Two Young Women in the Forest

1. Two Young Women in the Forest Tableaux

2. As You Like It, Act 1 • Rosalind and Celia are two young women and close cousins of means who endeavor to leave court life to see what is possible in the forest.

3. Groups – Step 1 • What are some possible dangers or challenges that two young wealthy women may face in the woods? • Choose one that you will present in a still tableau (silent image or ‘snap shot’).

4. Groups – Step 1 • Create a still image showing two women in the forest facing the challenge or danger of your choosing.

5. Show & Reflect • Let’s look at the images. • What do we literally see (before we talk about what we think it means)? • Expressions • Physicality • Spatial proximity • Relationship • What do we interpret from these?

6. Historical “Fun” Facts • Legally, anybody travelling outside their home parish in Shakespeare’s England could be arrested for vagrancy if they did not have a passport.

7. Historical “Fun” Facts • In Shakespeare’s England, it was illegal to be unemployed. Those without work could be forced into service or face arrest for being deemed “masterless.”

8. Historical “Fun” Facts • Aristocrats used the forests to hunt for deer in Shakespeare’s England.

9. Historical “Fun” Facts • A forest was defined as any place with greenery and animals fit for hunting.

10. Historical “Fun” Facts • In English legends, the forest was a refuge for outlaws like Robin Hood.

11. Historical “Fun” Facts • In Elizabethan England, it was possible to know a person’s social status by looking at their clothing. Servants wore “livery” or uniforms that identified them as belonging to a particular household, and laws prevented the laboring classes from wearing silk, satin, and other expensive fabrics.

12. Historical “Fun” Facts • From 1594-1598, flooding led to mass crop failures; the price of wheat and bread tripled, and much of the population faced food shortage.

13. Historical “Fun” Facts • It’s winter when Celia and Rosalind run away to the forest. When Shakespeare wrote As You Like It, England was living through what historians have dubbed the “Little Ice Age” with winters being so cold that the Thames River in London froze in 1599.

14. Groups – Step 2 • Incorporate a historical fact about the time and add this to your tableau in some way.

15. Show & Reflect • Let’s look at the images. • What do we literally see (before we talk about what we think it means)? • Expressions • Physicality • Spatial proximity • Relationship • What do we interpret from these? • One group member, please read your historical fact after we reflect on your tableau.

16. Groups – Step 3 • Consider ways in which Rosalind and Celia may be able to outwit or safeguard against the challenges that your group has decided they will face in addition to the historical facts about the time.

17. Groups – Step 3 – For Example • If you have chosen wild animals, what might they do to protect themselves in the forest? • Or, if you were given outlaws in the forest, how might they prepare for such? • Create another tableau that illustrates an outwitting or strategy for overcoming the obstacles.

18. Show & Reflect • Show and others share what you believe has changed and what about the picture provides this information.

19. Explore the Text • Read the text P2P – punctuation to punctuation. • Twice. • Add gestures.

20. Groups – Step 4 • Incorporate any piece of the text that most fits your still image. • You can use the gestures or create new ones. • One or more people can speak the text. • It can be divided however you like.

21. Show & Reflect • Let’s share our images.

22. What else? • What does the text say that they did to protect themselves against danger?

23. To protect themselves from danger • Dressed like a man • Dressed like a poor woman • Changed their names • Brought food • Rosalind became a ‘master’ • Brought the fool - - Why does that help?

24. The Fool - - Touchstone • Why would having the fool along help? • What is a ‘touchstone’?