How to Tweet During this Show

Excuse me? I can Tweet during the show?

Yes, you totally can! On any night of the show, from any seat, you are granted permission to Tweet as fervently as you wish!

That means that you can have your phone switched on during the show– BUT. Don't be that person who makes a ruckus at the theatre by answering a phone call or having a text conversation with a friend from across the room.

You can Tweet, but do it nicely!

Here's how:

1. Please silence your phone. No one wants to hear any ding-dinging (or other odd noises) coming from your side of the theatre. Don't forget that this is not a movie theater! There are live, unpredictable actors onstage, and frankly, we can't stop them from stopping you from texting if they feel like it...

Switch the volume button on the iPhone (left hand upper side of the phone) off, and disable any alarms that might sound. Or, simply turn the volume all the way down on any phone to "silence all."

2. Use the Twitter app on your smartphone to send Tweets.  If you don't use a smartphone, you can still send Tweets via text message. See Twitter for more info about setting up text message Tweets.

3. Don't forget to include #DeFindYourself in all Tweets about the show. This will ensure that anyone can search #defindyourself and follow all of the chatter happening about the show! ***Note: if you don't see your Tweet when you search #DeFindYourself on Twitter, your privacy settings probably don't allow your Tweets to be seen publicly. If you want to change this, go to the gear icon at the top right hand corner of the Twitter page and click to find "Settings." From there, scroll down to "Tweet Privacy"and uncheck the box, "Protect my Tweets."

Are you excited? We are! We'll see you at the show!

Behind-the-Scenes: Costumes!

Welcome to the final rehearsals of As You Like It! We are SO close to opening night (this Friday, September 28th)!

(psssst– did you see our banner go up in front of the Don Powell theatre? Woohoo!)

One of the most important design elements of this show is the costuming. Our designer, Angie Zanolini, really has her work cut out for her and the costumes look GREAT! 

So where does the costuming process begin? First, Angie collaborated with our assistant director, Amy Shine, to get an idea of the directorial vision of costumes for this piece. Inspirational images for costume design were assembled.

Rosalind inspiration

Touchstone inspiration

Celia 

Celia

Oliver

Oliver

Next, Angie went to work on pulling costumes from SDSU's costume storage. She then modified those costumes to ensure proper fit for the actors.

Rosalind (Katie Rich)

Touchstone (Erika Appel)

Celia (Chanel Lucia)

Oliver (Kay McNellen)

Then, with the approval of the directors, Angie added accessories and extra touches to make the costumes a perfect fit for the show!

Oliver and Celia (Kay and Chanel)

Touchstone (Erika)

Rosalind and Orlando (Katie and Aaron)

She also designed the makeup the actors will be wearing onstage. The actors have taped her designs to the mirror to help them apply their own makeup:

Do you spy a dramaturg in this photo?

Like all the hard work you see here? (I know this dramaturg (Jessica) does!) Come to the show to see more– we're thrilled to show everyone our work!

Buy Tickets

Facebook Event Page

Preview

Thanks to Shelley Orr's marketing class, we have this awesome trailer for our show! Check it out and be sure to click "Share!"

#DeFindYourself

Join the conversation about our show on Twitter using #DeFindYourself!

... and, ACTION!

Our production of As You Like It is drawing nearer! We open this Friday, September 28th in the Experimental Theatre at SDSU. Have you not bought your tickets yet? What are you waiting for?! Get on it before tickets sell out!

In the meantime, the cast, technical crew, and designers had a long weekend of rehearsals spent incorporating all of the technical and design elements into the show. They were real champs!

Everyone is working hard at the tech table in Saturday's rehearsal

The actors move from cue to cue in rehearsal 

Everyone onstage in the opening scene

One of the most exciting technical aspects of the show is the film projection. Yes– there is video (and even some LIVE video!) in this production. Fun, right?

Close-up of the projection screen

Our film director, Aana Meyers, has been busy filming clips that will make up the first act of the show. Check out Angie Zanolini, our costume designer, giving Kay McNellen (Oliver) some special effects make-up as the film crew looks on...

In the next clip, Aaron Drake (Orlando) gets some, too.

You know what's coming... Brother duel from Act I of As You Like It!

Very cool, no?

These are just rough film clips. You'll see the finished product in our show, opening THIS weekend!

Next up in our backstage tour is a glimpse at costumes and makeup as we move into dress rehearsals. Stay tuned and remember to buy your tickets!

Behind the Scenes: Lighting

As anyone who has ever been in a nightclub can attest, lights play a huge part in setting the mood. Coincidentally, theatre lights are also usually a huge part of bringing a show to life. In the case of this show, our lighting designer, Heather Melville, has been hard at work making our stage space look like a vibrant nightclub. Check out some of the pictures she used to inspire her design:

From these inspirations, Heather created a lighting plot. This is like a map of where all of the lights in the theatre will be hung. It looks like this:

(If you look closely, you can see where all the lights are drawn onto the grid....)

