“The
fool doth think he is wise,
but the wise man knows himself to be a fool …”
The Homeschool Drama Troupe
presents
William Shakespeare’s
As You Like It
Warner,
NH – June 6 & 7, 2014
AS
YOU LIKE IT...
a love story, a tale of wit and foolery, of heartbreak and poetry, of questions
and revealings.
This
hilarious and linguistically beautiful play — considered to be one of
Shakespeare’s finest comedies — will be presented June 6th and 7th
by the Homeschool Drama Troupe at the Warner Town Hall in Warner, New
Hampshire.
Come
join the witty Rosalind, melancholy Jaques and clueless Orlando — as well as
countless other fools and wise people — as the Homeschool Drama Troupe embarks
to the Forest of Arden for its tenth-annual
Shakespearean production. Founded by Jenny Courser and now directed by Lois
Shea, the Homeschool Drama Troupe features a talented cast of actors: Jacob Aki
of Weare; Molly Litt and Olivia Dodd of
Dunbarton; Emily Vallari of Hopkinton; Fiona Shea and Natalie Dill of
Warner; Sam and Stephen Brown and David Russell of New London; and Erin Meegan
of Newbury.
“Rosalind
is one of Shakespeare’s strongest characters — which I’d never really given her
credit for until I started studying this role,” said 18-year-old Fiona Shea, who plays the lead role. “She’s
tough in the face of change, she’s not afraid to be the wittiest one in a room.
She’s fiercely loyal to those she’s close to, and above all, she’s very
self-aware. She’s willing to fall in love, though she knows she’s taking a huge
chance. And while she’s partly teaching Orlando how to woo properly, she’s also
teaching him how to be her equal. And that takes guts.
“This play is partly
about finding out who you are. A lot of people ask why, when Rosalind meets
Orlando in the forest, she doesn’t reveal who she is right away. I believe that
she’s found this incredible freedom in dressing as a boy — she finds that she’s
able to do things that she couldn’t have in the court. Rosalind is not meant to
be just a court ‘lady,’ as much as the jester Touchstone is not meant to be
just a courtier.”
Rosalind’s
decision to disguise herself and seek her father, the banished Duke, in the
Forest of Arden ignites a firestorm of hilarity. She discovers that the love of
her life, Orlando, is also in the forest — and she proceeds to test how strong
his love for her really is.
“I think our audience might be surprised by how
funny As You Like It
is,” Shea continued. “They might also be surprised by how much, if they’re
willing to use their imaginations, they can be transported. Theatre is magical
in that way. Oscar Wilde said ‘I regard the theatre as … the most immediate way
in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a
human being.’ I think As You Like It
perfectly captures that.”
As
You Like It is sponsored by the Warner
Conservation Commission, and all proceeds will go toward the Commission’s land
protection efforts in Warner.
Performances
will be Friday June 6th at 1 p.m. and Saturday June 7th
at 4 p.m. at the Warner Town Hall. Admission is $5, Free for kids under 18.
For
more information, please visit http://stowdodd.wix.com/
