AS YOU LIKE IT Will Be Presented By Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

What if Shakespeare's Forest of Arden were the Lower East Side? That question inspired Shakespeare in the Parking Lot's new production of "As You Like It,"directed and designed by Hamilton Clancy.  The production re-imagines Arden as this contemporary neighborhood where artists, immigrants, outsiders and free thinkers have long found refuge from the conventions of the wider world.  Free performances will be offered July 16 through August 1 in the Parking Lot of Lower East Side Prep, 145 Stanton Street. Shows are Thursdays to Saturdays at 7:00 PM. 

Blending romance, political exile, comic mischief and questions of personal freedom, the production finds fresh relevance in Shakespeare's tale of characters escaping an authoritarian court for a more humane community. It also reimagines Phoebe and Silvius as older lovers, suggesting that the exhilaration, confusion and folly of love are not reserved for the young.

"As You Like It" is a perennial favorite among Shakespeare's comedies. Its plot follows the banishment of Duke Senior, Orlando, Rosalind (who goes about in male drag to beguile the gallant Orlando), Celia, Oliver and Touchtstone to the Forest of Arden. In this refuge for those driven out of society, everybody gets lessons in love. The action is fierce in the first half: murders are attempted, ribs are cracked in wrestling matches, a brother is disowned, a niece is exiled and loyalties are sorely tested. For those who end up in the Forest of Arden during the second half, the perils are chiefly falling in love or being outwitted by wit. "As You Like It" introduces some of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, notably the sharp-tongued, ever-jaded Jacques. Each major character represents a quality of love: familial love is personified by Rosalind and Celia, brotherly love by the Dukes, Orlando and Oliver, the blind love of devotion by Silvius, the love of service by Adam and Corin, the love of self by Jacques and the love of lust by Touchstone.

The play's political tensions, resistance to authoritarian impulses, and public spectacles (including a giant wrestling match) resonate strongly today. Yet it is ultimately a comedy of generosity rather than division. It celebrates the ways people find one another across differences and discover unexpected connections, inviting us to imagine a world where individuality is cherished, authority is balanced by compassion, and people are free to become their truest selves.

The actors are Lia Bonfilio (as Rosalind), Thammie Laine Guac (as Celia), Andy Rowell (as Touchstone), Patrick Hart (as Orlando), Emanuel Elpenord (as Oliver), Bob Arcaro (as Adam), Chris Martel (as both Duke Senior and Duke Frederick), Carly Grissom (as Denise/Audrey), Raphael del Rio (as Charles), David Marantz (as Jacques), Elowyn Castle (as Corinne), Adama Joy Sall (as Amiens), Lizabeth Allen (as Phoebe) and Dan Teachout (as Silvius). Production design is by Hamilton Clancy. Assistant Director is Alessandro Colla.

Music includes original compositions by Adama Joy Sall and Thammie Laine Guac and songs by Natalie Smith  and Andrew Gombas that originated in earlier productions. 

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, now in its 31st season, is a program of The Drilling Company. Its concept--presenting free Shakespeare plays with a "poor theater" aesthetic in a working parking lot--is now widely imitated around the US and around the world, with productions as far away as New Zealand.

The Drilling Company, led by founding director Hamilton Clancy, is an ensemble/rep company whose members are veterans of the Off and Off-Off Broadway scene and whose on-camera appearances commonly populate everything from streaming series to summer blockbusters.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot has been a Lower East Side neighborhood institution for over three decades. In 2014, SITPL lost its parking lot location of 20 years when gentrification struck: the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area gave way to a giant mixed-used development. So the attraction moved to the parking lot of The Clemente, on Norfolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets. In 2024, with that location under construction, SITPL transferred to the parking lot adjoining 145 Stanton Street (entrance  on Rivington Street between Norfolk and Suffolk Streets), where it will now perform for the third year. It is a short walk from the municipal parking lot where the annual Free Shakespeare festival originated.

The choice of "As You Like It" for this year's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot was partly sentimental. In 2006, when The Drilling Company took over as sole producer of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot in its first location--the municipal parking lot on Ludlow and Broome Streets--"As You Like It" was presented in its first season.

Hamilton Clancy (director) is founding Artistic Director of The Drilling Company and the most prolific director and producer of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. He has appeared in SITPL productions as Hamlet, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Petruchio and Benedick, among others. He's been seen in film and television as Kowalski in "Orange is the New Black" (as SAG Award Best Ensemble Seasons 2&3), Tom in "One Dollar" and Peck in the Coen Brothers' “Burn After Reading.” Other on-camera credits include "Blue Bloods," "Bull," "Billions," "Mindhunter" and "Gotham."

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