Don't Quill the Messenger: Shakespeare Authorship Explored The "Truth" of a Documentary
Mar 13, 2019
Documentary filmmaker Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, known for her film on Edward de Vere, dives into the intriguing world of Shakespearean authorship. She shares her transition from writer to filmmaker, her fascination with De Vere after a Harvard class, and the liberal atmosphere of Venice that shaped his work. Cheryl delves into themes of bisexuality in the sonnets and how De Vere's personal experiences mirror the plays. With insights on guerrilla filmmaking in Italy and the challenges of making Oxfordian documentaries, she reveals the complexities of storytelling in this fascinating narrative.
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Split Producer And Director Roles
- Balance producer and director roles: accept that fundraising is producer work and creative shaping is director work.
- Use business skills like Cheryl's to sustain long documentary timelines and editing decisions.
Juvenilia Links To The Canon
- Cheryl Eagan-Donovan became convinced Edward de Vere authored Shakespeare after comparing De Vere's juvenilia to the Shakespeare canon.
- She sees matching themes and voice as strong evidence linking De Vere's early poems to the later plays and sonnets.
Sexuality Shapes The Pseudonym Argument
- Cheryl frames bisexuality and sexuality in the plays as central reasons for a pseudonym and for reading De Vere into the works.
- She notes traditional scholars discuss sexuality but Oxfordians often avoid it, making her film controversial.
