ASHLAND — High adventure on the high seas. Danger in the ocean depths. Exploration and survival along wilderness rivers. Quiet contemplation on the dunes of a vast seashore. It’s all coming to Ashland July 17-21.
“Oceans, Rivers, and Seas” is the theme of the 2018 Ashland Chautauqua, which returns this July to continue its award-winning educational and entertaining event for the 19th year. Ashland Chautauqua will feature five historic figures whose stories are interwoven with the presence of water. The five-day event will be held at Brookside Park’s Myers Band Shell. All performances are free and open to the public.
This year’s cast includes George Frein as sailor, philosopher, and author of Moby-Dick, Herman Melville; Karen Vuranch as 16th century political activist and pirate, Grace O’Malley; John Anderson as conservationist and Cape Cod writer, Henry Beston; Debra Conner as fashion reporter and Titanic survivor, Edith Russell; and Hasan Davis as York, slave and explorer on the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Each scholar assumes the costume and the character of the person he or she portrays and gives a vivid first-person account of the person’s life and views on important issues. Scholars spend months and sometimes years learning all they can about the characters they portray. On the night of the performance they must be able to accurately answer questions posed to that character by audience members. The question-and-answer time is often as informative as the performance itself. Audience members ask some very thoughtful and specific questions, which surely must challenge the scholars on occasion. But Chautauqua scholars are always well-immersed in their characters and come through with responses that reflect their thorough knowledge of their character and the time period.
Last year’s popular new 5-Nighter drawing for a special prize on Saturday evening will be repeated this year. Those who wish to be eligible for the drawing must pick up a 5-Nighter Passport on Tuesday evening, July 17 and get it initialed all five nights of performances.
Daytime “behind the scenes” workshops for youth and for adults are held during the week in various community locations. These workshops, led by the visiting Chautauqua scholars, allow participants to dig more deeply into issues that animated the passions of the historical characters. Like the evening performances, the workshops are both educational and entertaining. Workshops are free and open to the public.
A complete schedule of events including workshop times and locations is available on Ashland Chautauqua’s website (www.ashlandchautauqua.org), on its Facebook page, or by calling 419-281-4584.
Through the dramatic and entertaining personal stories of significant historical individuals, Ashland Chautauqua offers residents of Ashland County and surrounding area an opportunity to celebrate history. Over the years, Chautauqua in Ashland has developed a dedicated audience of all ages. Faithful attenders return year after year, while newcomers join in each year and find out how much fun learning about history can be. Last year Ashland Chautauqua was named as the area’s best culture and recreation business.
Ashland Chautauqua is supported by the Ohio Humanities Council, the Ohio Arts Council, the City of Ashland’s Parks & Recreation Department, Ashland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, local businesses and organizations, and by local residents who want to see this vibrant celebration of history thrive in the local community. A major local sponsor is Brethren Care Village. Ashland Main Street acts as Chautauqua’s fiscal agent. Newly involved this year is Allen Anderson of WebDev Works, refreshing the website. Ashland Chautauqua programming is planned and implemented by a committee of local citizen volunteers who work year-round to produce the exciting, high-quality programming.
