On Feb. 27, 2016, The Darien Arts Center: STAGE will present a staged reading of "Shakespeare and the Heart's Desire," by Mary Jane Schaefer. It will be directed and staged by Mark
Graham, her creative partner, and feature the tremendously talented actors of The Theatre
Artists Workshop. I am very excited about this new forum for my work, and the new audience who will come to see this, the third play of my Shakespeare trilogy. Right now, the play is in very good shape. I need one more pass to erase the mistakes, as well as develop and augment a few characters and story lines that need a bit of work. But the hard slogging, I believe, is mostly done, at least for the playwright. Although it is the third play of the trilogy, it can stand fully on its own, as can the other two.

The Darien Arts Center has created this notice:

Shakespeare and the Heart’s Desire, a drama, is third in the DAC Stage lineup and is written by accomplished local playwright Mary Jane Schaefer. This one-night staged reading will be directed by Mark Graham on February 27 at 8:00 p.m. Shakespeare's fascination with the beautiful youth of his sonnets is at the heart of this play that involves an historical incident and its aftermath. Shakespeare's Company is entangled in a treasonous act committed by the Earls of Southampton and Essex. At the play's center is Shakespeare himself, explaining to himself, and to us, this crucial event in his life.