If All The World's A Stage: Who Plays What & Why?

Theater sheds light on our humanity. As Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It All the world's a stage. With that in mind, playwrights pen roles that reveal our strengths and weaknesses. These include secrets, desires, and hopes that are both universal and personal. Actors and actresses then imbue their characters with these aspects, giving audiences a glimpse into our best and worst selves.

So who gets to play which role? Ask the casting director. He or she is charged with overseeing auditions and selecting a final cast that can collectively play out the production’s artistic direction.

Sometimes the casting director is also a director. Should make the selection process easier, right? Possibly.

I recently asked Lesley Currier, founding Managing Director of Marin Shakespeare Company, a few questions about the choices she made for their upcoming performance of As You Like It.

This pastoral Shakespeare comedy follows heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court. She, her cousin and the court jester find safety in the forest. Along the way they and other characters explore themes of true love, justice and forgiveness.

According to Currier, a playwright who original adaptation of "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights" was nominated for "Best Overall Production of 2002" by the Bay Area Critics Circle, there is much to consider when selecting cast members:

Q: Actors and actresses bring characters - mythological and folkloric - to life. This cast is charged with the task of showing us something about ourselves. In As You Like It (directed by Robert Currier) what were the specific elements you sought?

A: Generally with lead roles in Shakespeare, we are looking for actors who convey intelligence, wit, and an ability to connect with an audience.  Shakespeare’s characters are usually very smart, so actors need to be able to convey nuances of meaning and wit.  Shakespeare’s actors spoke directly to their audiences at the Globe and the Blackfriars Theatres, and these roles are written for actors who can connect with an audience, so that is important too.  There is a largeness of spirit, soul, and intelligence called for in order to bring Shakespeare’s great roles to life.

Q: As a casting director you must determine who can best "be" Rosalind, Orlando, etc. What qualities do you look for?

A: A good casting director will have two or three great actors lined up to read for the major roles to be cast. Sometimes an actor has a conflict with another production, or some other logistical conflict, so it’s important not to fixate on a single actor, but to provide choices for the director. It’s also important to give the director the chance to see how different actors work together.  Each specific role to be cast has unique qualities.  Rosalind is witty, mercurial, wise, playful.  Orlando is described as young and true of heart.  

Q: Are there physical appearance considerations to be made?

A: Physical appearance is part of an actor’s toolbox, and does play a role in casting.  But there are many roles that have no specific physical attributes.  And while many roles require actors of a certain age range, some do not.  There are times a director might want to cast against type, for example when Jon Tracy directed THE TEMPEST at Marin Shakespeare a few years ago and specifically wanted a Prospero who would read as an engineer, rather than a wizard.  And there are times when a director might have something very specific in mind like when Robert Currier set THE TEMPEST in West Africa and wanted both Ariel and Caliban to be played by African-American actors.

Currier said that having been an actress herself (Ashland Shakespeare Festival, Ukiah Players and elsewhere) has enhanced her casting and directing skills. It has given her “a deeper respect for what an actor goes through and how fragile the process can be.”

She is excited that the Marin Shakespeare Festival which celebrates its 25th Season, opens this summer season with As You Like It (Friday-Sundays, July 5-August 10).

If You Go:

Cost “Pay As You Like It” - Admission donations of any amount will be accepted at the door for this production.

Tickets: http://www.marinshakespeare.org/pages/ticketorder.php

Where: Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, Calif. 94901.

More: 415-499-4488