Unit 12 Character Study/ Profile

Character Analysis

WEEK 1-3

Celia -  I am playing the role of the daughter of Duke Frederick and Rosalind’s dearest cousin but dearest friend. Celia’s devotion to Rosalind is unmatched, as evidenced by her decision to follow her cousin into exile. To make the trip, Celia assumes the disguise of a simple shepherdess and calls herself Aliena. As elucidated by her extreme love of Rosalind and her immediate devotion to Oliver, whom she marries at the end of the play, Celia in the play possesses a loving heart, almost excessive emotions.

Duke Frederick -  The brother of Duke Senior  and the one on the throne. Duke Frederick’s cruel nature and volatile temper are displayed when he banishes his niece, Rosalind, from court without reason. That Celia, his own daughter, cannot understand his anger this demonstrates the intensity of the duke’s hatefulness. Duke Frederick mounts an army against his exiled brother but aborts his vengeful mission after he meets an old religious man on the road to the Forest of Arden. He immediately changes his ways.
Rosalind -  Rosalind is the daughter of Duke Senior. She is considered one of Shakespeare’s most heroines, independent minded, good-hearted, clever etc. Rather than slink off into defeated exile, Rosalind uses her trip to the Forest of Arden as an opportunity to take control of her own destiny. When she disguises herself as Ganymede-a handsome young man-and then offers herself as a tutor in love to Orlando, Rosalind’s talents and charms are on display. Only Rosalind, for example, is both aware of the foolishness of romantic love and delighted to be in love. She teaches those around her to think, feel, and love better than they have previously.

Duke Senior -  The father of Rosalind and the rightful ruler of the dukedom in which the play is actually set. Having been banished by his usurping brother, Frederick, Duke Senior now lives in exile in the Forest of Arden with some loyal men, including Lord Amiens and Jaques. Some assumptions of the play is that Senior did not put up much of a fight to keep his dukedom, for he seems to make the most of whatever life gives him. Content in the forest, where he claims to learn as much from stones and brooks as he would in a church or library, Duke Senior proves himself to be a kind and fair-minded ruler.

Jaques -  A lord that accompanies Duke Senior into exile in the Forest of Arden. Jaques is a prime example of a stock figure in Elizabethan comedy. Jaques is much like a referee in a football game, he stands on the side lines, watching and judging the actions of the other characters without ever fully participating. Given his inability to participate in life, it is fitting that Jaques alone refuses to follow.

Touchstone -  A clown in Duke Frederick’s court who accompanies Rosalind and Celia in their journey to Arden. Although Touchstone’s job, as the fool, is to criticise the behaviour. Touchstone fails to do so with even a fraction of Rosalind’s grace. Next to his mistress, the clown seems hopelessly narrow-minded.
          

Oliver -  The oldest son of Sir Rowland de Bois and indeed the sole inheritor of the de Bois estate. Oliver is a loveless young man who dislikes his brother, Orlando. He admits to hating Orlando without a valid reason and goes to great lengths to ensure his brother’s downfall. When Duke Frederick tells Oliver to find his missing brother, Oliver finds himself living in despair in the Forest of Arden, where Orlando saves his life. This display of undeserved generosity prompts Oliver to change himself into a better, more loving person. His transformation is seen by his love for the disguised Celia, who he takes to be a simple shepherdess.

           

Silvius -  A young, suffering shepherd, who is desperately in love with the disdainful Phoebe. Silvius prostrates himself before a woman who refuses to return his affections. In the end,  he does win the object of his desire.

           

Phoebe -  A young shepherdess, who disdains the affections of Silvius. She falls in love with Ganymede, who is really Rosalind in disguise, but Rosalind tricks Phoebe into marrying Silvius.

           

Lord Amiens -  Lord Amiens is a faithful lord who accompanies Duke Senior into exile in the Forest of Arden. Lord Amiens is rather jolly and loves to sing.

