Hubbard Hall Theater Company Presents a FREE Sensory-Friendly and Neuro-affirming As You Like It August 20–24, 2025 | Performances Across Washington County, NY and Vermont
Cambridge, NY – Hubbard Hall Theater Company returns with its annual Summer Shakespeare Tour, presenting a fresh and emotionally resonant production of As You Like It from August 20 through August 24, 2025. This joyful and moving outdoor staging explores themes of identity, belonging, and transformation through an intimate lens, drawing on lived experience to reimagine the Forest of Arden as a place of personal reinvention and unexpected joy.
Directed by Megan Stacey, this production features Tess McHugh as Rosalind, Jewel Winant as Orlando, Hannah Thien as Celia, Warren Schultz as Touchstone, Kimberly Martin as Jaques, Chris Wehrman as Duke Senior and Duke Frederick, Lauren Ogden as Phebe, Erin Nicole Harrington as Silvius, Abigail Weeden as Amiens, Ocie Tucker as Oliver, Anna Schiele as Corin, Jackie DeGiorgis as Charles and Audrey, Michael Giordano as Adam and William, and Vincent Panetta as Le Beau and Jaques de Boys.
Performances will take place outdoors across the region, on the grounds of local arts orgs and community spaces in Greenwich, Salem, Bennington, and Cambridge. All performances are free and open to the public; donations are gratefully accepted.
At the center of this production is Orlando, portrayed by Jewel Winant, Hubbard Hall’s 2025 Shakespeare Fellow. In this staging, Orlando uses American Sign Language at key moments to represent selective mutism, an interpretive choice rooted in the actor’s lived experience and shaped collaboratively through rehearsal. The production explores how Orlando navigates ableism and expectations of neurotypical expression, particularly the demand to communicate verbally even when overwhelmed or emotionally blocked. This approach draws directly from Shakespeare’s language, especially in Act 1, Scene 2: “What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue? I cannot speak to her, yet she urged conference. O poor Orlando! Thou art overthrown.” This textual grounding reinforces the validity and emotional weight of Orlando’s struggle and allows the audience to connect more deeply with his journey.
This As You Like It also draws attention to the play’s inherent queer potential, exploring gender disguise, chosen family, and love that transcends convention. Rosalind’s journey through transformation and disguise is met with Orlando’s tender, poetic longing, inviting audiences into a romantic world where identity is fluid, and love is generous and strange. The cast’s collective insight and connection to these themes shapes a production that is both emotionally charged and full of delight.
All six performances are sensory-friendly and incorporate neuro-affirming supports developed by autistic theater artists with lived experience of communication difference and sensory sensitivity. The tour includes custom materials such as social narratives, venue maps, character guides, and sensory kits. The cast and crew received specialized training in safety and sensitivity practices to better welcome audience members of all kinds.
This production is sponsored by The Cambridge Valley Farmer’s Market. Hubbard Hall programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
For more information and the full tour schedule, visit www.hubbardhall.org.
Schedule
Performance | Venue | Rain Location
8/20 @ 6PM | Greenwich Library | Hubbard Hall
8/21 @ 6PM | Owl Pen Books (outside) | Owl Pen Books (inside)
8/22 @ 6PM | Historic Salem Courthouse | Fort Salem Theater
8/23 @ 2PM | Cambridge Community Garden | Hubbard Hall
8/23 @ 6PM | Park-McCullough (outside) | Park-McCullough (inside)
8/24 @ 2PM | The Georgi | Hubbard Hall