As You Like It

Dramaturg’s Note

As You Like It was the last play I performed in before the pandemic. I played Duke Frederick and threw up at the afterparty, releasing all the anxiety and pent up dread that came with performing in my senior play. Though the process had been filled with typical high school theatre drama, the play came to serve as a mirror to my own angst and daily self-discoveries as a seventeen year old and carried me through the rest of my year and the global horror that took hold of it. Just think about it: a bunch of kids are banished from a capitalist, heteronormative court and find joy, partnership, and themselves in the makeshift utopian commune that is the Forest of Arden. Isn’t that the journey a lot of us want? Is this a form of “escape”, more so restructuring, that we need? This play, especially when viewed through a queer, ecocritical lens, speaks to the issues facing those in my age demographic today. Our rage tweets, anxiety attacks, love stories, and protests are all encapsulated within the text. These desires have always been here. But we can say it! Classical texts are deeply confounding and oftentimes inaccessible, and these wants often get lost in translation. That is why I now present to you a more chill (and hopefully sillier) version of Shakespeare’s piece. There are moments where people falter in and out of love and confound themselves and the audience in the process. There are also moments in which we forget about the relationships and generational trauma and emotional pain and just dance. I go this route because I see my peers most connected to one another at parties. Whether it’s at the Stood or in a teeny apartment, one thing that people will almost always do is dance with you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve known them for two years or two seconds, the collective euphoria is simply hard to pass up. Am I saying that I want this to be a party? Well, yeah, if it means reducing the rigidity that comes with being an audience member and introducing a sense of involvement I have yet to see in campus performances. What I hope to do with this As You Like It, then, is to dramaturgically sustain the good vibrations that come with being a partygoer and an audience member. These two roles are more similar than you think, and most Purchase students, including myself, slip in and out of them interchangeably. What if we could conjoin them? What if the party never has to end? This, to me, feels like an act of rebellion as the “end of the world” looms over us. The hope for a better future is always lurking, but feels just out of reach. Like the stranger you wish would take you home after a party, but by the time you muster up the courage to talk to them they’re nowhere to be found. These days, though, I feel like I can at least say hello to them, or ask if they have a lighter. This project has given me the strength to do so, to imagine my friends and I growing old and perhaps starting a garden somewhere, and I am so grateful for that hope.

- Tess Walsh

Director’s Note

“For so many queer folks, after a while, you realize that this road was never made with me in mind. And I have to stop the car, get out of it, and climb over this guardrail. And now I’m wandering, far away from everything that I’ve known, far away from everything that has a name, or a sign, or a road signal. I’m in the middle of the forest or the meadow and I’m terrified, I’m washed with confusion and fear. And there’s almost this electric static terror that comes over me because I’m truly lost but I’m also perhaps the most free I’ve ever been.” - Ocean Vuong

- Grace Castle 

Emily (Lee) Dziak is a fourth year theatre and performance major minoring in arts management from Westchester, New York. Purchase credits include: We Are Proud to Present (Actor 5, Sarah). Other credits include: Kodachrome (Suzanne/The Photographer), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Beatrice), The Green Plays Project (Kara, Actor B), Listening (Hailey). She would like to thank her family and her loved ones for being there for her through anything and everything.

Courtney Honors is a 3rd year playwriting/screenwriting major from Kansas City. This is her first Purchase production. Past credits include The Crucible(Mercy), The Miracle Worker(Helen), Defying Gravity(Elizabeth), and has performed improvised plays with the KC improv company at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. She’d like to thank the wonderful Ayli team for their guidance and creativity with the show.

Morgan Reichberg is a first year sociology and Theater and Performance major from Manhattan, New York. Credits include: Terezin (Off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons) Love/Sick (LaGuardia High School), The Attic (Purchase College). Special thanks to mother, father, David and Ben for being my #1 fans always.

Therese (Tea) Marie Rigor (any pronouns) is a first year theatre and performance major from Gainesville, Florida. This is her first show at Purchase. Other credits include Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal) and A Christmas Carol (Ghost of Christmas Present). They would like to thank the cast and crew for creating this beautiful show. Enjoy the show!

Tess Walsh is a fourth year double major in THP and Anthropology from Brooklyn, NY. Dramaturgy credits at Purchase include: Fefu and Her Friends, Mac Beth, Marisol, How I Learned to Drive, and Eurydice. As an actor, they played “Lady” in The Attic, directed by Michi Barall, and performed at the Neuberger in Alix Pearlstein’s “Inventory”. They would like to thank Grace, Carly, and Lee for their camaraderie and friendship, as well as everyone who has had a hand in the development of this production.

Raquel Clementine Flores is a first year theatre and performance major from Brooklyn, NY. Other credits include Taming of the Shrew (Katherine), Back of the Throat (Jean), and Savage in Limbo (Savage) at LaGuardia high school. Special thanks to her supportive and loving family, friends, and dogs!

Cayd Barrera (they/them) is a third year BA theatre and performance student from Cape Cod, MA. Purchase credits include: Frame(D) (Light Crew/Board Op), Crystal Clear the Musical (Assistant Director), No Longer Human (Lighting Design), My Body, My Health, My Choice! (Avery), Fefu and Her Friends (Sue), Pie Day (Production Manager/Technical Designer), Behind Us is Noise (Lighting Design), She Kills Monsters (Miles), and A Tribute to Tagore (Lighting Design). They want to thank Carly, Dana, Katie, Grace, and Kat, as well as the rest of the cast and crew. They also wish to thank trumpet kazoos and pancakes, of course.

