Garrett Lakes Arts Festival is pleased to announce six nights of Chautauqua entertainment under the big tent on the lawn of Garrett College. The events take place Friday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 8. Though admission to each program is free, contributions will be accepted to help offset program costs. Following is the full line-up:
Friday, July 3
Kicking off the week is “Gus”, a long-form improvisational comedy troupe sponsored by the Baltimore Improv Group. They will perform Friday, July 3, at 7:30 p.m. under the big tent on the Garrett College lawn. They will be joined by former Garrett County resident Alexander Hill, a former member of Gus who had performed with the troupe for three years prior to his relocation to New York City.
Saturday, July 4
Saturday, July 4 will premier the traditional Independence Day Concert with BOTH the Garrett Community Concert Band and the Garrett Choral Society. The free concert will be held rain or shine, beginning at 7:30 p.m. In case of rain, the concert will be held in the Garrett College auditorium. Round out the evening with the perfect spot to view the community fireworks display, immediately following the concert.
Sunday, July 5 – Wednesday, July 8
Chautauqua, the annual living history program of the Maryland Humanities Council, will be returning to Garrett College in McHenry for its fifteenth season, from Sunday, July 5 through Wednesday, July 8. This year’s theme is “Rights and Reformers”, featuring portrayals of Woody Guthrie, Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Paul.
Held under a tent on the Garrett College lawn, each evening’s program will begin at 7:00 p.m. with entertainment by local musicians, followed by the evening’s featured performer at 7:30 p.m. Each evening, an actor or scholar will portray one of the aforementioned historical characters, adopting the character’s style, mannerisms, accent, and fashion of dress. After each historical portrayal, the performer will answer audience questions--first in character, then as a scholar of the character portrayed.
On July 5, David Fenimore of the University of Nevada, Reno will portray American singer-songwriter, folk musician, and social critic Woody Guthrie. Guthrie’s songs, ballads, prose, poetry, and drawings captured the plight of the downtrodden during the great social and political upheavals of the thirties and forties, and inspired a new generation of socially conscious musicians in the fifties and sixties. Fenimore, who portrayed Horace Greeley at Maryland’s first Chautauqua in 1996, has also performed as Zane Grey, John A. Sutter, and Donner party survivor Lewis Keseberg, and has published a play based on the life of Zane Grey, A Bad Boy Grown Up.
The July 6 program will feature a portrayal of Jackie Robinson by professional actor Gregory Gibson Kenney. Robinson, who endured intense pressure and hatred as the man who broke major league baseball’s color line, went on to become a businessman and social change activist following his Hall of Fame career, and was posthumously awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Kenney, who has also portrayed Martin Luther King, Jr., Louis Armstrong, and Roberto Clemente, is the winner of the 1998 YWCA Racial Justice Award and has served as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Education Advisory Board since 2000.
Veteran Chautauqua performer Suzan King will portray former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on July 7. Although born to wealth and privilege, Roosevelt was deeply committed to service and was involved in a wide range of social issues. Her work on the alleviation of poverty brought her to Garrett County and nearby Arthurdale, West Virginia. King, who taught American Literature, creative writing, and freshman composition for 30 years, now devotes herself fulltime to performing Chautauqua characters throughout the country.
An exciting addition to the Chautauqua roster is Garrett County’s own Joanna Guy, who will portray Alice Paul on July 8. Paul was a 20th century women’s rights activist and social reformer. A committed Quaker, Paul held an abiding belief in the equality of all people, regardless of race, social class or gender. Joanna Guy is a 2009 graduate of Southern Garrett High School. A Maryland Distinguished Scholar in both Academic Achievement and Talent in the Arts, she was involved during high school in student government, varsity athletics, theatre, All-State Chorus and the National Honor Society. In April 2009 she won first place in the Individual Performance category at Maryland History Day for her portrayal of Alice Paul.
Chautauqua is a tradition in Garrett County that dates to the last years of the nineteenth century in Mountain Lake Park. Summer Chautauqua’s of the era, featuring guest appearances by famous actors, performers, orators, and politicians, filled the town’s circular Bashford Amphitheater and necessitated special excursion trains on the B&O line to accommodate enthusiastic audiences.
The Chautauqua series at Garrett College is a presentation of the Maryland Humanities Council in association with Garrett College, Garrett Lakes Arts Festival, and the Garrett County Arts Council. Additional information is available by calling 301-387-3082 or 301-334-6580.
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