In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Elma Linz Kanefield discusses her book, Hamlet’s Mirror: Reaching Your Potential Onstage and Off. It is a book designed for performing artists, but the advice it contains could apply to all artists and artists-at-heart. Elma is a psychotherapist and one of the world’s only specialists in the psychology of the performing artist. And she knows what she’s talking about. Her own horrifying experience with stage fright as a young performer in New York City led her to become a mental health clinician and to write this book. She began writing Hamlet’s Mirror nearly thirty years ago but never quite finished it…until now. Elma is quick to point out that if she had finished the book any earlier, she wouldn’t have had the benefit of her nearly four decades of learning and practicing in the field. In Hamlet’s Mirror, she discusses why artists and performers do what they do, the pressures they experience as a result, and why the goal should be to strive for excellence not perfection. In this episode, I’ll chat with Elma about her writing journey, why artists need to understand the concept she calls “performance potential,” and her specific advice for writers…as well as a few other things.
The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!
The Bookshop at the End of the Internet is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!
