Experiences in Ireland inspire creative setting for Lawrence's production of 'As You Like It' 

The immortal words from William Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage,” take on a very literal meaning for Lawrence Theatre this Winter Term.   

As the company prepares for their play, As You Like It (Feb. 15-17 in Cloak Theater in Lawrence University’s Music-Drama Center), several members of the cast and crew are using their recent experiences abroad to inform the setting and creative choices in the play. 

Directed by Timothy X. Troy, the J. Thomas and Julie E. Hurvis Professor of Theatre and Drama, As You Like It is a comedic tale of an assorted cast of characters who are divided between the restriction of the court and the freedom of the Forest of Arden. However, rather than setting the play in the woods of the English Midlands, Troy drew upon his recent Fulbright Scholar experience and set the play in Ireland.  

“I had never thought of it as an Irish play until I was in a wonderful, beautiful, scenic area outside of Dublin called County Wicklow,” said Troy. The “beautiful, green, and lush” scenery of the area inspired his choice to set the play in Ireland. 

As You Like It is not an Irish play, Troy explained, and actors will not be using accents, but the props, costumes, and scenery will help evoke the beauty and ruggedness of the Irish countryside. 

How space and environment inform the decisions and emotions of the characters was at the forefront of Troy’s decision. In most productions of As You Like It, he said, the Forest of Arden is so distant that the court essentially disappears. By using the setting of County Wicklow, Troy imagined the characters could literally look back on their old lives. 

Seniors Nihan Baysal, a theatre arts major from Watervliet, New York, and Maddie Guest, a theatre arts and music education double major from Appleton, used pictures from a specific vantage point from a gentry estate, Powerscourt, to design the set. 

“It taught me a new way of thinking of the environment of the play,” Troy said. “You didn’t remove the memory of where you left."  

Although Troy admits that he is usually drawn to Shakespeare’s histories, the comedies provide other complexities to dig into. While the histories have more external conflicts—battles and wars—the comedies tend to have more internal conflicts, something which As You Like It is steeped in. 

“They’re not ancient stories; they’re next to modern,” Troy said. “The fact that it’s 400 years old actually enhances its value. It helps us understand that people are people.”  

For junior Nina Broberg and senior Jon Winkler, the timing of the play could not have been better. Both theatre arts majors had just returned from their study abroad experience at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. 

According to both Broberg and Winkler, seeing the beauty and variety of the Irish countryside in person helped them inform their characterization and acting choices. 

“I think that in this process, it’s been really helpful to think about who you would be if you grew up somewhere that was like that,” said Broberg, a theatre arts major from Circle Pines, Minnesota. 

In the play, Broberg plays the shepherdess Phoebe, who has always resided in the Forest of Arden. She is strong-willed and speaks her mind, emblematic of the freedom she has in the woods.  

Meanwhile, Winkler, a theatre arts major from Evanston, Illinois, plays Orlando, a nobleman who is kept in poverty by his brother. Orlando, said Winkler, lives outside the “norm” and between society (the court) and freedom (the forest).  

Understanding how their characters are influenced by place, Winkler said, helped paint a clear image of how it influenced their lives. 

“There are remnants of structures in society throughout Ireland," Winkler said. "You’ll find an old castle that’s crumbling and decrepit in the middle of nowhere.”  

Both Broberg and Winkler came back from Ireland inspired to create. For the first three weeks of their international experience, they explored the Irish Fringe Festival, where “new and emerging artists in Ireland” showcased their work. They then traveled to Gaiety and were immersed in theatre with rigorous, 10-hour days of theory and acting. 

Their experience concluded with a showcase, which they performed the day before they returned to the United States.  

For Broberg, the experience gave her the drive to create her own work and use her free time toward her development.  

“It really helped me make a lot of discoveries with the way that I work best as an actor,” Broberg said.  

Photo gallery: See more photos from As You Like It

As You Like It will be performed in the Cloak Theater in the Music-Drama Center: 

• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16 
• 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17