Orlando

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In the Globe Theatre Company's production of As You Like It, Orlando was played by Paul Hilton.

About Paul Hilton

Paul Hilton has worked extensively in theatre and television. He last appeared as Jesus in the RSC's production of medieval morality plays; The Mysteries.

Click on the numbered links to follow Paul's journey as he creates and plays the character of Orlando in the Globe Theatre.

Paul Hilton - Introduction

The rehearsals for As You Like It took place in a converted warehouse in O’Meara Street, about 5 minutes walk from the Globe theatre itself. The rehearsal room is very large and has an outline of the Globe stage marked out in tape on the floor; there are also 2 pillars in the room. These arrangements help the actors to prepare for working on the Globe stage. The actors will not rehearse on the Globe stage until the technical rehearsal, although some classes are held on the stage.

Each day, the actors received their ‘call’, the time s/he is expected to report for rehearsal. During the rehearsal period an actor’s day will vary considerably, each actor may rehearse scenes, attend a class (voice, text and movement) or have a costume fitting with the wardrobe department. A typical day might begin at 10.00am and finish at 6.30pm – sometimes there are also evening calls.

During the rehearsal period (particularly at the beginning) each actor will research his/her character. To help the actors the assistant director will find relevant books, pictures etc. and bring these to rehearsal. Extracts from books and pictures are often stuck onto the rehearsal room walls. Actors will also experiment with using props in rehearsal; these will be rough versions of the final prop and will help them to build the prop into the scene. Similarly some form of rehearsal costume will be worn e.g. long skirts for the women, this will help actors to get used to moving, sitting etc. in their costume. In particular actors will use the actual shoes they will wear in performance during rehearsal. This is to wear the shoes ‘in’, as they are made using Elizabethan techniques and there is no specified ‘left’ and ‘right’ foot. Many actors also feel that wearing the correct shoes helps them to ‘get into’ character.

The companies have 6 weeks of rehearsal before the technical and dress rehearsals and this is the period covered by these comments and activities. Generally the beginning of this period is spent improvising around the text and in development of character; towards the end of these 6 weeks actors will rehearse scenes in detail and run parts of the play. The exact method of working in rehearsal is established and shaped by the director.

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Paul Hilton - Character Notes 1

These comments are the actor’s thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply their own interpretation and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

Paul has never seen As You Like It, nd feels this will enable him to bring a freshness to the play and the role of Orlando. He is currently performing in The Mysteries for the RSC at the Barbican, playing the role of Jesus. This is a 5 hour show and it will be a demanding time for Paul – rehearsing at the Globe during the day and performing in the evening.

Paul hopes to take things from his role of Jesus to the role of Orlando. He feels that both characters are very centered and have a deep connection to the earth and nature. Orlando has been made a servant to his brother Oliver, he wants to develop the manners and bearing of a gentleman but is deprived of an education by Oliver. Paul feels that Orlando undergoes a type of rebirth in the Forest of Arden.

One of the biggest challenges at the beginning of rehearsal is getting to know the rest of the cast and to develop ways of working with them. An exercise which Paul found useful was to enact in mime (or dumb show) the story of Sir Rowland de Boys up to the point where the play itself begins.

Paul has decided that Orlando is a young man – around 18 years. He also has discovered how important Orlando’s father was to him. The whole of the first part of the play for Orlando is dominated by the memory of his father. He mentions him 8 times in the first scene. Later Rosalind becomes the focus for Orlando; when he first approaches her at the wrestling it is as if he is approaching a princess. Orlando doesn’t have the schooling to have any confidence in this situation and Paul wants him to appear very gauche and insecure at this moment.

Activities

1. Adjectives

One way Paul worked on his character was to write a list of adjectives which he felt described Orlando....

Either: From what you know about Orlando write your own list of adjectives to describe him.

Or: Choose a character you have played in Drama, or know well from a book and write a list of adjectives which describe him/her.

2. Dumb Show

A dumb show is a story acted out in mime, in Elizabethan times these often took place before the performance of a play. One exercise Paul found useful in rehearsal was to act out the story of his ‘servitude’ at the hands of his brother Oliver as a dumb show.

Imagine what it would be like for Orlando - his father dies, then his brother, Oliver, denies him his inheritance and education. Mime this story (you might use the first speech of the play to help you).

Next try acting the scene again, but this time using dialogue.

3. Age

Paul has decided that Orlando is about 18 years old, this is younger than Paul’s own age.

Do you agree with Paul’s decision? How old do you think Orlando is? – Give full reasons for your answer.

Paul will have to play someone younger than himself. Suggest ways in which he can convey Orlando’s youth to the audience.

