By Rachel Livingston, special to the Ballard News-Tribune

What do Sasquatch, a wealthy English girl, and a gigantic dog with eyes as big as saucers have in common? They are all characters in the upcoming Battle of the Bards, a fundraiser for Ghost Light Theatricals.

Each year, Ghost Light Theatricals invites three writer and director ensembles to submit an act they’ve adapted from a classic piece of literature and perform the act in front of an audience in the second week of February.

The audience then gets to vote which act they like best with dollar bills. Each vote costs $1 and there is no limit to how many votes you can cast. The act that raises the most money gets to perform their play in full in the upcoming season. which runs from September through April.

This year’s performances include “Tinderbox: Or Don’t Screw the Pooch” an adaptation of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale written by Pat Haines-Ainsworth and directed by Suzannah Rogen; “Freak Storm”, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" written by Don Fleming and directed by Ellie McKay; and “The Little Princess” an adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book written and directed by Peter Frost.

The writers take many liberties with these classics and aim to challenge, amuse, frighten and perhaps even disturb the audience a little.

In Haines-Ainsworth’s rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Tinderbox,” the main character is extremely flawed and confused. This anti-hero is a victim of fate, generous to a fault, and a hopeless romantic.

“He is so human, he could be anyone,” said writer Pat Haines-Ainsworth.

When the anti-hero accidentally beheads the witch who had just made him rich, he goes on a drunken rampage with his friends, loses all of his money, and falls in love with a dim-witted but kind-hearted princess.

Haines-Ainsworth has adapted over 20 fairy tales for her production company, Last Leaf Productions, a traveling children’s theatre company that performs plays for children all along the west coast. She also starred as Feraport in Ghost Theatrical production of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”

“ I just wanted to get my wiggles out and write one for adults,” said Haines-Ainsworth about her story pick.

“She missed being able to write for adults," said Beth Raas, co-founder and artistic director for Ghost Light.

"We think she’s really great and really funny and she’d make a great adaptation for adults."

Peter Frost, a self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades, is the technical director at the Annex Theatre and has previously done lighting design for Ghost Light.

"The Little Princess" is his first try at writing and directing.

Frost said he chose to adapt Francis Hodgson Burnett’s “The Little Princess" because "it’s a story I read a lot when I was younger. I don’t think I appreciated the nuances until late.”

Frost is particularly interested in how the imaginary and reality work together in the story.

The story is about Sara Crewe who slips into her imagination when her real world begins to crumble around her.

“It’s such a cool moment when she’s stripped of everything and is forced to deal with the reality of her situation,” say Frost.

Frost’s rendition is a dark comedy where Mrs. Minchin, the headmistress of Sara Crewe's school, is a cold, profiteering, and seductive woman who drugs the children and creates a hierarchy among them in order to maintain control.

Frost describes his act as raunchy and dirty and expect food to be flying around the stage.

Don Fleming’s “Freak Storm” is also a comedy that turns Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” inside out.

Set deep in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest, Shakespeare's Prospero character is replaced by a woman named Silla who has lived in the mountains for 12 years. The pathetic Caliban is replaced by Sasquatch, a likeable character who represents the environment Silla is trying to protect.

In Shakespeare's story, Prospero is angry with Caliban for attempting to rape his daughter. In Fleming’s version, Silla encourages her daughter to marry Sasquatch. When Silla’s ex-husband shows up in the mountains after his helicopter crashes in a storm, hilarity ensues. Silla's daughter meets her long-lost brother and unconventional relationships develop.

Director McKay said Fleming chose “The Tempest” because he thinks it is “boring” and he wanted to make it more exiting.

“It’s an angry play. It’s exhausting watching Prospero being so vengeful during the entire show," McKay said.

"Don makes it more fun. He makes the characters more understandable.”

McKay says that “Freak Storm” is an environmental conversation and a "technology vs. the earth" story that asks, “What is cost of knowledge?” and “What is the cost of research?”

Last year's Battle of the Bards was the most successful competition yet and brought forth several plays including Wilder Nutting-Heath's "Metamorphosis", an adaptation of Kafka's famous short story.

"We've done pretty well since we've been at the Ballard Underground," Raas said.

"I'm happy we are in Ballard. I love the neighborhood. We're excited for all of our neighbors to see our plays."

Battle of Bards takes place on Friday, Feb 11th and Saturday, Feb 12th at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market Street.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the door or online through Brown Paper Tickets.