhor it, fear it, do not enter it. (act 2, scene 3)

Guys or Girls

Touchstone: He, sir, that must marry this woman.
Therefore you clown, abandon - which is in the
Vulgar "leave" - the society - which in boorish
is "company" - of this female - which in the common is "woman";
which together is, abandon the society of this female, or, clown,
thou perishest; or to thy better understanding, diest; or to wit, I kill thee,
Make thee away, translate thy life into death,
thy liberty into bondage. I will deal in poison with thee,
or in bastinado, or in steel. I will bandy with thee in faction.
I will o'errun thee with policy.
I will kill thee in a hundred and fifty ways.
Therefore tremble and depart (act 5, scene 1)

Girls

Celia: Rosalind lacks then the love
Which teacheth thee that thou and I are one.
Shall we be sundered? Shall we part, sweet girl?
No, let my father seek another heir.
Therefore devise with me how we may fly,
Wither to go, and what to bear with us,
And do not seek to take your charge upon you,
To bear your griefs yourself and leave me out.
For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale,
Say what thou canst, I'll go along with thee. (act 1, scene 3)

Phoebe: I would not be thy executioner.
I fly thee, for I would not injure thee.
Thou tell'st me there is murder in mine eye.
'Tis pretty, sure, and very probably
That eyes, that are the frail'st and softest things,
Who shut their coward gates on atomies,
Should be called tyrants, butchers, murderers.
Now I do frown on thee with all my heart,
And if mine eyes can wound, now let them kill thee.
Now counterfeit to swoon, why, now fall down;
Or if thou can'st not, O, for shame, for shame,
Lie not to say mine eyes are murderers. (act 3, scene 5)

Rosalind (as Ganymede): You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her,
Like foggy south puffing with wind and rain?
You are a thousand times a properer man than she a woman.
'Tis such fools as you that makes the world full of ill-favored children.
'Tis not her glass, but you that flatters her,
And out of you she sees herself more proper
Than any of her lineaments can show her. -
But, mistress, know yourself. Down on your knees
And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love,
For I must tell you friendly in your ear,
Sell when you can; you are not for all markets. (act 3, scene 5)