One Act play (ca. 45 minutes)
Young student Charles Dickens (about 15 years old) is suffering writers block and decides to give up his dream of becoming a writer and instead find a safer source of future income. After a school friend and his sister have difficulty helping him, he is visited by the spirit of Shakespeare and three other literary spirits who introduce him to characters from the novels that he might one day write. These characters beg him not to quit but to give them a chance to exist. Will they succeed in their quest for survival and keep Charles from giving up his dreams?
Cast:
Charles Dickens - The future novelist as a teenager (Male)
Owen Thomas - One of Charles' schoolmates (Male)
Frances Dickens - Dickens Charles' older sister (Female)
Elizabeth Dickens - Charles' overbearing mother (Female)
John Dickens - Charles' irresponsible father (Male)
William Shakespeare - The spirit of the playwright (Male)
Charlotte Bronte - The spirit of the novelist (Female)
Emily Bronte - The spirit of the novelist (Female)
Anne Bronte - The spirit of the novelist (Female)
Lady Honoria Deadlock - Character from Bleak House (Female)
Amy Dorrit - Character from Little Dorrit (Female)
Fagin - Character from Oliver Twist (Male)
Pip - Character from Great Expectations (Male)
Miss Havisham* - Character from Great Expectations (Female)
Mr. Micawber* - Character from David Copperfield (Male)
Florence Dombey* - Character from Dombey and Sons (Female)
* NOTE: Miss Havisham is played by Elizabeth Dickens, Mr. Micawber is played by John Dickens. If necessary, Owen Thomas could double as Pip and Florence Dombey is played by the same actress who plays Frances Dickens. Consequently, the whole play can be performed by 6-7 males and 7 females.