The Wayne started a professional touring arm, called (because they love puns) “ReperTOURy.” In their first season, they included Melissa Leilani Larson’s The Edible Complex, and 50-minute cuts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and As You Like It. They asked me to direct this last one.
Most of my intention going into this project was to keep everything as simple as possible—for the theater, for me (I was producing another play at the same time, and directing yet another one!), and for the actors. One place this showed up was in the design choices. The theater asked me what I wanted to do about setting. Knowing that they were trying to put together several shows at once, I decided to ask for only what I needed, and not anything else. I said, “I want to set it in a period of American history when men and women dressed very differently from one another. Beyond that, I don’t have strong feelings, so please look at your costume stock and look at your actors’ bodies, and find me something that works for you.” Costumer (and cast member) Rosemary Armato pulled a bunch of mid-to-late-19th-Century-style costumes, and created a cohesive design that supported the story. I responded to that choice by playing with the idea of As You Like It meets Little Women. It wasn’t overt (you wouldn’t look at it and go, “Ah yes, Rosalind = Jo March”) but something about the blend of playfulness and seriousness spoke to me at the intersection of those texts. I wouldn’t have thought of it on my own; it was very much prompted by the costume design’s response to my prompt.
Our rehearsal schedule felt kind of bonkers but also very fun—we had two weekends working 9-4 on Saturday and Sunday, to put together the play. It was intense, but I enjoyed being able to do that kind of focused, tight work. Everyone came in mostly memorized, and nearly everyone had a ton of Shakespeareance, so I didn’t have to do any teaching about verse or second-person pronouns or anything like that. I could just focus on putting the world together, which was delightful. Also, everyone was super kind. I didn’t know most of them well beforehand, and going into an intense experience with a roomful of strangers can be nerve-wracking. But they were all so completely lovely. They encouraged each other relentlessly. I was happy to be in the room with them. A very “good vibes only” situation.
I also enjoyed getting to make use of my Cutting Plays skills. A fifty-minute cut for eight actors is very, very tight. It also needed to be accessible for middle schoolers. I decided to get rid of most of the politics (who really cares why Duke Senior is in exile? Literally no one), and a whole lot of the verbal clowning. Anything that might need a footnote was right out. There was a lot of physical clowning because the cast included a number of people with great clown experience. I also (controversial!) cut Audrey. Frankly, most of the stuff about her is misogynistic and not that funny. We played with the rom-com of it all, mostly. I ended up being super happy with the cut.
My stage manager, Rowan Walker, was incredible and so very valuable. I loved getting to work with them, and they reminded me, after several shows I’ve done without a stage manager, how helpful it can be to have a good one.
Somehow, I never managed to get pictures of this production! Working too hard and too focused, I guess.
I did love this banner that they made to advertise it. It’s very silly how happy this made me.
(Also, fun fact, I’ve now directed just shy of 30% of the canon, some plays more than once)
- Producer: Lesley Larsen
- Stage Manager: Rowan Walker
- Costume Designer: Rosemary Armato
- Fight Director: Robert Gotschall
- Cast:
- Amy Ippolito: Celia
- Spencer Mayo: Orlando
- Rosemary Richards: Rosalind
- Robby Gotshall: Silvius
- Rosemary Armato: Duke Ferdinand, Phoebe
- Kelsey Harrison: Adam, Oliver
- Sarah Levine McClelland: Touchstone, First Lord, Duke Senior
- Josh Donohue: Charles, Second Lord, Corin, Jaques