Fall Theatre Arts Play Production

Shakespeare’s Dog

November 2019

Direction: Julie Orton
Music  Direction: Ian Robertson
Technical Director: Len Simon
Assistant Director: Jake Bunyan
Stage Manager: Miranda Reid
Lighting Designer: Sophia Halsey-Dam
Sound Operator: Jenna Pacquette / Zeth Wick
Book by: Dr. Seuss
Lyrics and music by: Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty

Shakespeare’s Dog is a play that explores how a young William Shakespeare got his start as one of the greatest playwrights in theatre history. We are introduced to the small Elizabethan town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the Shakespeare family, and the Bard’s beloved dog, Hooker.  Young Will is convinced he has the heart of an actor, but Hooker is certain Will’s talents lie not in acting, but in writing for the stage. Hooker’s challenge is to get Will to see things from a dog’s point of view, while elsewhere he has his paws full trying to dodge the feared Forest Regarders, who are seeking brutal justice against a local dog who has poached a deer from a powerful landowner.  What follows is a dramatic comedy where man and dog must stick together to realize their true destiny.