Abigail Adams: Dear Miss Adorable

Meet Abigail Adams, wife of second president John Adams and hear first hand of her age-old problems dealing with press/family/politics/and an often absent huband.  Hear first hand what it's like to meet the royal family, the scoop on Dolley Madison, what it's like to set the new protocol for the very first first families. Abigail, who does not believe in doom and gloom ("I believe the humorous philosopher to be a more successful one than the scolding one,") deals with life with humor, wit, intelligence ("John doesn't mind that I'm smarter than he is.)" Truly one of our founding mothers  ("John, I desire you would remember the ladies." ) And one who experienced one of the great loves of all times: (:"John and I were two hearts cast from the same mould.")  Learn about the legacy Abigail Adams has left us with the 25 minute version or the 50 minute version.  Premiered in connection with the Carter Center's  touring exhibit of the First Ladies, the show was called "a triumph...funny and touching all at the same time."  Laura Bendoly, Carter Center

The Diary of Carrie Berry / The Burning of Atlanta

Atlanta:  August 1864-November 1864 

Ten year old Carrie Berry is given a diary by her father, who asks her to document this very important time in Atlanta history from August through November, 1864.  This  fascinating show uses newspaper accounts, testimonies of soldiers and citizens alike to enhance Carrie's telling, to give a well rounded eyewitness account fo these times, in which the city of Atlanta was shelled,captured, evacuated and burned by the Federal and Confederate armies. "It was the shells we were most afraid of...I celebrated my tenth birthday by ironing...We were most afraid when the feds would come and burn our house down..."

"Cathy brought Carrie to life and transported me back in time as I experienced Civil War Atlanta." Carroll Myers, Southern Order of Storytellers

New Manchester Girl

The true story of Scynthia Catherine Stewart of New Manchester, Georgia, during and immediately after the Civil War.  Scynthia, as well as others in the mill town, was charged with treason against the United States government for making cloth for the Confederate cause.  After the Yankee soldiers burned the textile mill, she was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, along with her mother and siblings, as prisoners of war.  There they were miraculously reunited with their father.  After the war, they returned home to their ghost town to find wild strawberries growing in their yard, their manna from heaven that helped them survive that first post-war year.

"For 45 minutes I listened spellbound at the beautiful tale you crafted about Scynthia Catherine.  It brought to life portions of the book I put my heart into about five years ago." Ruth Beaumont Cook, author of NORTH ACROSS THE RIVER: the Civil War Trail of Tears

Turn Homeward, Hannalee

First in the series of one-woman shows by Cathy Kaemmerlen, Hannalee is a dramatic presentation of the plight of one of the 400 Roswell Mill workers who were arrested under orders of General William Tecumseh Sherman in July of 1964, charged with treason for making cloth for the Confederate States of America, and shipped to Louisville, KY to live in refugee warehouses, until work as servants, farmhands, or mill workers could be found. The one woman play is loosely based on the historical fiction juvenile novel by Patricia Beatty. The play documents the horrors and realities of war, particularly civil war; family devotion, love, and perseverance, that can provide strength in times that are "hilly, bumpy, and stumpy;" and it portrays the good and bad characteristics of both sides who fought in the Civil War. Hannalee Reed is a fictitious twelve year old girl, who worked as a bobbin girl in the Roswell Mill until she was arrested. She promises her mother that she will return home. The play covers the nine month period from July, 1984, through April, 1865, the final months of the Civil War, and Hannalee’s adventures, including serving as an eyewitness to the Battle of Franklin, KY, as she turns homeward.

Pilgrim Courage: From Mayflower to First Harvest

Follow the story of the courageous pilgrim voyage of 1620 from England to the New World, continuing through the first year at Plimouth Colony, as told through the eyes of Mary Allerton, 4 years old at the time of the pilgrimage and the last living survivor of the Mayflower voyage.  Hear first hand what it was like to spend 65 days at sea; the struggle to start a new settlement and survive the first winter; the impact of the Mayflower Compact; making peace with area Indians; and the first harvest feast.  Performed as a first person narrative, in authentic period costuming:  "One small candle may light a thousand...out of small beginnings greater things have been produced."  Designed for upper elementary social studies curriculum.

Anne Frank: A Patch of Blue

Commissioned by the Teaching Museum North, Fulton County, Georgia, Cathy appears as Anne Frank. Through a series of flashbacks, Anne comes to life as she tells stories from her diary, of the 25 months she spent in hiding with seven others in the back annex of her father's business in Amsterdam.  Anne's spirit comes to life through these excerpts and stories from her famous diary that documents the horror of the Holocaust instigated by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.  Anne always maintained that there is good in all of us. In the end the Nazi terror could not silence her voice.  Tours with limited set.

NEW!  Rachel Carson: A Sense of Wonder

Earth Day Woman

 A powerful one-woman portrayal of marine biologist/ecologist/writer Rachel Carson, the "little lady who started all the fuss," immediately after the publication of her controversial book, SILENT SPRING, which took a serious look at the dangers of unlimited uses of the pesticide DDT during the post WWII years.  "There would be no peace if I kept silent." This 60 minute program is a tribute to the woman credited as the first "ecologist" of note, to her spirit and love for the natural world, to her triumph as a best selling author of nature books, to her recognition as the catalyst for the ecology movement, to her courage to "write it as she saw it" and to question and challenge the powers that be at great personal cost.  "The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself and without losing the right to call itself civilized."

"The presentation of RACHEL CARSON:  A SENSE OF WONDER was marvelous--it epitomized the Chautauqua    experience.  She is such a professional." -- Judi Snyder, Branch Manager, Blake Library, Stuart, FL

How about booking A Sense of Wonder on Earth Day or National Women's History Month?

The National Women's History Project has made Rachel Carson their model for their 2009 Women's History month theme, honoring women who have taken the lead in the environmental or green movement.