If Shakespeare Wrote "Mean Girls"

What would it be like if Shakespeare had written Mean Girls? How about Back to the Future: "Be ready for audacious episodes. Whither we go we have no need of roads." In 2013, Quirk Books began releasing a series of books by Ian Doescher that reimagined the Star Wars films as if they had been written by Shakespeare, featuring iambic pentameter and all the other literary devices we associate with the Bard. Doescher has run out of Star Wars films for now, so he’s left the “galaxy far, far away” and turned his attention to two different films. Doescher’s newest books are William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Mean Girls and William Shakespeare’s Get Thee Back to the Future. We talk to Doescher about how he chooses films to adapt, his writing process, and how his kids react when he points out naturally-occurring iambic pentameter (they aren’t impressed). Ian Doescher is interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published July 23, 2019. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode, “What Imitation You Can Borrow,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano and Andrew Bates at Voice Tracks West in Studio City, California and from Ryan Mock, Kelsey Woods and Laurilee Stapleton at Digital One Studios in Portland, Oregon.