From our May 2021 workshop, it’s the final session of Act 3, Scene 5, from Shakespeare’s As You Like it.
We have another “all pro” group—all the actors in the scene are professionals, so the work has been so fun and rich! Our dramaturg Philippa said that she found it so mind-blowingly good how fully the actors and director jumped into this scene, that it’s not something she usually experiences—and I don’t think I could have said it better myself.
In the scene today, Silvius tries in vain to get an answer from Phoebe regarding her love. Rosalind chides Phoebe about her treatment of Silvius and Phoebe ends up falling in love with “Ganymede” (which is, of course, Rosalind in disguise as a man). After Rosalind departs, Phoebe convinces Silvius to bring a letter to this Ganymede, and Silvius is delighted to do so.
We continue rolling out these episodes from the past 12+ months of workshops we’ve been doing, including Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza. You get some of the popular plays and the lesser-known ones too. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all. We’ve done a couple previous rounds with As You Like It too!
Our director Elizabeth Dennehy is back after acting in two previous workshops of King Lear and Julius Caesar, which you’ll find on the podcast and on YouTube.
Now with this scene particularly what was also fun here is that Jamie revisits a role he first worked on in his 20s during the beginning days at Shakespeare and Company. And it’s just amazing what both he and Erika can bring to these two lovers. You don’t for a second think about age—it’s just so true with passion and emotion. These are parts that typically go to younger actors in a cast, and I’m sure neither Jamie nor Erika really thought about playing these parts again, but what a treat to see what two professional actors can bring here, with all of their life experience. I also know Meaghan has played Rosalind before, so it was wonderful to see her go even deeper with the part.
The presentation today is available on the podcast and YouTube, and you can find both below. While there is a video component, since so much emphasis is on the text, I believe it’s still an excellent experience with the audio version.
And if you’re brand new, we released Season 5 of the interviews this year – hear fantastic conversations with lifelong actors who have all been part of our workshops: Veralyn Jones, Alberto Isaac, and Marcelo Tubert—plus James Newcomb and Elizabeth Dennehy, two artists you’ll hear in today’s episode! So if you’ve only heard or seen these actors play characters, go check out their episodes to hear all about their stories and journeys. Really great conversations, all of them. Plus you can also find the 25+ other interviews from our first 4 seasons!
Enjoy the audio version of the As You Like It presentation of Act 3, Scene 5:
Total Running Time: 1:27:45
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
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As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 5: “Sweet Phoebe”
- DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Dennehy (listen to our interview)
- DRAMATURG: Philippa Kelly
- SILVIUS: James Newcomb (listen to our interview)
- PHOEBE: Erika Rolfsrud
- ROSALIND: Meaghan Boeing
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