           

Charles -  A professional wrestler in Duke Frederick’s court. Charles demonstrates both his caring nature when he asks Oliver to intervene in his upcoming fight with Orlando: he doesn't want to injure the young man and therefore loses favour among the nobles who actually support him. Charles’s concern for Orlando proves unwarranted when Orlando beats him.

           

Adam -  The elderly former servant of Sir Rowland de Bois. Having witnessed Orlando’s hardships, Adam offers not only to accompany his young master into exile but to fund their journey with the whole of his modest life’s savings. In the play he is the model of loyalty and devoted service.

           

Sir Rowland de Bois -  The father of Oliver and Orlando, friend of Duke Senior, and enemy of Duke Frederick. Upon Sir Rowland’s death, the vast majority of his estate was handed over to Oliver according to the custom of primogeniture.

           

Corin -  In the play Corin is a shepherd. Corin attempts to counsel his friend Silvius in the ways of love, but Silvius refuses to listen.

   

Audrey -  A goatherd who agrees to marry Touchstone.

William -  William is a young country boy who is in love with Audrey.

Brief Synopsis 

Rosalind falls for Orlando just before she learns she is soon going to be banished. Celia asks her cousin how she could possibly manage to fall in love with Orlando so quickly. Just then, Duke Frederick approaches and demands that Rosalind leave the royal court. He accuses her to be a traitor and threatens her with death- should she then be found within twenty miles of  the court. Rosalind does not know how she has offended the duke and pleads her innocence, but the duke remains quite firm. When Rosalind asked him to explain his decision to banish her, Duke Frederick replies that she is her father’s daughter, and that  alone is enough to banish her. Celia makes a plea on Rosalind’s behalf, but the Celia's father condemns Rosalind for her “smoothness” and “silence,” and tries to convince his daughter that she will seem more beautiful and virtuous after Rosalind is gone. Celia announces that in banishing Rosalind, Duke Frederick has also banished Celia, and the two women decide to seek out Duke Senior in the Forest of Arden. When they realised that such a journey would be incredibly dangerous for two wealthy, attractive young women, they decide to travel in disguise: Celia as a common shepherdess and Rosalind as a young man. Celia renames herself Aliena, while Rosalind disguises herself as self Ganymede, after the cup-bearer to Jove. The pair of them decide to convince Touchstone, a clown, to accompany the both of them on their journey.
This image is an image of Rosalind she is the one in the beige and Celia, my character is the one in the darkish royal blue.   Characters Name: My character is called Celia but then she is called Aliena when she disguises herself as a shepherdess.
Characters Age: My character is sixteen years old. 
Character Favourite Colours - Red, Royal Blue and Green.



Brainstorm Of Costume Ideas:

FINAL ATTIRE- A red net corset with a long black skirt, here is an image of how it looks like.

Below are images of the other characters that performed as well.
 Stella Katula on the left, I'm in the middle and Bradley Irish on the right

This picture was taken just before our warm up.

This picture was taken just when we finished with our curtain call and was told to wait behind to answer questions the audience had for us and to receive feedback from them. The feedback we received as a group were very positive as they understood our plays  through our body language and some words although we spoke in a completely new language to them which was Shakespearean.
SET DESIGN- 
Below are images of how the staging was like during the Elizabethan ERA, Shakespearean times!


















PROPS - A white wooden bench.

Different Interpretations Of The Text

I watched different versions of As You Like It to help me understand the scene more as I am more of a visual learner. I have not interpreted some of their characteristics of Celia as I want to compare my own and that of theirs after I perform my piece. 

Here's the first link to As You Like It- Act 1 Scene 3

This version was performed by MMC. Mary Mount Manhattan College's in the fall of 2009. It is the production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It. 
Cast 
Erica Knight as Celia
Melissa Benoist as Rosalind
George Lliopoulos as Duke Frederick

This version was done by the Royal Shakespeare Company. This was published on the 3rd of October 2009

Cast
Mariah Gale as Celia
Katy Stephens as Rosalind 
Sandy Neilson as Duke Frederick