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Chautauqua
Each summer this unique event brings historical figures to life and provides a week of educational entertainment for children and adults under the Chautauqua tent.
Visit the Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua website: click here
May 2009 Chautauqua audiences to grill “FDR” about economy
In comparing the Great Depression with today’s sharp economic downturn, Patrick McGinnis, the historian who portrays Roosevelt on the 2009 Chautauqua circuit, said, “Even a cursory examination reveals both similarities and differences. Rising unemployment defines both eras. So do mounting bank failures, home foreclosures, business and personal bankruptcies, a sharp decline in foreign trade and increasing signs of political instability.”
However, McGinnis went on to note that the current recession hardly comes close to the severity of the Great Depression.
“This spring, unemployment figures approached 8.5 percent. In 1933, the figure was nearly 33 percent. Proportionately, home foreclosures and bankruptcies are not reaching the elevated levels that marked the economic collapse of the period from 1929 to 1933.”
McGinnis, author of a book about Depression-era radicals in Oklahoma, whose research includes United States political history and the history of the American West, observed that two questions dominate public and private discussion when focusing on any economic crisis.
“When will it end? And what should be done about it? Those questions provoked an intense debate that began with the Depression itself and has continued ever since, both among scholars and in the media. The current crisis has sharply intensified this debate.”
McGinnis’s Roosevelt will be joined by scholars portraying humorist Will Rogers, radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, WPA folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, and Louisiana senator Huey Long for five days of history and entertainment in Broken Bow from June 17-21 and in Plattsmouth from June 24-28.
For more information about “Bright Dreams, Hard Times” Chautauqua events for 2009, visit www.knchautauqua.org for community schedules or contact Beth at the Nebraska Humanities Council at (402) 474-2131 or beth@nebraskahumanities.org.
November 2008 Broken Bow and Plattsmouth will host 2009 Chautauqua
The Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) will present the 2009 Chautauqua in Broken Bow June 17-21 and in Plattsmouth June 24-28.
For the second consecutive year, the theme is “Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties,” with scholars portraying five historical characters who helped shape America’s response to the Great Depression, a time of economic collapse, the environmental disaster of the Dust Bowl, and signs of worldwide political unrest.
Patrick E. McGinnis will portray Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president of the United States from 1932-1945 and the leader of the New Deal plan to help Americans. McGinnis holds a Ph.D. from Tulane University and is emeritus professor of history at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Fred Krebs will portray Huey Long, the Louisiana senator who used force and totalitarian tactics to attempt to bring aid to his constituents. Krebs is professor of history at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., and a Chautauquan with 15 different characterizations.
Tonia Compton will portray Aimee Semple McPherson, who provided relief to impoverished families in Los Angeles and was a pioneer evangelist and pastor. Compton is a history doctoral candidate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and holds a master’s degree from Texas A&M.
Wanda Schell will portray Zora Neale Hurston, who worked for federal WPA projects collecting folklore and authored works of fiction and non-fiction during the Thirties. Schell is an accomplished actress and writer, as well as a published playwright, singer, storyteller and director.
Doug Watson will portray Will Rogers, American humorist, radio and film star, and essayist who commented on American culture and politics. As moderator for each performance, Will Rogers will bring audiences into the Thirties using his authentic American voice. Watson holds a Ph.D. from Texas Tech University and teaches English at Oklahoma Baptist University.
The Chautauqua runs Wednesday through Sunday, with a different scholar portraying his or her character each evening. Workshops for adults and children are held during the day.
Adult audiences have an opportunity to examine four themes that were important during the Depression era and have particular relevance today: The changing relationship between Americans and their national government, the flowering of artistic and intellectual activity, the role of religion in public life, and the democratization of American culture through radio and sound movies.
Middle schoolers research and portray local historical figures during the Youth Chautauqua Day Camp, high schoolers photograph images in their communities and compare them with photos of the past, children create a colorful mural based on a folktale by Hurston, and youth learn about children who wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt during the Depression and then write a letter to the current first lady.
Thousands of Nebraskans attended the Chautauqua in Falls City and Hastings this summer. It also traveled to Kansas for stops in Beloit and Lawrence.
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Phone 402-474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org. |
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