Living up to "Rosalind"? We think she's done it! : Catching up with Meera Kumbhani

With the role of Rosalind, comes about 400 years of baggage- every theatre person has an expectation of who she is and why she is one of the greatest female characters Shakespeare has ever written. Literary analysts call her things like: the most perfect human being, more intelligent than all of the audience combined, the female "Hamlet." 

Harold Bloom says: "If Rosalind cannot please us, then no one in Shakespeare or elsewhere in literature ever will." 

Talk about pressure.... Whew! How on earth is one supposed to play that on stage? Okay, Meera, now go be a perfect human soul. Now!  Hmmm...what?

Needless to say, at some point I had to let go of all these voices. And I realized - perfection is not a thing that actually exists. Maybe the best I can do is just be myself. To trust that I am a unique individual and play this character in a way where only I, Meera Kumbhani, could play her. And from there, I realized that there was something even better about her than perfection: simple humanity. In a way, she is an 'everyman.' (and, of course, everywoman.) Meaning that, everybody falls in love with Rosalind as a character because everybody can see something in her that they can relate to. Within this story, she experiences the full spectrum of emotion - from grief to lust to mistrust to jealousy to love. And those emotions are the stuff of life. Without them, we have nothing.

Sometimes my dream in life is to work on nothing but Shakespeare. I say these speeches in performance every day now in this show, and yet everyday I learn a handful more about what I really am saying, and what the words and metaphors are alluding to, and how these phrases are making me feel. There is so much meaning in every single one of his words that I could spend a lifetime learning about these characters. I am a young actor and I have so much to learn about EVERYTHING Shakespeare has given us and how his words and images move through us. 

Being A Sour Berry with Jason Martin "Jacques"!

CSC: Which Shakespearean character do you most relate to? Which Shakespearean character would you most want to play?

Jason Martin: Identifying with Shakespearean characters???  They're so moody and funny and fickle and dramatic...um...maybe Benedict cause he's rather snarky sometimes but has a heart of gold!!!?!!!!

In general, I find it pretty difficult to play characters that are happy all the time...I can be a bit of a sour berry so usually I enjoy a character who has seen some darker side of life...villains are amazing to play!  I want to play kings and tyrants for the rest of my life...lovers are good and all but why fall in love on stage when you can take over the kingdom!!!  But to be totally honest, a dream role would actually be to play a female role like Olivia in Twelfth Night.  I saw an all male production from England with Mark Rylance (coming to Broadway in Jerusalem) and he played Olivia...He was amazing!  For the first time I discovered all the nuance and subtleties found in Shakespeare's words if a man is playing a woman.  And other times, as with Viola, it's fascinating with a man playing a woman who is playing a man!!!  So many layers, who wouldn't want that challenge!

"More Villain Than Thou?": An Interview with Will Cespedes (Oliver)!

CSC: How has the rehearsal process been going?

Will Cespedes: The most interesting aspect of the rehearsal process over the past month and half has been how the character of Oliver has changed. Originally James, our director, and I saw Oliver as a very weak man. But it wasn’t till we approached the final weeks that we discovered that Oliver truly hates his Orlando and Duke Fredrick’s line “More villain thou”, is referencing Oliver’s true self. So he is a plotting villain and would fight Orlando and does. But, Oliver doesn’t want anyone to know that he killed his own brother, since that would look bad. Much like Iago in Othelllo. Where this hate comes from is eternally a mystery with most of Shakespeare’s Villains. In the end, when working on a character of Shakespeare, you have to look to what the character says when he is alone.

Oliver says “[Orlando] is in so much of the heart of the world that I [Oliver] am all together misprized.” Oliver is jealous of how much everyone loves Orlando. And we see that clearly Rosalind is no exception. That’s why Oliver doesn’t allow Orlando to be educated. He is too smart for his own good. Oliver is the type of guy who buys his friends and can’t make them on his own. He always wins and gets what he wants but by “underhanded means”. And the day comes when his younger brother beats him up and shames him. There is no way Oliver could live with a younger brother like that. And so that’s how the play starts and hence the building blocks for the character of Oliver.

CSC: What's do you love about the play AS YOU LIKE IT?

WC: AS YOU LIKE IT for me is a play about love and finding one’s true home and peace. No one ever mentions the word Mother in the play. But I think the whole play is about returning to Mother Earth or Mother Nature. Two brother’s fight to the point of banishment and almost killing each other. And it isn’t until the pairs; Orlando and Oliver, Duke Senior and Duke Frederick, return to Mother Nature, the Forest of Arden, do they find peace and love. The irony of the play is that “all things were savage” in the court. But as Orlando realizes Mother Nature, the Forest of Arden, brings out the best in people.

