playbill vip

Welcome to Greenway Farm Park - our very own Forest of Arden for AS YOU LIKE IT. We are pleased to be back at Greenway for our third Shakespeare in the Park production. Thank you to the City of Chattanooga’s Parks and Outdoors Department for their continued support. This production would not be possible without the support of the Arts Build Communities grant through the Tennessee Arts Commission and Arts Build.

AS YOU LIKE IT is my favorite of Shakespeare’s comedies. The play is romantic, lighthearted, playful and decidedly modern. It is “for all time”, like the bard himself. We’ve set the play locally in the 1930’s - the quarry here at the park used to build the Chickamauga dam broke ground in 1936. TVA is in its infancy, and the hardships of The Great Depression are felt by all, especially local farmers.

As Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy, the play highlights the differences between city and country to great effect - but the true differences lie between the sexes. Rosalind speaks more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s works. She dresses like a man for safety then dresses down her love interest Orlando, testing his affection, dedication, and patience. AS YOU LIKE IT gives us a delightful depiction of female friendship with cousins Celia and Rosalind who converse with wit and warmth. Their talk of love is as relevant today as it was over 400 years ago when the play was written.

THANK YOU for joining us in the park this evening, for supporting FREE classical theatre available and accessible to ALL. I hope you’ll consider making a donation to support our growing non-profit organization as we look to continue building and improving Scenic City Shakespeare in the Park for the enjoyment and enrichment of our community.

Emma Collins

*To discover the best way you can support Scenic City Shakespeare, visit: https://sceniccityshakespeare.org/support