Now following our exciting As You Like It news from earlier in the week (run dates and audition dates), I now have even more cool stuff to share… Casting breakdowns and audition sides!
I’m looking for…
4 female actors, 5 male actors, 5 actors of any gender
7 single-character roles, 4 2-character roles, 2 3-character role, 1 5-character role
ALL ROLES = ANY ETHNICITY
Single-character roles:
- ROSALIND (female): daughter to “DUKE” SENIOR, the banished and usurped duke; cousin to CELIA; takes on the male(ish) role of Ganymede in the Forest of Arden; in love with ORLANDO… only the biggest female role in all of Shakespeare (and in my opinion the best) [download sides]
- CELIA (female): daughter to DUKE FREDERICK, the usurping duke; cousin to ROSALIND; takes on the role of Aliena in the Forest of Arden; will later fall in love with OLIVER [download sides]
- ORLANDO (male): the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys; much put upon (hell, conspired against) by his eldest brother OLIVER; head-over-heels in love with ROSALIND; escapes with his aging servant ADAM to the Forest of Arden, where he meets “Ganymede” (unaware that “he” is ROSALIND) [stage combat-ready; off-key singing possibilities, guitar player a plus] [download sides]
- FOOL/TOUCHSTONE (any gender): a fool/jester from the court of DUKE FREDERICK, accompanies ROSALIND and CELIA in their escape to the Forest of Arden, falling in “love” with AUDREY and marrying her…a GREAT comic role [download sides]
- OLIVER (male): the eldest son of Sir Rowland de Boys; conspires against his youngest brother ORLANDO, but finds redemption in the Forest of Arden, where he escapes from “the Bigger Bad,” DUKE FREDERICK; will later fall in love with Aliena/CELIA [stage combat-ready] [download sides]
- PHOEBE (female): a shepherdess in the Forest of Arden; loved by SILVIUS, but falls in love with Ganymede (unaware that “he” is ROSALIND); will also appear as the “ring card girl” during the Act One wrestling match [download sides]
- SECOND BROTHER (any gender): the middle sibling of the de Boys boys; this role also is the SOUND OPPS for the show (which will be run from the “island” stage); must be willing to provide the pre-show speech and hype the crowd throughout the show [technologically adept] [no sides available…audition may include an improv]
Dual-character roles:
- AMIENS / CHARLES (male): AMIENS is an attendant lord for “DUKE” SENIOR in the Forest of ARDEN [ability to sing a must, guitar player a plus] || CHARLES is the wrestler in DUKE FREDERICK’s court; think WWE or “luchador” [stage combat-ready, may go shirtless] || HYMEN is Amiens playing the god of marriage at the play’s final wedding [must be willing to dress in flamboyant drag] [download sides]
- JAQUES / LE BEAU (any gender): JAQUES is an attendant courtier in the court of exiled “DUKE” SENIOR; melancholy–ridiculously so; gets arguably one of the greatest speeches from Shakespeare (“All the world’s a stage…”) [singer a decided plus] || LE BEAU is a courtier in the court of DUKE FREDERICK; helpful to others [download sides]
- “DUKE” SENIOR / CORIN (any gender): “DUKE” SENIOR is the rightful but exiled duke; sibling to DUKE FREDERICK; parent to ROSALIND; leader of the extra-societal band of misfits || CORIN is a shepherd; mentor to SILVIUS; helpful to Ganymede (ROSALIND), Aliena (CELIA), and TOUCHSTONE [download sides]
- AUDREY / FIRST LORD [to DUKE F.] (female): AUDREY is a not-too-smart wench in the Forest of Arden; though courted by WILLIAM, she becomes the intended and wife of TOUCHSTONE || FIRST LORD [to DUKE F.] is an attendant lord–and thug-muscle–in the court of DUKE FREDERICK [download sides]
Three-character roles:
- ADAM / SIR OLIVER MARTEXT / 2ND PAGE [to “DUKE” S.] (any gender): ADAM is the aging servant to the de Boys; friend and ally to ORLANDO, accompanying him into the Forest of Arden || SIR OLIVER MARTEXT is the parish priest who is called upon to marry TOUCHSTONE and AUDREY || 2ND PAGE [to “DUKE” S.] is a page in the court of exiled “DUKE” SENIOR [singer a must (though could be off-key); musician a plus] [download sides]
- DUKE FREDERICK / SILVIUS / 2ND LORD [to “DUKE” S.] (male): DUKE FREDERICK is the usurping duke, brother to “DUKE” SENIOR; father to CELIA; the closest thing to a villain in the piece, he exiles ROSALIND, then attempts to hunt down ORLANDO || SILVIUS is a shepherd in the Forest of ARDEN, hopelessly in love with PHOEBE || 2ND LORD [to “DUKE” S.] is an attendant lord in the court of exiled “DUKE” SENIOR [singer a decided plus] [download Duke Frederick and Silvius sides]
Five-character role:
- DENNIS / WILLIAM / 1ST LORD [to “DUKE” S.] / SECOND LORD [to DUKE F.] / 1ST PAGE [to “DUKE” S.] (male): DENNIS is a courtier in the court of DUKE FREDERICK || WILLIAM is a country youth in love with AUDREY, taunted and ridiculed by TOUCHSTONE || 1ST LORD [to “DUKE” S.] is an attendant lord in the court of exiled “DUKE” SENIOR [singer a decided plus] || SECOND LORD [to DUKE F.] is an attendant lord in the court of DUKE FREDERICK || 1ST PAGE [to “DUKE” S.] is a page in the court of exiled “DUKE” SENIOR [singer (though could be off-key); musician a plus] [no sides available; “extra” role to be called back after auditions]
If you’d like the above casting breakdown in a single PDF, then here you go:
As You Like It casting needs (PDF)
If you’d like ALL the sides, here they are in one, handy-dandy file…
All AYL audition sides in a single file
or–again–there are individual PDFs
- Rosalind (three scenes)
- Celia (two scenes)
- Phoebe (two scenes)
- Touchstone (two scenes)
- Orlando (two scenes)
- Oliver (one scene)
- Amiens (one scene)
- Jaques (THE speech)
- Duke Senior (one scene)
- Audrey (one scene)
- Adam (one scene)
- Duke Frederick (one scene)
- Silvius (one scene)
Sides for the callbacks will be personally emailed to those actors specifically called back.
Break a leg!