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Paul Hilton - Character Notes 2

These comments are the actor’s thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply their own interpretation and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

Paul is now spending a lot of time outside of rehearsals going through each scene and will raise any questions that come out of this work a the beginning of each rehearsal. Paul finds it useful to talk through each scene with the other actors before ‘putting it on it’s feet’ (starting to act the scene out) in the rehearsal room. When he is working on a scene Paul goes through it putting everything into contemporary English to ensure that he really does understand every word he says! He also feels it is important to have fun when rehearsing scenes and to try the scene in as many different ways as possible. Paul hopes that each performance will be different, because of this he does not like to block moves for a scene as he feels that this prevents creativity.

Paul is beginning to discover the way Orlando and Ganymede relate to each other in the forest – initially he feels as children – 2 boys who enjoy playing together. It is notable that at court Orlando speaks equally to Rosalind and Celia, in the forest when Celia is the only ‘girl’ present Orlando hardly speaks to her. Paul has also now started work on the wrestling scene, this must be carefully choreographed, so that it is visually believable. It will take place in the yard amongst the groundlings and will involve lots of playing to the audience. Paul feels that Orlando goes into the fight feeling that he has nothing to lose – if he wins he believes he will gain his freedom from the oppression of his brother. Paul will try to show that Orlando carries the physical pain of the fight with him into the next scenes of the play. He feels that Orlando can react like a wild animal when driven – he has the potential to be violent.

Orlando’s relationship with Adam is very important to him – Adam is a father figure. Paul feels that it was probably Adam who taught Orlando to read and write.

Paul enjoys working with the language of the play, he tries to find the ‘truth’ behind every line. He enjoys working outside, on the Globe stage and feels that an open air theatre adds a new dimension to the scenes in the Forest of Arden.

Activities

1. What happens off stage?

Actors work to understand their character as a whole, not just what s/he does and says on stage. To help them actors use an exercise in which they decide what happens to their character in between the scenes in which s/he is featured.

What do you think happens to Orlando in between his first scene and the next time we see him (for the wrestling match) You could improvise a scene in groups, or write down your ideas in a script format.

2. Wrestling

Orlando challenges the Duke’s wrestler, Charles and against the odds wins. It is hoped that the wrestling match will take place amongst the audience. The wrestling is very carefully choreographed but Paul says that he must convince everyone that ‘skinny old me’ can really beat Charles (played by an ex professional rugby player). How can he do this?

Suggest ways that Paul can make his victory convincing – you might like to think about the way he should move, gestures he should make and the way he might relate to the audience in the scene. Maybe you could draw up a list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for Paul when he is wrestling.

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Paul Hilton - Character Notes 3

These comments are the actor’s thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply their own interpretation and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

As part of the rehearsal process the whole company went away for a residential weekend to an Elizabethan manor house where they lived ‘in role’ and acted out the scenes that are not in the play – in other words what happens to the characters when they are not on stage. This is helpful because it gives the cast a common memory, which they can draw on in later rehearsals.

Paul is now investigating the ‘marriage’ between Ganymede and Orlando in greater detail. Rosalind is a woman of thought, she interacts with Orlando on a cerebral level while he is much more impulsive and is driven by his desire for action. For Paul their ‘marriage’ is a magical moment in the play – in rehearsal the company is investigating the use of ritual and during the scene Rosalind draws symbols on the stage.

Paul is now working on lightening the language, making his voice more youthful, using head resonances. He is still reluctant to fix the way he does things in each scene. He is now feeling secure in his understanding of the character of Orlando and his journey through the play. The final scene is still difficult, suddenly Orlando and Rosalind’s private love becomes public and this is very difficult for Paul to play.

Paul hopes he will be able to play the part in a different way each night. He would like to find something new at each performance – there is no finishing line that he will cross, he will never feel that he has finished working on his character. As an actor Paul aims to strive for perfection while being aware that he might never be able to achieve the ‘perfect’ performance.

Activities

1. Getting into character

Paul tries to do different things to help him think his way into the character of Orlando. For example, he has been practicing his lines outside – because the bulk of the play takes place in a forest. When the company went away for the weekend to an Elizabethan manor house Paul slept on the floor as he felt his brother Oliver would not give him his own room or bed.

From what you know about the character of Orlando think of some more things Paul could do to help him ‘get into’ the role.

2. Rosalind/Ganymede

Paul feels that when Orlando first sees Ganymede in the forest there is a moment when he might almost recognise that it is Rosalind in disguise. He feels this because of the lines

"..The first time that I ever saw him,

Methought he was a brother to your daughter."

(Act 3 Scene 2)

Paul would like to communicate this to the audience.

Improvise the moment where Ganymede meets Orlando in the forest. Try to find ways of letting the audience know that Orlando, for a moment, might recognise Rosalind.

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Paul Hilton - Character Notes 4

These comments are the actor’s thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply their own interpretation and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

Before each performance Paul likes to make sure he is properly warmed up and prepared; to do this he has a routine of physical and vocal exercises which include Yoga and balancing. At the end of his warm up Paul likes to lie on the floor for 5 minutes to clear his mind and to concentrate on the coming performance. Paul feels that it is particularly important to warm up in the Globe as the space is quite demanding. Paul and Martin (who plays Charles the wrestler) rehearse the fight scene before every performance. It is important that they do this as it helps to prevent mistakes and injuries in the performance itself.

