The idea for The Dog Film Company's SHAKESPAWS first came to creator Seamus Mulcahy, an actor in New York City, while dog-sitting as a day job. As a dog sitter, he realized that dogs love to have company and that nothing is more heart-wrenching as closing a door to a sad little face. Leaving the television set on seemed to help out a lot. The dogs had a constant stream of voices, sights and sounds, just as if someone was at home. However, TV channels have a large range of stressful sounds, especially during commercials. So, he thought, why not create a DVD that was more nurturing with sight and sound stimulation for a pet with familiar faces? After some research, he found some less then impressive products, none of which the dog owner could also enjoy with their dog once they return home. Bingo! Entertainment for dogs and dog lovers.
Why Shakespeare?

The idea came to me when dog-sitting a little rescued chihuahua. The dog had a crippled front leg, giving him a limp while he walked. He also had an awful disposition; he was always growling and snarling with his teeth showing. It reminded me of Richard III. I spent the rest of the afternoon with a fellow actor friend quoting 'Now is thewinter of our discontent' and so on.

How did you find these great Dog Actors?

It wasn't that hard. We contacted dog talent agencies, websites and ran ads online for auditions. Yes, we had auditions. It was the hottest day of the year in LA and, one by one, around one hundred dogs came in and showed off their tricks. A funny thing though, coming from New York I had imaged that Shakespaws would have a lot of small dogs, Boston Terries, French Bull Dogs, Pugs, Beagles, etc. But in LA, where there's more backyard and run around room so we had a lot of big dogs come in. I was delighted! We have a great balance and a wide variety of sizes and breeds.

So you've decided to do Shakespearean scenes. How did you pick which ones? And what happened to Richard III?
Seamus Mulcahy directs Chica in Macbeth.
Seamus Mulcahy directs Chica in Macbeth.

The Richard III dog lived in New York I'm sorry to say but, in return, we have another chihuahua, Chica, who plays The First Witch and nails it!  I was performing in Shakespeare's Henry V while I was picking scenes for Shakespaws. Yes, that's one of the reasons we have a Henry V scene. The other reason is that the scene is dog friendly. At the end of the scene one character opens up a treasure chest to reveal "Tennis Balls," and from there Shakespeare's Henry V goes to war with France because of this "merry jest." However, in our dog world, the dogs love the tennis balls and they all frolic and play with tennis balls bouncing everywhere, end of scene. 

What do you still remember from shooting this Shakespaws?

I remember a lot! My brother, Padraic Mulcahy, was our only Production Assistant on set, which means he did everything. The day we shot the seven Golden Retriever Puppies was especially memorable. I was on set finishing up a previous shoot when all seven puppies were brought into "Holding." It wasn't but a mintue until I heard someone call out that one of the puppies were going number two. As Padraic raced to clean it up another puppy started to go, and with in seconds all seven puppies were squatting over doing their buinesses. All we could do was laugh.

You have a feature on the DVD called "Quiet Time." It's very relaxing, I almost dozed off. Can you explain what it does?

Well, it does just that, or I hope it does!  Once we finished editing Shakespaws we realized that the extra, unused footage was just as entertaining, so we laid some calming background music to it. We have sixty minutes of beautiful footage accompanied by relaxing music that we call "Quiet Time."

OK, Dogs and Dog lovers both enjoy watching Shakespaws. Anyone else?

We actually took Shakespaws to elementary school students and tested it out with them. They loved it! The students were watching Shakespeare and understanding it. After the film they had questions like, "what happened to Desdemona," "What were the Macbeth witches doing," "Why did Lady Macbeth have blood on her hands?" It was a great first exposure to Shakespeare. The dogs captivate the kids to sit through some pretty dense Shakespearean verse.

Now that Shakespaws is completed and ready to buy, what's next for The Dog Film Company?

Well, we are just about to start brainstorming for our next Dog Film. I don't want to give any secrets away, but it's going to be big! We're really excited. We hope to be back in LA next summer to film two more Dog Films.

Do you have any tips for dog owners and dog actors?

Obedience. If your dog can sit and stay then your half way there. A majority of our dogs were making their film debut with Shakespaws. All they needed to do was sit and stay on their mark. Of course, if they could ware a hat longer then ten seconds they were even closer to being stars!

How can I get my dog signed up for an audition for the next Dog Film?

Easy. You can send us an email, attach a snap shot of the dog,  a little write-up about your dog, along with your names and contact information. We'll keep it our files till spring 2010 and contact you for an appointment. Please apply for dog auditions at:  auditions@thedogfilm.com
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