Witches, Ghosts, and War... and More
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival delivers with Macbeth
The Sound and the Fury
I just walked in the door a few minutes ago from this year’s performance of The Scottish Play at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and was blown away.
I’ve seen this one on stage more than a few times, and I won’t disparage or lambast any of the other many stagings I’ve been present for, but I have to say this one rockets near to the top. From the moment the Weird Sisters drop us into their forboding welcome to the final moments when (spoilers!) Macduff throws Macbeth’s head at the feet of the new king, this cast ripped through the script with excellent staging, pacing, fighting, and delivery of what I believe outshines Hamlet as the Bard’s masterpiece. Of course—you have to know—witches, ghosts, and brutal combat all make me a bit giddy, and this cast delivered on all fronts.
So… if you are making anywhere near Boulder, Colorado part of your summer vacation this year, give the fine folks at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival a try. You won’t regret it. Shows are available now through August 11.
StokerCon 2024
Last weekend I returned from San Diego and my third StokerCon refreshed and energized, and simultaneously utterly exhausted and drained. I am sure more than one of you out there reading this understand, and hell, there is a non-zero chance you’re a contributing factor. I am not going to offer a play by play of the three-day/four-day weekend that began on Wednesday night with the fantastic nonprofit fundraiser Spirited Giving, and ended well after midnight and into Sunday morning for me, before my flight back to Colorado.
I was going to point you in the direction of some of the excellent round-ups of other’s experiences, but don’t think I will. None of that quite does justice to what has become a must-attend event for me, albeit an expensive one. At my first Stoker (2022 in Denver) I walked in knowing no one, and I mean NO ONE, and proceeded to meet my first real writer friends, some of whom I now count among my closest friends, rivaling even my brothers and sisters from the Army. Go to this year, where walking into the Marriott in San Diego and I now have a large and growing cohort of friends and colleagues I know I can count on to bring me joy and inspiration, mentorship and a slap on the ass if I need one. Even a few fine folks who wanted to join me for a 30th anniversary screening of the best movie ever made, 1994’s The Crow.
This year was even more special, as I gave my first ever in the world live reading of a story to folks who weren’t 100% my friends and a captive audience. I read a wild-ass flash fiction piece called “Tattoorovka” and I can’t wait for you to read it in the wild. A story about the brutal realities of combat in present day eastern Ukraine, this little piece explores the bond between a brother and sister torn apart by the violence and the promise of dark magic that might be the key to victory on the battlefield. This one is for JT Blatty and her friends and found family who are deep in that struggle every day and have been for years. Thank you for sharing your story with the world, Jen!
Enough rambling for now. Go see some live performances this summer. Read some books. Get outside and breathe clean, fresh air while we still have it.
I’ll be doing all that, and writing.
JG
I've always wanted to visit the Colorado Shakespeare Festival! I babysat the children of some academics from Boulder when they visited Oxford and they told me all about it and said I should come and stay. One day!