on As You Like It From Page to Stage (continued)

Costume designer Kim Krumm Sorenson’s renderings feature structured, Edwardian-era court dress, which is the setting at the beginning of the play. The dark color palette and fabric texture changes as the characters move into the forest of Arden. Featured renderings include Duke Frederick and Rosalind & Celia at court; Orlando and Rosalind as “Ganymede” in the forest, and Touchstone’s colorful patched jacket.

Forest of Arden. Whether it’s conceived of as the Forest of Ardennes on the border of France or the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare’s native Warwickshire or both, the forest in this production is not a wild, untamed place but rather a pastoral landscape where sheepherders and farmers live and work. In scenic designer Rick Martin’s interpretation, stone walls, fences, barn wood and green fields evoke a rural “built environment.”

Martin notes that the action of the script takes place as summer turns to fall. Golden and red leaves blanketing green fields “create a vivid, colorful space that contributes to a sense of happiness,” explains the designer.

Clothing designed by Kim Krumm Sorenson reinforces the contrasts in the script and in the scenic environment. As the court gives way to the freer, less period-specific world of the forest, severe dark Edwardian-era clothing gives way to rich, autumnal hues and the soft textures of plaids, tweeds and wools. “The forest is a timeless place,” notes Sorenson, “with contemporary touches. Our audiences don’t need this to be a full-on period production. I love that about our audiences. It’s a lot more fun for everyone.” “Visible mending” or patching older comfortable clothes — an old practice that’s become trendy again — becomes a metaphor in the production for the restorative power of the forest.

“The years we’ve all just gone through have been brutal,” concludes Charles Fee. “It’s a gift to be able to go to the Forest of Arden. There couldn’t be a better time for this play.”