Then, some handy lighting technicians took over the theatre for a day to hang all of the lights and make sure they were focused on the parts of the stage where the action will be:

Lots of hard work and ladders, right?

Finally, Heather's hard work is unveiled in rehearsal. It looks super-cool!

Come see us when the show opens next week (Sept. 28th) to get the full effect of Heather's awesome lighting design!

Also, in case you haven't already, join our Facebook event page and feel free to invite friends! 

(Still need to buy tickets? Do it here: http://theatre.sdsu.edu/index.php/season_of_plays/AsYouLikeIt)

#FREE stuff?!?!

How to get free tickets to As You Like It (opening NEXT FRIDAY, September 28th!!!):


1. Find SDSU Theatre on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheatreSDSU
2. Follow SDSU Theatre for updates about shows and other School of Theatre events.
3. Re-Tweet this for a chance to win free tickets to As You Like It!

Just 10 more days until opening night... Are YOU ready?

Two weeks until opening night!

With two weeks to go until opening night, the play is up on its feet and running. The actors are now getting more and more into character, as evidenced by these pictures from rehearsal this week:

 Audrey (Hayley Gulizia) and Corin (Becca Burrola) exchange words at a table in Duke's Deep Woods

 Phoebe (Kate Clements) shows no mercy yet to Silvius (Kevin Sattler)

Rosalind (Katie Rich) and Silvius (Kevin Sattler) entreat Corin (Becca Burrola)

 Orlando (Aaron Drake) avidly texts in front of the bar

The cast onstage as assistant director Amy Shine looks on

Have you gotten your tickets for the show yet? They can be purchased online, here, for $14-$16. Hurry up! This show will sell out fast! 

More updates on some behind-the-scenes work coming soon...

Shakespeare Text Workshop

Last Thursday, text coach Katie Keddell worked with the actors of the As You Like It cast. If you have never witnessed actors in a warm-up, acting class, or workshop, be assured that it is very entertaining!

In order to prepare their bodies and voices to perform, actors do a variety of physical and vocal exercises. Much of it involves making funny faces (to stretch facial and vocal muscles) and funky noises (to warm up vocal cords). This is where it gets entertaining! Sometimes actor activities involve vigorous jumping around and stretching, and other times actors are simply asked to lie on the floor and breathe. If you are an SDSU student curious about acting classes, you are encouraged to check out acting for non-majors or an improv class at the School of Theatre, Television and Film! 

In the meantime, here's a fun example of an actor exercise in action:

So polite, they are, those sweet actors!

Here's another fun game designed to help the actors really use the "O"'s Shakespeare puts in his text:

More rehearsal pics and info are on the way!

Official Show Poster

Keep your eye out for this beauty to start popping up on campus!

We're proud to introduce the official As You Like It poster:

It sings of La Cage, don't you think? Glamorous! Get ready, SDSU– here comes AYLI!

A Blast from the Gender-Bending Past!

An icon we are exploring as inspiration for the character Jaques is Marlene Dietrich, a famous femme fatale from the era of film noir. Megan McGrory has been playing with sensual movements and vocalizations based on Dietrich's performances in film. (Read more about it on the Directorial Ideas and Inspirations page!)

But did you know that Marlene Dietrich gave an Oscar-nominated performance in which she dressed as a man, and kissed a woman?

Check out this irresistibly charming performance of Dietrich's in the 1930 film, Morocco...

Can you imagine how that went over in 1930?! Phew!

Keep your eyes open for more gender-bender icons and sneak-peeks of the show!

In Rehearsal

Greetings from the SDSU Experimental Theatre, where we are rehearsing As You Like It!

Since this rendition of AYLI is set in a drag club (aptly titled "Duke's Deep Woods"), everyone has donned their rehearsal heels! Woohoo!

Look closely for cast members in heels- our "drag queens!"

The cast is hard at work putting the play on its feet. Not only are they dealing with notoriously intimidating Shakespearean text, they are testing out new blocking (stage directions). They're doing great!

Peter Cirino directs the cast in the faux wedding sequence from AYLI, Act IV. "Come, sister, you shall be the priest, and marry us. Give me your hand, Orlando!"

Scroll down on the blog to see the kind of work actors have been doing to familiarize themselves with Shakespeare's text. Doing Shakespeare is not so scary, after all. Shakespeare is for everyone! 

"No, no, Orlando; men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives. I will be more jealous of thee than a Barbary cock-pigeon over his hen, more clamorous than a parrot against rain, more new-fangled than an ape, more giddy in my desires than a monkey."

Without further adieu, ladies and gents, we present to you... Rosalind, Lion-Tamer!

Silvius anxiously stands by as Rosalind fends off a feisty Phoebe.
(Left to right: Kevin Sattler, Katie Rich, Kate Clements)

Can you see the resemblance?

Stay tuned for more shenanigans and updates from the AYLI rehearsal room, coming soon!