As You Like It [One Act]

This adaptation features a streamlined cast to fit the shorter runtime, with some actors doubling up on roles to accommodate a smaller ensemble.

Core Cast (7 actors):

• Orlando: A driven but underappreciated employee. In this adaptation, he is the hero of the story.

• Oliver: Orlando's ruthless and mean older brother. He is a corporate executive who inherits his father's company. He is also the love interest for Celia.

• Rosalind: The brilliant, witty, and optimistic daughter of the former CEO. She is the heroine. The same actor will also play her disguised male persona, Ganymede.

• Celia: The current CEO's daughter and Rosalind's loyal best friend. She is the love interest for Oliver. The same actor will also play her disguised persona, Aliena.

• Duke Frederick: The CEO who took over the company. He is the brother of Duke Senior.

• Duke Senior: The ousted former CEO, now living a more peaceful life off-grid in the wilderness.

• Touchstone: A quick-witted social media influencer or tech-savvy clown who accompanies Rosalind and Celia.

Ensemble Roles (4+ actors, can be doubled):

• Charles: A professional MMA fighter hired by the company. He wrestles Orlando.

• Le Beau: A corporate PR person.

• Dennis: Oliver's servant.

• Silvius: A shepherd. He is in love with Phebe.

• Phebe: A shepherdess adored by Silvius.

• Jaques de Boys: The middle son of Sir Rowland. He brings important news at the end of the play.

• Hymen: The god of marriage.

• Lords & Attendants: Can be played by a small ensemble, who serve Duke Frederick at the corporate office and Duke Senior in the wilderness.

Minstrels: Can be played by the same ensemble actors as the Lords, Attendants, or other small roles.

This modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's As You Like It is a fast-paced, 30-minute retelling that transports the classic story from a royal court to a contemporary corporate world. The play is divided into five acts, with some of the characters and settings condensed for a quicker pace.

The story begins by introducing the core conflict between two brothers, Orlando and Oliver. Orlando, underappreciated and mistreated by his older brother, is left with no choice but to flee after he learns of Oliver's plan to have him seriously hurt in an MMA match. During a corporate gala, he meets and falls for Rosalind, the daughter of the company's former CEO. Their romance is cut short when Rosalind is suddenly and unfairly banished by her uncle, Duke Frederick.

Refusing to be separated, Rosalind's best friend and cousin Celia pledges her loyalty and joins her on a journey to the wilderness. To ensure their safety, Rosalind disguises herself as a man named Ganymede, and Celia takes on the persona of Aliena. It is in this remote wilderness that they reunite with Rosalind’s father, the banished Duke Senior, and his followers.

The play’s central love story flourishes when Orlando arrives in the wilderness. Unaware of Rosalind's disguise, he expresses his love for her by hanging poems on trees. Rosalind, as Ganymede, offers to "cure" him of his lovesickness by having him practice wooing her every day. The subplot love stories are also quickly introduced and resolved, including Oliver's change of heart and his love at first sight for Celia.

In the final scene, all of the characters gather, and Rosalind reveals her true identity. In a joyous reunion, the lovers are united, and a sudden message arrives with news that Duke Frederick has been converted and has restored his brother's lands and position. The play concludes with a celebration as the characters return to a new, more joyful life, and Rosalind gives a direct-address epilogue to the audience.