The company have now gone into rehearsal for their second play of the season A Mad World My Masters by Thomas Middleton. This means that Paul has either rehearsals during the day and a performance in the evening, or a performance in the afternoon and rehearsal in the evening. When Paul worked with the RSC he was involved with 3 plays at once, so he is used to working in this way. He does find though, that he needs to warm up very thoroughly before the show in order to find the energy he needs for the performance. Paul will play a servant. called Jasper in the play. This is a very different role from Orlando who ends As You Like It as a nobleman. In Mad World My Masters Paul works with actors in the company that he does not work with in As You Like It, he is enjoying getting to know them while rehearsing the new play.

Paul is enjoying the technical demands of working at the Globe. For example when it rains it is very difficult for the actors to be heard and Paul has to take great care to speak very clearly. Paul is also discovering the best places to stand on the stage, in order to be seen and heard by the audience. One of these is downstage of the pillars and another is underneath the heavens trap.

In each performance Paul tries to play moments as they occur, he is still finding new things in the play and is having great fun, in particular in the scenes with Rosalind in the Forest of Arden. Paul has found audience to be very supportive of Orlando. During the prologue, when Orlando is introduced, they often cheer and they also shout his name in the wrestling match. Paul says he can also feel the audience willing Orlando to discover Gannymede’s identity. At the beginning of the wrestling match Orlando has a speech where he says he has no friends, at this point Paul has to take care not to play too much on the ‘ah’s’ that he gets from the audience. Paul tries hard not to play a line or speech in order to get a certain reaction, he knows that every audience will react differently to the play –if a line ‘gets a laugh’ at one performance it does not necessarily mean the next audience will laugh at that line.

Paul now feels that he is settling into the role and increasingly is able to think as Orlando on stage. His performance is still changing and developing which Paul feels is very healthy, he has found that the reactions of the audience have a big effect on the tone of the show and the performances the actors give. At present the rehearsals for A Mad World My Masters are hard work for Paul while the performances of As You Like It are enjoyable. Paul is constantly finding increasing depth in his portrayal of Orlando.

Activities

1. Advice for Paul

Paul is very aware of the power of the audience to shape a performance of the play.

What advice would you give him about how he should respond to the audience’s reactions to the play?

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Paul Hilton - Character Notes 5

These comments are the actor’s thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply their own interpretation and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

At this point, just over half way through the run of the play, As You Like It was given a 3 week break from performance. This was to give the actors in the Red Company the opportunity to rehearse full time for their second play of the season, A Mad World My Masters and to open that production with a week of performances, before the play went into repertory with As You Like It. Paul and the rest of the company have been busy with rehearsal, technical rehearsal and previews and have not been thinking about As You Like It during this period. Therefore returning to the play is quite challenging.

The company were called to rehearsal before the show for a line run of the play (for which the actors just say their lines, without movement) and a speed run (for which the actors include their moves but as fast as possible). Paul found this very useful as it helped him to hear the words of the play again and to be reminded of the way in which the scenes fit together.

Paul has been enjoyed performing As You Like It again and rediscovering subtleties and key moments in the play. He especially enjoyed the first performance after the break, when the atmosphere was electric! Mark Rylance, the Artistic Director of the Globe, played Orlando a few years ago and suggested to Paul that he explore Act IV scene 1, where Orlando leaves "Ganymede" after they are "married." Paul has done so, and the scene is now a little darker than it was.

Paul and Jonathan Bond, who plays Oliver, have changed the blocking in Act V scene 2 so that they use the depth of the stage more effectively. In this scene, the audience has a very short time, about 20 lines, to learn that the brothers have been reconciled and that Oliver is in love with "Aliena." This makes the scene very difficult for the actors. Paul feels that Orlando forgives Oliver almost immediately as he sees his brother’s love for Celia. However, the change in blocking has helped immensely.

The company has also faced another challenge as Maggie Wells who plays Audrey was injured during a rehearsal for A Mad World My Masters and was unable to perform. This means that the company have needed to adjust the way they play their scenes with Audrey in order to respond to a different interpretation of the role. However, Paul feels that the presence of Sonia Ritter, (who replaced Maggie Wells), has added another element to the company, and a new freshness to the production.

Activities

1. Speaking to Orlando

During the performance, when he is not on stage, Paul sits on the piazza outside of the Globe Theatre and carves Rosalind’s name on a piece of wood. Many of the audience who have come out of the theatre to buy drinks etc.. speak to Paul as if he were Orlando.

If you found Orlando carving Rosalind’s name, what would you talk to him about?

Write an imaginary conversation between yourself and Orlando.

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