WINNIPEG — The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film opens its 2010/2011 theatre season November 23-27, 2010 with a refreshing, musical take on Shakespeare’s classic comedy As You Like It. The play will be directed by faculty member Christopher Brauer, designed by a team of student designers under the mentorship of Professor David Hewlett, and performed by the Fourth-Year Honours Acting Style and Genre class with technical support from the Department’s production students.
As You Like It
As You Like It centers on Shakespeare’s largest, and arguably most famous female role – Rosalind, and it features one of his best-known speeches – Jacques’ “All the World’s a Stage.” The plot is uniquely simple compared to Shakespeare’s other comedies, but the characters and their journeys are some of his most complex. In this sharp and insightful romantic comedy, a wide range of characters enter the forest, fleeing from oppressive forces. Once there, they create a protected world in which they can explore what matters most to them: life balance, love, independence, lust and truth.
When the play begins, the audience meets Touchstone, not only the fool in the play but also its minstrel. Throughout the show, and with the help of his ukulele, he comments on the action via modern pop-funk songs. Initially the audience experiences the monochromatic world of the court, but once the characters flee to the forest they find a colourful, highly individualized world. As the story progresses from Orlando’s pretend wooing of the “boy” Ganymede, to Touchstone’s frustrated attempts to wed and bed the bumpkin Audrey, the characters themselves decorate the forest with brightly coloured origami birds and flowers and lanterns, so that by the wedding that is the climax of the play, the stage is a riot of colour and life. The play then ends, as it began, not with the traditional epilogue, but with a romantic and insightful musical conclusion.
Exciting Challenges
This production presents exciting challenges for every area of study within the department. Twenty-seven costumes are being built by the costuming class for the twelve-actor cast. The play is set in dozens of different locations, demanding a student-built set that is flexible, and can represent both the romantic setting of the play and the transformation that the characters experience. This also requires a lighting design that can reinforce the tone of each scene, create multiple locations, and mimic the richness of the forest.
The production’ scenery, props and costumes are designed by a team of senior student designers: Katelynn Poole, Amy Wood, and Kelsey Noren. Alumnus Randy Harder will design the lighting and Tom Keenan – who is also a graduate of the program – will contribute some of the pop music compositions for this production.
Performances are Tuesday, November 23 through Saturday, November 27 at 8:00 p.m. nightly, at the newly christened Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Avenue. Admission is free but reservations are recommended. Please call our 24-hour Reservation and Information Line at 204.786.9152, or visit The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film website at: http://theatre.uwinnipeg.ca
Based in its new home in the Canwest Centre for Theatre and Film at The University of Winnipeg, the Department of Theatre and Film offers areas of study in Acting, Design, Drama in Education, Filmmaking, Playwriting, and Production/Stage Management. Our classes are small and our approach is practical. Our faculty is comprised of highly respected and award-winning professionals who are experienced teachers and remain active in their disciplines, bringing relevant and up-to-date instruction to our students.
For more information, please contact:
Patty Hawkins, Department of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786.9955
p.hawkins@uwinnipeg.ca
Christopher Brauer, Department of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786.9006
c.brauer@uwinnipeg.ca
