Millbrook Presents: William Shakespeare's As You Like It
Millbrook students debuted As You Like It, a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare, on Thursday, November 9th.
Auditions for the production were held during the first week of school, and over 30 students have been preparing and rehearsing six days weekly since that time.
"In selecting productions year-to-year, we try to vary the style, time period, genre, tone, etc., to give the students and our audiences a variety of experiences. We also try to link to the core value that we are focusing on each year," said Director of Theater Elaine Lifter. "We selected As You Like It because it lands on the lighter side, and we had a lot of fun exploring the themes in the play: court versus country, appearance versus reality, and of course, love in its many forms," she said.
The cast embraced the challenge of performing a Shakespeare production and learned a lot about Shakespeare and themselves as actors throughout the process. "This year’s play was really exciting for me," said Jacob Maren '18. "I have never participated in a Shakespeare production at this high level, and it was really fun learning the deeper meanings behind my monologues."
Will Bates '18, who played Touchstone, also enjoyed the process:
"Putting a Shakespearean play on is so interesting because everyone acting in the production brings that individual interpretation to each of their characters. I loved being able to both transform myself and bring my own personality to the character," said Bates '18.
Like the acting, this year's set was also truly spectacular, as it transformed the Chelsea Morrison Theater into a forest. Twelve students created the set, which was built with lumber, steel, aluminum, rope, and fabric. "I loved the setting and the dreamlike aura of it all," said Assistant Director Roan Scanlon-Black '19, who worked on the set creation. The crew created the dreamy feel, crafting lifelike trees by sewing and painting 86 feet of green and purple fabric. They also created and installed a 300-pound ground cloth on the stage to create the forest floor.
"The cast and crew were a joy to work with throughout the process and brought a tremendous work ethic and the spirit of the play alive in each rehearsal and throughout the performances," said Ms. Lifter.
Their hard work was evident in their performances, which were enjoyed by all. Congratulations to our students on another successful production, bravo!
Be sure to visit our online photo gallery for images from the performances.
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Auditions for the production were held during the first week of school, and over 30 students have been preparing and rehearsing six days weekly since that time.
"In selecting productions year-to-year, we try to vary the style, time period, genre, tone, etc., to give the students and our audiences a variety of experiences. We also try to link to the core value that we are focusing on each year," said Director of Theater Elaine Lifter. "We selected As You Like It because it lands on the lighter side, and we had a lot of fun exploring the themes in the play: court versus country, appearance versus reality, and of course, love in its many forms," she said.
The cast embraced the challenge of performing a Shakespeare production and learned a lot about Shakespeare and themselves as actors throughout the process. "This year’s play was really exciting for me," said Jacob Maren '18. "I have never participated in a Shakespeare production at this high level, and it was really fun learning the deeper meanings behind my monologues."
Will Bates '18, who played Touchstone, also enjoyed the process:
"Putting a Shakespearean play on is so interesting because everyone acting in the production brings that individual interpretation to each of their characters. I loved being able to both transform myself and bring my own personality to the character," said Bates '18.
Like the acting, this year's set was also truly spectacular, as it transformed the Chelsea Morrison Theater into a forest. Twelve students created the set, which was built with lumber, steel, aluminum, rope, and fabric. "I loved the setting and the dreamlike aura of it all," said Assistant Director Roan Scanlon-Black '19, who worked on the set creation. The crew created the dreamy feel, crafting lifelike trees by sewing and painting 86 feet of green and purple fabric. They also created and installed a 300-pound ground cloth on the stage to create the forest floor.
"The cast and crew were a joy to work with throughout the process and brought a tremendous work ethic and the spirit of the play alive in each rehearsal and throughout the performances," said Ms. Lifter.
Their hard work was evident in their performances, which were enjoyed by all. Congratulations to our students on another successful production, bravo!
Be sure to visit our online photo gallery for images from the performances.
