We’re talkin’ Shakespeare today!
In this episode, I chat with theatre artist Anita Smith about her production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan’s 2019 season.
We talk about the parallels between directing and teaching, about why she chose Alice in Wonderland as a "hook" for the show, about directing As You Like It in the era of Trump, and about how the practicalities of labour and bodies inform what we can do in theatre and education (spoiler alert: it turns out audiences and students have material bodies with needs!).
- If you want to read As You Like It but don’t have a copy, check out this free online version.
- To know more about Anita’s 2019 production of the play, see the poster and summary here, read this review from The Star Phoenix, and check out Anita's Director's Notes.
- If you haven’t seen Anita’s version of the play and are not sure which characters we’re referring to in the episode: Oliver is adapted into Olivia, Duke Frederick into Duchess Fredericka, and Charles the wrestler into characters Char and Les.
- Check out Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan’s website to find more about them and to support their work, if you can, through a contribution on this Giving Tuesday, December 1 2020.
- Other local (Saskatoon-based) theatre companies that Anita is involved in include 25th Street Theatre, Saskatoon Summer Players, and Ferre Play Theatre.
- You can listen to / watch the music video for George Michael’s song “Freedom ‘90” (!!!!!) here and find the lyrics here.
- Find out more about Wanuskewin's Artist-in-Residence program on their website.
The podcast music is by Dyalla Swain, whose work you can find here. The podcast graphics are by @muskrathands.
You can follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram @TeachinBooksPod. To chat about the podcast, use the hashtag #TeachinBooksPod. Email me at teachinbookspod@gmail.com.
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**Read the transcript for this episode here.**
Thank you to Anita for the permission to use this episode’s photograph, which is from the 2019 As You Like It production put on by Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan. Here are additional photo credits:
- Photographer: Deborah Marshall
- Director: Anita Smith
- Set Designer: Stephen Wade
- Lighting Designer: Will Brooks
- Costume Designer: Beverley Kobelsky
- Kate Herriot as Rosalind
