Bard on the Beach Basset hound stars in new theatre-themed Youtube series

It's not enough that she'll probably steal the show when The Two Gentlemen of Verona opens at Bard on the Beach tonight on the Howard Family Stage in Vanier Park.

Gertie the Basset hound, who plays Crab the Dog in Shakespeare's romantic comedy, is now also the droopy-eyed, deadpan star of a Youtube series called Diary of Gertie the Actor.

Bard on the Beach launched the second installment, "Understudy", today, in which Gertie's fill-in, the four-legged and apparently focus-impaired Lebowski.

Watch here as the canine understudy finds more interest in joggers and squirrels than the intricacies of Shakespearean drama.

And see the first installment, "Fame", here, where Gertie's master in the play, actor Andrew Cownden, wonders whether the word actor really should apply just to humans.

The series is created and produced by Hip.Bang!, Vancouver comedy writers and performers Tom Hill and Devin Mackenzie.

For the record, the comedy Two Gentlemen is Shakespeare's only play with a dog. Gertie auditioned for the part.