Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

In Her Own Words: “As She Likes It” reimagines Shakespeare by giving voice to women.

Screenshot 2016-06-23 14.56.22William Shakespeare is not exactly known for his female roles.

The revered Shakespearean characters, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello or my personal favorite, Coriolanus (although not typically a crowd favorite), are all men, and the notorious women in their respective plays exist mainly in support of their leading men. This is not a surprise, as women in Elizabethan England held a generally insignificant place in society outside of the home. It was also illegal for them to act.

Today, the status of women has greatly changed. Women have fought hard for their right to have a voice, and we don’t expect men in female roles anymore, like in Shakespeare’s day.

Karen Ruch, the director of Gamut Theatre Group’s Stage Door Series play “As She Likes It,” is adamant about the importance of expanding women’s roles. The larger play contains seven smaller, original plays of about 15 minutes long, in which the female characters are given a closer look.

“The mission I gave the playwrights was to take one or several female Shakespeare characters and broaden their story,” she said. “I wanted to dive into their particular story either within the context of the play from which they came or by transplanting them into another circumstance.”

 

Dig In and Create

Gamut’s mission of giving power to the classic story is not exclusive to old works, and part of making 400-year-old plays accessible is by continuing the conversation and utilizing the resources available to make that happen.

“Getting to work with playwrights that we have here in central PA is a great opportunity for us,” Ruch said. “And we do have quite a lot of very talented playwrights.”

Part of Gamut’s mission is finding new and exciting ways to examine these stories. That is accomplished when you take a model from Shakespeare—all male actors—and turn it on its head with a modern model of all women. It furthers the discussion on why these stories remain important and relevant after multiple centuries.

“Having played some of the Shakespeare women, themes that are important to the women in the plays are very interesting to me,” Ruch said.

She explained that, since females are not often the focus of the play, there are a lot of questions that an actor playing that role has to answer on her own.

“You need to fill in the history that is not given to you within the play to make a complete human being,” she said. “You can argue that it is a gift to be given a role where you get to dig in and create a world for them, but I also think that, in 2016, it makes sense to give these ladies a broader voice and agency.”

 

Larger Conversation

“As She Likes It” is a chance for women to express themselves for the individuals that they are in ways that the original plays did not provide. Ruch’s primary focus is giving the characters an opportunity to explore choices and the aftermath of those choices, a theme not traditionally given to female characters in classic theater.

One of the plays details the characters of Gertrude and Ophelia from the be-all-end-all Shakespeare play, “Hamlet.” Both of these characters are fascinating but are not given much introspection in the actual play.

“They meet in the afterlife and have a conversation about what went on in their lives, because we don’t get that in the original play,” Ruch said.

Another takes the three sisters from the tragedy “King Lear” and places them in a modern context after their father has been hospitalized with dementia. This setting allows the playwright to explore the age-old themes of the play while reflecting on how these issues remain important in the 21st century.

These plays are about Shakespearean women. However, Ruch emphasizes that it is only part of a larger conversation happening now about women’s place in the world and how their voices are represented, especially in entertainment.

“It is my desire, but I also consider it my responsibility, as a maker of theater in this area, to create more opportunities for female actors,” she said.

Gamut often does this by gender-swapping roles written as male, but also by exploring what gender really means in the world we live in and by allowing characters to define themselves. This can mean giving characters strength where it is not typically thought that there is any or allowing them to be feminine or domestic without being considered helpless or dependent. “As She Likes It” delves into it all.

“On a level of an actor, but also of the characters within the play, we want to let these ladies really talk,” she said.

Gamut Theatre Group’s Stage Door Series presents “As She Likes It” Aug. 12 through Aug. 22 on the Select Medical Mainstage at the New Gamut Theatre located at 15 N. 4th St. in Harrisburg. Every performance is “Come As You Are; Pay What You Will.” More information is at www.gamuttheatre.org or by calling 717-238-4111.

 

July Theater Events
At Harrisburg’s
Professional Downtown Theaters

 AT GAMUT THEATRE
www.gamuttheatre.org

POPCORN HAT PLAYERS PRESENT
“Cinderella”
July 13-Aug. 20
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m.
Tickets $8

TMI IMPROV MAINSTAGE SHOW
July 22
Bar opens at 6:30 p.m. Performance starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are bring your own price; any donation buys a ticket.

 

AT OPEN STAGE
OF HARRISBURG
www.openstagehbg.com

The “HUNDRED ACRE WOOD” Project
The Wonderful World of Winnie-the-Pooh
starring the OSHKids
Children’s theater for children, by children!
July 8 at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets $10

MUSIC THEATER WORKSHOP
“From the Page to the Stage”
a student musical revue
July 28 at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets $10

Continue Reading