The Wolf and the Witch, our world premiere improvised fairy tale show, runs October 3 – 12 at the Ballard Underground and tickets are onsale now ($12 advance purchase.) Click here to buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets!
Rehearsals for our new production “The Wolf and the Witch” are in full swing, and to get the cast in the right frame of mind, director Tony Beeman asked the cast to interview tourists in the Pike Place Market and to write brand new fairy tales based on the inspiration the cast found there. As a fun look behind the scenes, our next series of posts will include some of these fairy tales penned by the cast themselves!
First up: Cheryl Platz, a SET veteran who has appeared in Where No Man Has Gone Before, The Journal and Wedding Horror Stories. She had this to say about her inspiration:
“In the Market, Dan and I spoke with a nice older gentleman who shared a story from his past, of a beloved girl dog named Pooch, who was unloved by his father, and who ran away causing some heartbreak and a few surprises along the way. Eleven surprises, actually. I took some creative liberties, of course, but his love for Pooch shines through with a slightly happier ending.”
The Tale of Hubert & Pooch
by Cheryl Platz
Once upon a time, there was a young prince named Hubert. Hubert’s father, King Reginald, was a cold and unsympathetic man. When Hubert’s mother was still alive, she gave the little prince a puppy that he named Pooch.
While Hubert loved Pooch dearly, Hubert’s father hated Pooch because Pooch was not pureborn, as befits a royal prince. Sadly, when Hubert was 10, his mother passed away, and Pooch became his last living reminder of his mother’s love. So while King Reginald did not like Pooch, he did not force Hubert and Pooch to separate.
Each morning, Hubert and Pooch would wake up, eat breakfast, and head outdoors to play in the meadow. While in the meadow, the two would play fetch and tag. Pooch was very popular with other dogs passing through the meadow, too. To Hubert, this made sense – as a royal family, they always received gifts from visitors. Why not his dog, too?
But one sunny morning, Pooch’s breakfast went cold, and Hubert wept bitterly at the dining table. Where had Pooch gone? Surely this must be his father’s doing. Hubert knew how much the King disliked Pooch. When Hubert told his father about Pooch’s disappearance, he replied, “Surely Pooch has run away to spend more time with dogs and people suitable for a mutt. You must learn to live without her.”
Hubert was inconsolable. The meadow seemed a lonely place. And Hubert was sure his father must have had something to do with the disappearance. Pooch loved Hubert! He – wait, did the King call Pooch a she? That was odd.
King Reginald, while a generally cold man, did love his son and it made him sad to see Hubert so sad. A few days later, the King gave Hubert the shiny red wagon he had been asking for. But the King didn’t know that the wagon was supposed to be for Pooch to ride in, and it only made Hubert sadder for a time.
Weeks went by and Hubert reluctantly began to believe what his father told him – despite what his heart told Hubert, Pooch must have left him for good. One afternoon, Hubert moped about the back gardens of the castle when he heard a strange whimpering noise. He looked all around, but he was the only one in the backyard. What could that sound be? Invaders? He grabbed his toy wooden sword and advanced on the source of the sound.
He eventually tracked the sound down to a crevice underneath the back stairs. Hubert got on his knees, sword clutched, to see what was there – it was a small wriggling thing, no, three, four – seven – eleven small wriggling things! Good thing he had learned to count. Eleven small wriggling things and… Hubert’s heart burst with joy when he realized the small wriggling things were climbing upon his very own Pooch!
After the joy cleared, there were a few moments of confusion while Hubert came to terms with the fact that Pooch was a girl – and a mommy of eleven adorable puppies.
Needless to say, King Reginald was nonplussed to hear of Pooch’s recovery. He insisted that feeding eleven puppies would drive the kingdom into bankruptcy. Hubert had never heard of bankruptcy, but it had many syllables so he assumed it was something very bad, like insubordination. His father used that word a lot too.
But Hubert wasn’t going to let down Pooch in her hour of need. He loaded Pooch and her puppies into the red wagon and marched all the way down to the village. There, he introduced the villagers to Pooch and collected food scraps to feed Pooch and her puppies. After a long day, Pooch looked happy and her puppies slept with full tummies.
The next morning, King Reginald awoke to a stack of letters from villagers impressed with the kingdom’s new puppies. It seems that Hubert’s little visit did not go unnoticed. In particular, a visiting duke in disguise was so enamored with Pooch that he offered to adopt Pooch and all of her puppies in exchange for his daughter’s future hand in marriage.
Relieved, King Reginald decided to send Pooch away for the good of the kingdom. But Hubert was allowed to visit. After all, he was engaged to Pooch’s new Princess! In a few years, Hubert and the princess were married – and their combined kingdoms were wealthy enough to provide for Pooch’s puppies and her grandpuppies. And so it was that Hubert learned to trust his heart, and one little mutt brought two big kingdoms together.
The End
Stay tuned for more original fairy tales from our cast members, backstage insights, and updates! Less than 2 weeks until you’ll be able to watch this cast creating new fairy tales live in “The Wolf and the Witch”. Shows run October 3 – 12; click here to buy advance tickets.