The Nevada Shakespeare Festival wraps the Bard’s greatest play in an engaging, creative package but stays sweetly faithful to the family drama at the story’s heart.
Author Archives: j.hammonds
Pocket Play Review: Twelfth Night at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse
It’s great fun to see a well-acted play after a delicious dinner and a glass of something sweet and strong. Try it sometime!
How did you celebrate your book launch?
Q: Your book Blue Mountain Rose was officially launched on Shakespeare’s birthday, April 23, 2025. A book launch is a big milestone in a book’s life. How did you celebrate? A: My first idea for launching Blue Mountain Rose was to throw a party at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where my love for Shakespeare’s playsContinueContinue reading “How did you celebrate your book launch?”
Pocket Play Review: Hamlet at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Significant cuts to the text lend this “Hamlet” the force and urgency of a flooding river, lifting the audience into the lifeboats and urging us to hang on for the ride.
When is the “Blue Mountain Rose” launch event and how can I participate?
Q: I hear that a book launch event is a special thing in the life of a book. What’s your launch event, and can I participate? A: You’re right that a book launch event is special. It can be like a birthday party for a book, and who doesn’t love birthday parties? Blue Mountain RoseContinueContinue reading “When is the “Blue Mountain Rose” launch event and how can I participate?”
Pocket Play Review: King Lear at the American Shakespeare Center
In the intimate space of the Blackfriars Playhouse, we don’t just see “King Lear,” we feel the pain of betrayal and the fear of senility, the heartbreak of a broken family and the tenderness of devoted friendship, the full range of emotion captured in Shakespeare’s timeless tale.
Pocket Play Review: It’s the Comedy of Errors, Hon! at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
In their delightful re-imagining of “The Comedy of Errors,” Ian Gallanar and the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company have cooked up one tasty crabcake that does their Baltimore hometown proud.
Pocket Play Review: Romeo and Juliet at Southwest Shakespeare
In their production of “Romeo and Juliet,” Southwest Shakespeare proved that if you choose your setting wisely and commit to it wholly, you can make this play feel relevant to our lives today.
What does it mean to “complete the canon”?
Q: Your author bio says you’re on a quest to “complete the canon” and you have four plays to go. What does it mean to “complete the canon,” and which four plays haven’t you seen? A: Generally speaking, there are 38 plays in Shakespeare’s “canon,” the accepted group of an author’s related works. (Authorities disagreeContinueContinue reading “What does it mean to “complete the canon”?”
Did you use beta readers as you created “Blue Mountain Rose”?
The author discusses the importance of beta readers in refining early drafts of “Blue Mountain Rose.” These early readers provided significant character and plot critiques that motivated the author to revise the manuscript, ultimately leading to a version that was ready for copy editing.