Jackson Sorice is a first year theatre and performance major and is thrilled to be involved in his first production at Purchase College! Past credits include: The Drowsy Chaperone (Aldolpho), Carrie (Freddy), Shrek the Musical (Donkey), Amelie (Lucien/Breteadeu), The Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion), Much Ado About Nothing (Bennedict), Our Town (Howie Newsome), David Copperfield (Mr.Murdstone), and The Play That Goes Wrong (Jonathan). Much love to everyone who has supported him throughout his theatrical life!

Gawain Mosher (he/him) is a third year literature and anthropology double major and linguistics and history minor. He has appeared in numerous performances in his home state of Connecticut, with the most notable of his appearances being a starring role as the Leading Player in “Pippin” at Pantochino Productions. He would like to thank his girlfriend, friends, family and castmates for their love and support!

Emma Baker (she/her) is a third year theatre and performance/arts management double major from Dansville, New York. SUNY Purchase credits include Marisol (Stage Manager), My Body, My Health, My Choice (Meredith), Bonefruit (Lark), and Fefu and Her Friends (Cecilia). She would like to thank her family for always supporting her, and the cast and crew of As You Like It!

Carly Friedman (she/her) is a fourth year theatre and performance major from Manhattan, NY. Purchase credits include: Fefu and Her Friends (SM), The Christians (PSM), A Walrus In The Body Of A Crocodile (SM), Springtime (PSM), Sam (PSM), and Henry IV Part I (ASM). She’d like to thank Katie and Dana for being the best team of assistants she could ask for on her final project at Purchase. She’d also like to thank her amazing collaborators, Grace, Tess, and Lee, for sharing such a beautiful process with her that she will cherish forever. She is so very proud of all the love and hard work that went into this show! She sends so much love to this awesome cast and production team for their dedication to this process and to her family and friends for their unwavering love and support, near or far; thank you, I love you. Enjoy the show!

Dana Freeman is a theater and performance and literature double major with a minor in playwriting. She is a second year transfer student who grew up internationally in Honduras, Armenia, Perú, Indonesia, and Germany. Purchase credits include: Crystal Clear (Stage Manager), Hushed (Director), Pie Day (Stage Manager), She Kills Monsters (Sound Designer, Sound Board Operator), and most recently Ordinary Days (Sound Designer). She would like to thank the lovely cast and crew for their hard work and dedication.

Katie Thorn (she/they) is a second year Theater Design and Technology student from Poughkeepsie NY. They would like to thank Carly and Dana for being an amazing team, keeping the rehearsal room fun and being a great support system in and out of the rehearsal room. She would also like to give a big thank you to the cast and crew for all the hard work that was put into this show. Some of their Purchase credits include, Life is a Dream - Run crew, We are Proud to Present.. - A1, Mac Beth - SM, Fefu and Her Friends - ASM, Cyrano De Bergerac - A1, Orestes - Programmer.

Reed Gordon is a third year theatre and performance major from Guilderland, New York. Purchase credits include: Eurydice (Assistant Scenic Designer and Assistant Technical Director), The Christians (Scenic Designer and Assistant Lighting Designer), and Mac Beth (Assistant Scenic Designer). He is thankful for his freinds and family for their continued support and is grateful to all the wonderful people he has worked with on this production.

Briana Reid is a second year theater/ performance and anthropology double major from New York City. Purchase credits include: My Body, My Health, My Choice (Jane), Just A Little Anxious (Olivia), Die Zauberflöte (Dark Shadow). Briana is extremely excited to be a part of the production team for the first time in her Purchase career. Many thanks to her family and friends that have supported her along the way!

Edie Gregg is a fourth year Directing student from Buffalo, New York. Purchase credits include The Attic (assist. director), What If If Only (director), and FrameD (props charge). They also appeared in Buffalo’s Shakespeare in Delaware Park as Jock du Boys in As You Like It! Congratulations to the creative team for bringing their project to life.

Jorin Clougherty is a third year theater and performance major from Ithaca, NY. Purchase credits include Frame(D) (“Amethyst”), Crystal Clear (PSM), She Kills Monsters (PSM), and Ordinary Days (ASM). Jorin would like to thank the cast and crew for being such a wonderful group to work with, as well as his beloved friends and houseplants.

Lily Oyen is a third year studio production major from Katonah, NY. Past credits include The Silent Observer (Sound Designer), Marisol (Sound Designer), and Indecent (A2). Lily would like to thank everyone on the As You Like It team for all of their hard work and dedication!

Kat Tobits (Assistant director) (she/her) is a second year Theatre and Performance major from Readsboro, VT. As You Like It is her first show as assistant director, past credits include Aubrey in Life after Cali, Banquo in Mac Beth, and crew for in Pie Day, Piñata, What If If Only, and Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. She’d like to thank her incredible family, friends, and loved ones for their love and support!

Grace Castle (they/she/he) is a fourth year theatre and performance, and literature double major from Derby, Vermont. Other purchase credits include Fefu and Her Friends (Asst Dir.) and Marisol (Asst Dir). Other recent production credits include Galatea by MJ Kaufman (Asst Dir/ CCO), Bonefriut by Leah Annia Plante-Wiener (Dir.), and Little Women (PSM) with HCTA. They would like to thank their family and friends for their endless love and support. They would also like to thank their queer and trans family for showing them the future that they now dream of. 

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College