The Haunting of Will Shakespeare
Enroute to London, young Will Shakespeare has a fanciful encounter in the woods outside of Stratford. In the space of one night, he finds himself chased by a young maiden, haunted by witches, bedazzled by spirits and enchanted by a group of rag-tag actors. Yearning to be an actor in London, he is in turn stopped by all in his path. The young maiden wishes to deter him from a low, base theatrical life. The witches mean to turn him into a playwright so he can write about their escapades and free them from the woods. Turning to the spirit world, the witches summon ghostly beings to portray characters from the plays Will has yet to write. In turn, these spirits cajole, abuse, amuse and involve Will in their own stories in hopes that he will write about them. Encounter Hamlet, Juliet, Ophelia, Bottom, Kate and Petruchio in a new light and celebrate the Bard's vast body of work that inspires us today. Woven into the story is Will's first encounter with love. The play is the first place winner in Columbia Entertainment Company's Jackie White Memorial Play Writing Contest for 2001.