The characters are returning to their roots as human beings having a nurtured environment to without walls or ceilings or constrictions of choice. In terms of my character, Oliver, he finds that the forest is so wonderful and Alena (Celia in disguise) so lovely that he is willing to “live and die” in the forest as a shepherd. Jaques admires touchstone wishing “he were a fool”. The is play confirms how we forget the beauty of Nature and the love we find in the simplicity of life.

AS YOU LIKE IT Performance Photos!

WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Staying in the forest: An Interview with David Fierro (Duke Senior/ Duke Frederick) !

CSC: What do you think of the play "As You Like It" as a whole? Is there an aspect that really speaks to you or any experiences you've had
DAVID: The thing I love about this play is the idea of two worlds, the really straight forward world where you must follow rules and do whatever society asks of you or forces you to do, and then this other place where you can, even in adversity, be you, be free. You can live or love however you want! It's so interesting to watch how these characters who are so pained or proper or even just evil in the court of Frederick, change once they get into The Forest of Arden. They are free to be themselves! I think it's interesting to be doing this show exiting Grad School. I came from the world of "Duke Frederick" working a job to pay rent and keep my place in the world, and then I came to Columbia, where I could be a free artist spending my days contemplating German Expressionism and Shakespeare to my heart's content! I hope I can stay in the Forest of Arden after I graduate, but at least I can say I've been there!
CSC: Besides acting, what are your other passions?
DAVID: My other passion is travel. I love to the idea of waking up in another country where no one speaks your language, and you don't speak theirs, and everyday you have to learn how to better communicate with people to survive.When I travel I like to see theater or rituals to see how their storytelling is different and similar to mine. It's interesting how sometimes, despite the language barrier how so much can register of an artist's performance from movement, clarity,  and intonation. With Shakespeare people feel sometimes like we are speaking a different language, and just like the international artists I've admired, when i work on Shakespeare I try and make every moment clear and alive. I hope I sometimes succeed!

Inside look at rehearsal! Only 5 more days until Opening!

Which "As You Like It" character are you?

From the Audience to the Stage: An Interview with Shang Huang (Charles and Jacques de Boys)

 CSC: How have rehearsals and teaching workshops been going?

SHANG: One special experience I had was NOT in rehearsal but in the teaching process at the Dual Language & Asian Studies High School. The students I taught there reminded me so much of how much fun acting can be, and also that even if your first language is not English, Shakespeare can still inspire you, and the words will still touch you. It’s really hard to describe just how amazing the experience was that I got from teaching them. They made me feel more and more excited about the show!!

CSC: How did you decide you wanted to pursue acting professionally? 

SHANG: I didn’t realize that I was already acting a lot until I got to college. Before that, I always wanted to be the guy who stands up on the stage and talks to people and entertains them. And in college, I found that that desire is what made me want to be an actor so badly. When you can really communicate with the people in the audience, and touch them, and make them smile, laugh, or cry, then you can totally understand how amazing it is to just really listen to people and tell them the story. I’m from Taiwan, and Mandarin is my first language. The reason why I came here to New York to learn acting was so that I could talk to even more people in the world, more and different people.

Shakespeare was a whole other level of acting for me when I started to get a taste of it at Columbia. The language is so hard, and even English speakers have a difficult time understanding it. But if you can really get the language into your body and really want to communicate with people, you can still do it. I did it in class, and I will do it in As You Like It on the stage for you.

I’m really proud to have the chance to be one part of this golden As You Like It A-Team. I can’t even describe to you how fabulous the show is. Just come and check it out. I’ll see you in the audience from the stage.

 

From Acting to Combat: An Interview with Kila Packett "Orlando"

CSC: What similarities do you share with your character "Orlando"?

KILA: Orlando and I are alike in that we are both hopeless romantics. I am not opposed to composing love letters or poems. In fact, I think it's a rather creative venture. You might call it conventional or vanilla, but it accounts for his noble status and his inexperience with infatuation. There is a consistency to Orlando's actions which may derive from his own naivete about love. Having been sheltered his whole life by his older brother he is very "green" at the prospect of wooing Rosalind, hence his early speechlessness. He matures throughout the play, and we see him come to the realization that he is committed to Rosalind, not by "thinking," but by his selfless behavior.

 

CSC: Do you ever get nervous going on stage even after many years of performing?

KILA: Yes, I still get nervous performing before an audience. Especially when I have to open the play with a monologue. There is no one else on stage to rely on, to carry the weight per se, so it's all on my shoulders. That can be very scary and a super human challenge, but after a few minutes I get more relaxed. It has been said that actors go through the same level of intense adrenaline rushes as compared to soldiers in combat. I am sure the same can be said with any competitive sport or skydiving as it is a very heightened feeling of nerves mixed with euphoria. As I am waiting in the wings just minutes before my entrance, I clench my fists, take a few deep breaths and tell myself, "there's no going back."