I've loved Rosalind since I first read her at fifteen. And yet the play, AS YOU LIKE IT, turned me off. The problem was with Orlando. I never as stupid or vapid as he had to be not to figure out this boy in the forest, Ganymede, was actually the girl he fell in love with at the court, Rosalind. Being in love with Rosalind as I was, how could I see myself in this dolt? I would have figured it out. Now, don't start flinging phrases like the "throes of love" or the "willful suspension of disbelief". If theater is to instruct me on how to live in my world (and how to pick up girls Like Rosalind), I needed a better example than Orlando.
I was stage managing WOMEN OF WILL, PART II, Tina Packer's exploration of the feminine in Shakespeare as represented by the female characters. These three lecture/performances gave Tina the opportunity to discuss some big ideas about Shakespeare and the chance to play all of the leading women in Shakespeare. [Before I say the next bit, I have to say that WOMEN OF WILL was/is brilliant. It has impacted everything I think about Shakespeare. I count myself lucky to have had some hand in the three parts.] In this production of Part Two, Tina and Johnny Lee Davenport played Rosalind and Orlando in a section of Act IV, Scene 1. They were well past being the age of young lovers. While age did not impact Tina's Juliet, Johnny and Tina's maturity deeply undermined the situation of Orlando believing that this Ganymede was not actually Rosalind. The longer this went on, the more ridiculous it became. It cast a foolish light on the whole scene. Finally I wondered: what if he knew?
What if Orlando knew that Ganymede was Rosalind upon their first meeting in the forest?
Part of the greatness of Shakespeare is that every line can hold many meanings. When you speak the text of lesser playwrights, there is usually only one or two ways to say it. Shakespeare can go lots of places. I started hearing Orlando's lines with the thought, he knows. It worked for every line. He can know it is Rosalind and choose to play along. This makes him smarter and not an idiot. He chooses to play her game. The flirtation and getting to know you aspects of the scenes become more heightened and sexy.
[You also avoid the awkward homoerotic foibles of Orlando falling for Ganymede who is a guy, though secretly played by a girl. He likes a girl, but now he is falling for this boy, does he like boys or is it because the boy is playing the girl he loves? It's a good story, but plays as a bit of red herring in any production that does not exclusively want to be about that.]
The question that follows is: If Orlando knows Ganymede is Rosalind, does Rosalind know that Orlando knows? Either right away or at some moment? And, if she knows he knows, does he know she knows he knows? And does she know that he knows she knows?
We tried this with a production of AS YOU LIKE IT I directed. It was the third main production of The Shakespeare Project of Frederick, Maryland, now called the Maryland Shakespeare Festival. We had great fun with this idea. It completely worked in the rehearsal room and added so much to the playing. Outside onstage in the big field I doubt many playgoers could figure out the convention, though it continued to inform the playing. I always wondered how it would play indoors in a more intimate space. We played that he knew Ganymede was Rosalind; she knew he knew; and he knew she knew, though we get it unclear if she knew he knew she knew. This added more fun.
What I liked best about the idea is that it made the play between Rosalind and Orlando smart. This increased the sense that Rosalind had some point in Orlando's lessons. He was learning how to love her rather than be in love with the idea of her. Thereby, it gained some relevance to the play. It seems if he can learn this lesson, he can forgive his brother when threatened by the lion. Also, Duke Frederick can meet the religious man and not attack Duke Senior and the people of the forest. The play can end in love, rather than bloodshed.
No comments:
Post a Comment