Benedict Cumberpatch as Hamlet

Hello, readers! Those of you who follow me on Facebook may remember me having a fan-girl meltdown over Benedict Cumberpatch as Hamlet and promising a more intelligent rant soon. Sorry it took so long to write this post, but here it is.

This term I've opted to take an Acting Shakespeare class to fulfill my art requirement, and also because I want to look at Shakespeare's plays from an actor's perspective. Are there any differences between reading Shakespeare as a literature student or as an actor? The short answer is yes, there are, but that's a blog post for another occasion.

My purpose in mentioning this class is simply to explain why I dropped $20 on a movie ticket for a school assignment. I was already a Benedict Cumberpatch fan, and I chose this option over a free play at a local theater. However, I'm not sure I would have spent the money if I wasn't in need of inspiration for a graded paper. God definitely works in mysterious ways, and this is one of those times.

Benedict Cumberpatch is now one of my favorite actors of all time. I've scene him in a few on-screen roles that I liked, namely: Khan in Star Trek, Smaug in The Hobbit, and the well known title character of Sherlock. I've seen him play the cold-hearted villain, an animated dragon, and a "high functioning sociopath" hero. On stage, he was all these things and more: madman, hero, bloodthirsty killer, loyal friend, tortured son, regretful lover, and prince of Denmark. Before seeing this play I never really liked Hamlet, but Benedict breathed life into that character and made him a living breathing person. Cumberpatch didn't play Hamlet. He WAS Hamlet! I wasn't even in the same room as him, and the energy in his role was tangible in the theater. There were times when I actually teared up, and that almost never happens at movies. When Hamlet spoke, I didn't see Smaug or Khan or Sherlock. He ricocheted between wrathful tears and manic laughter with ease, all while making it look perfectly natural. I was watching Hamlet.

For the first time, I actually understood Hamlet as a character. Others have a right to their own opinion in this instance. But as far as I'm concerned Benedict Cumberpatch is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and he always will be.

For the sake of fairness though, no production's success rests solely on the shoulders of one man. Every single one of the actors involved was brilliant. I wasn't too sure if I liked Ciaran Hinds as Claudius at first, but by the end of the first couple scenes I was sold. As much as I loved Cumberpatch, one of the most moving scenes in the play was the scene where Claudius finally tells the audience that he wants Hamlet dead. I actually had to clutch my purse to keep from shaking. And Karl Johnson (Twister Turrill from Lark Rise to Candleford) was a fantastic choice to play the ghost. Every time I've seen him act before, it was always in a comic relief role, and he dons that persona in Hamlet too as the grave digger. But he totally nailed the spooky ghost act. It was genuinely creepy. Ophelia was heartbreaking, Gertrude was frustrating, and Horatio was the kind of best friend everybody wishes they could have. Like I said, everyone was brilliant.

And the stage crew deserves a round of applause as well, because the set was incredible. It had to have taken a lot of painstaking labor to put it together, take it down after the show ended, and keep it in working order every day in-between. During the intermission, a crew of people actually dumped piles of dirt all over the stage floor! Dirt! Or at least it was a substance that looked like dirt and must have been equally frustrating to clean. That is serious dedication, and they deserve some recognition for it.

I could go on for hours about everything I loved in this production, but I'll stop after one last thought. I've heard it said often that stage acting is the true litmus test for acting talent, and Shakespeare is the ultimate test for stage actors. Now I understand why. This play has changed the way I look at Shakespeare forever. The $20 spent was a steal, and I absolutely intend to invest in more National Theater productions.

This American girl is now a Shakespeare fan-girl.

Best Boutique Ever!

Hi everyone. I have to start by apologizing for taking this long to update my blog. As my mother has pointed out many times, I have this bad habit of taking on too much responsibility, and priorities had to be chosen these past few months. The latest news on Book Three is that I'm almost halfway done with it. For some reason, the creative process is taking longer with this novel, but I think you'll love it when it's done.

Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday, so the timing of this post is appropriate. Some of my friends have already listened to me complain about writer's block several times, but I haven't complained half as much as I wanted to this year. The fact is that this is the first time I've tried to write a book on top of a full-time job (full-time college in my case), and lately I've been struggling to remember why I'm writing at all.

Part of the reason it's hard to write is because every time I read my own work, I get discouraged. I forget that this is only the first draft, and neither of the first two books were good before I polished them. I forget that every single writer goes through periods where they doubt their own abilities, and all I can think about is what I should be doing better. Greater men and women than me have gone through this same struggle and failed, so what makes me think I'm different? Even if I finish the book on schedule, will it be as good as the previous books? Writer's block is no fun for anybody for any reason, but when your passion is supposed to be writing it can be miserable.

As you can probably tell, my social  media book promotion has all but vanished, and so I wasn't expecting any sales miracles when I set up my booth for a local holiday boutique at my church this weekend. Normally I lose money at events like this, and, frankly, money isn't something I feel comfortable experimenting with right now. However, I have done nothing to promote my own books this year. So I paid for my little booth, ordered fifteen copies of each novel, and decided that I was going to have fun even if I only sold one book all weekend.

I sold twenty-two copies and met cost for the first time since starting this self-publishing enterprise.

I've never sold more than twelve copies at a single event.

Besides that, nothing out of the ordinary happened, yet somehow this weekend was exactly what I needed. I'm very lucky to live in a community which enthusiastically supports my efforts as a local writer. It was the first time in months that I felt like I'm doing something right. The writer's block is still hanging on with both hands, but now I remember why I'm writing in the first place. Among other things, I'm thankful for this gift, even if I'm paying back my first three years of easy creativity with interest.

Thank you for taking a chance on Violet Eyes. With a little providence, the next book will be out before you know it, and it will be even better than the first two.