Vessel of Clay, an Interview
Q. Adele, what made you write Vessel of Clay?
A. When I woke up this morning, I asked God the same question: Why was Vessel of Clay written? The answer that was dropped into my spirit was the same answer He provided for me when I asked Him about the poetry He had given me and the purpose behind the mime ministry I managed. I heard Him say, “I want you to paint a portrait of my glory.” There is no doubt in my mind that God is not only glorified in this play, He is also magnified. What a better way to portray God’s love than to show our fractured lives mended and reconciled to Him.
I’ve always been in love with the stage and viewed it as an awesome way to teach life lessons. In my research about the visual arts, I learned that 86 percent of what a person sees is retained so what a powerful tool the stage could be if used properly. I also learned that 40 percent of the fibers in the brain are linked to the retina. In other words, if we can put life lessons on stage and market the heck out of it, people will come, learn, enjoy, and change.
Q. How long have you been writing?
A. I have been writing since I was about 12 years old; I love to write poetry and … ironically, my poetry usually tells a story that teaches a life lesson (laughter). I raised my children, my nieces and nephews, and now my grandchildren on my poetry.
Q. Where do you get the ideas that you write about?
A. At any given moment a particular concept will drop into my spirit but the words don’t always come right away. The words begin to pour out on paper when I sit somewhere quiet with a pencil in my hand. The characters in the poetry or the plot of the piece stays in my head until I write him or her out and that’s when the emotion or the spirit of the piece comes to life… when I write it. In the case of “Vessel of Clay”, the whole play came to me in a dream. I saw the characters, I even knew the songs (only the titles)
Q. Is your poetry available to the public?
A. Yes it is. I used to put my poetry in frames and they were sold in Christian book stores and hospital gift shops. I also started a business where I would allow individuals to earn one of my framed pieces by inviting some of their friends to their home and allowing me to come in and share poetry with them. I finally put some of my poetry on CD in 2003. My producer, Rob Anderson, was the best producer ever. He listened to what my desires were for the CD and he and Jeff Arnold (my music producer) helped to develop an awesome project. The name of that CD is, “From a Whisper to a Touch.” By Adele Hewett and you can purchase it on CDBaby.
Q. Do you still write poetry?
A. Yes, I do. I’ll never stop writing poetry. Poetry is my first love because of the aesthetics of it. It has a way of using words to loop around until we’re totally wrapped up in its raw truth.
Q. Tell us about a time that your writing portrayed raw truth.
A. I would hope that my writing always portrays raw truth but, I guess if I had to choose I would say that ‘Vessel of Clay’ does it in that it shows God’s love when we are willing to open our hearts to Him but the ‘RAW’ truth is that He loves us even when we don’t love ourselves.
Q. WOW . . . OK … Getting back to the play. Who are you trying to reach with Vessel of Clay?
A. Lovers of God, to show that God will never leave nor forsake them! But mostly, I’m trying to reach those who feel lost. Those who feel like there’s no escape route for them and they keep sinking deeper and deeper into doing wrong. With this play, I’m, reaching out to those who feel like they’ve gotten so far away from God that He can’t hear them crying for help. I want them to realize and KNOW that God is aware of every tear they cry. I also want to reach those who feel like they don’t HAVE any more tears. It’s important that they understand that even in the midst of the fire, there is victory. I believe that this play gives people the opportunity to look within themselves and measure the distance they’ve put between them and truth whether their truth is spiritual or personal.
The main character in this play is my hero. As I was developing the details of his character, God showed me that I was healing myself. Through this character God taught me about trust, growth, and the importance of accepting truth. The end of the play reveals an UNEXPECTED truth and believe me, the audience will not be disappointed.
Q. On a personal level where would you like to see this play go?
A. That’s a good question. I think every person in the WORLD needs to see this play but what playwright doesn’t feel that way about his or her work (Laughter).Right? Honestly, I would like to see the play tour as many cities as possible. But ….. before any of that happens, we’re going to launch the play here in Arizona. My desire is to have it to run here for a couple of weekends and after we see how well it does here, we’ll make plans to take it farther. We have even talked about film.
Q. What else do you want the people to know about Vessel of Clay?
A. I want them to know that they can help. Vessel of Clay is a play that not only speaks to us as laymen but also to Pastors. One pastor mentioned, after reading the script, that the play emphasized his need to be a better pastor by reiterating the love of God. We get so caught up in wanting to preach the right and wrongs of our lifestyles that we forget to teach the basics …. The love of God. Vessel of Clay displays that love like no stage play I’ve ever seen.
However, there’s so much that goes into putting on a production of this magnitude. We need to pay for the theatre, light technicians, sound technicians, stage managers, screens for certain scenes, props, actors, actresses, marketing … my list goes on and on. So l want people to know that they can help us by logging onto my website at www.adelehewett.com and contributing to “Vessel of Clay.” I would love to reach our goal and, even if we don’t, our campaigning will continue until Vessel of Clay is on stage. We believe strongly in what we’re doing.
Q. I understand that Howard Hewett is your brother, is he helping you with this venture?
A. I would never think of taking on a project without first running it passed my family; especially a project this huge. Howard has been a great help to me. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the song writers for the play. I’m sure he’ll be present, in the front row on opening night. But along with Howard, my husband is my greatest supporter and my biggest fan. I also have other siblings who are showing their support by being involved. I’m not the only writer in my family. I have other sisters who write. One of them has written a number of novels as well. Our plans are to eventually cast each of our projects and either grace the stage with them or put them in film. I couldn’t end this interview without adding how important it is to have the support of family in anything you do. We are truly a family that believes in encouraging each other.
Q. Adele, What would you say is your greatest motivator?
A. Knowing that I have a purpose and not wanting my life to end without achieving that purpose is what motivates me. I mean, I look at the years behind me and I feel like I’ve wasted so much time on nonsense; like bad relationships, and circumstances that lead me completely off track, and even dealing with toxic people who didn’t share my vision. We get so caught up in other people’s visions that we forget about our own. We were all born with a purpose and it’s up to us to achieve it but it’s difficult when you allow yourself to get linked to people who do nothing but suck the life out of your vision for their own selfish reasons. However, I learned that God never gives a vision without pro-vision so I had to stop blaming others and step out and do what I was supposed to do. Also I want to leave a legacy. I think it’s important to ask yourself, “What are people going to say about me when I’m gone?” I don’t want people to say, “Adele Hewett Veal could have …” I want them to say, “Adele Hewett Veal ACCOMPLISHED…”
Q. WOW! Adele, thank you for those words of wisdom; I know I heard something in this interview that will stay with me for the rest of my life. “What is my legacy … what will people say about my life when I’m gone?” That question certainly puts a different spin on the time span one is given to accomplish what they need and want to do in life.
A. That’s right. Life is just too short. Ask yourself this; what is the most important thing that you want to accomplish in life? And then begin putting your life in order, step by step to accomplish it. That’s why “Vessel of Clay” is so important to me. This is what I have wanted to accomplish my whole life.