Almost two decades ago, Jack J. Ward got up from his desk between classes while teaching Shakespeare.
By the time he'd taken three steps, something extraordinary had happened.

An entire Shakespearean comedy had burst into his mind.
The characters were there. The three intertwining plots were there. The five-act structure was there. Somehow, even the shape of roughly three hours of theatrical entertainment had arrived almost at once.
Jack was both shocked and exhilarated.

Suddenly, The Gift of Venice or On Coming Out was born.

For years, the play remained in notes while teaching, audio drama, writing and the rest of life continued around it. But after retiring from the classroom, Jack returned to those original ideas and began the much larger task of getting the words down on paper and developing his own approach to Shakespearean prose.
After all, imagining a Shakespearean comedy in three steps is one thing.

Writing one is quite another.

Now, with the help of actor, producer and longtime friend Ryan Sadler, The Gift of Venice is moving toward becoming a performance.
The first destination is particularly appropriate: Mutual Stage, the Mutual Audio Network's home for bringing theatrical works to the audio stage.
But that's only Act One.

Jack and Ryan are also working toward taking The Gift of Venice from the microphones to a Halifax stage by 2028, finally turning an idea born between Shakespeare classes nearly twenty years earlier into a live theatrical production.
Characters scheming. Lovers misunderstanding. Plots colliding. Five acts of Shakespearean-inspired comedy.
And perhaps the return of Mutual Stage along the way.
After all...
For all the World's an Audio Stage, and we are all merely webplayers!

Mutual Stage Returning? The Gift of Venice Is Coming!

September 16, 2026

Nearly twenty years after an entire Shakespearean comedy seemed to appear during three steps between classes, Jack J. Ward is working with actor and producer Ryan Sadler to bring The Gift of Venice or On Coming Out first to the Mutual Stage, with a Halifax stage production planned for 2028.
Is Mutual Stage preparing to raise the curtain again?

Almost two decades ago, Jack J. Ward got up from his desk between classes while teaching Shakespeare.
By the time he'd taken three steps, something extraordinary had happened.

An entire Shakespearean comedy had burst into his mind.
The characters were there. The three intertwining plots were there. The five-act structure was there. Somehow, even the shape of roughly three hours of theatrical entertainment had arrived almost at once.
Jack was both shocked and exhilarated.

Suddenly, The Gift of Venice or On Coming Out was born.

For years, the play remained in notes while teaching, audio drama, writing and the rest of life continued around it. But after retiring from the classroom, Jack returned to those original ideas and began the much larger task of getting the words down on paper and developing his own approach to Shakespearean prose.
After all, imagining a Shakespearean comedy in three steps is one thing.

Writing one is quite another.

Now, with the help of actor, producer and longtime friend Ryan Sadler, The Gift of Venice is moving toward becoming a performance.
The first destination is particularly appropriate: Mutual Stage, the Mutual Audio Network's home for bringing theatrical works to the audio stage.
But that's only Act One.

Jack and Ryan are also working toward taking The Gift of Venice from the microphones to a Halifax stage by 2028, finally turning an idea born between Shakespeare classes nearly twenty years earlier into a live theatrical production.
Characters scheming. Lovers misunderstanding. Plots colliding. Five acts of Shakespearean-inspired comedy.
And perhaps the return of Mutual Stage along the way.
After all...
For all the World's an Audio Stage, and we are all merely webplayers!