Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
Thomas Jefferson is a clear choice for the 2013 theme. As President Jefferson he radically expanded the boundaries of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, and then sent Lewis and Clark out to explore both the geography and the flora and fauna of this broad expanse. An American Renaissance man, Jefferson explored science, agriculture, and architecture as well.
Thomas Jefferson will be portrayed by Bill Barker of Richmond, Virginia. Bill is the first person interpreter of Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg, and we are thrilled that he has been able to carve out time during Williamsburg’s peak tourist season to join us for the first three days of Chautauqua.
Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)
Andrew Carnegie was among the most prolific innovators of the 19th century, creating and expanding boundaries in a number of fields. As a steel manufacturer, he was a primary architect of vertical economic integration. As a philanthropist he was committed to giving away a fortune, to “do real and positive good.” As a dedicated pacifist Carnegie contributed to international peace efforts.
Andrew Carnegie will be portrayed by Dr. Jeffrey Smith. Jeff is the History and Geography Department Chair at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1915)
Born to a slave in Virginia in 1856, Booker T. Washington grappled with the best way to help freed blacks advance. He founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now known as Tuskegee University), which focused on training African Americans in agricultural pursuits.
Booker T. Washington will be portrayed by veteran Chautauqua scholar Charles Everett Pace from Texarkana, Texas. He has previously brought Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. DuBois to High Plains Chautauqua.
Francisco Pizarro (1475 - 1541)
Conquistador Francisco Pizarro claimed Peru for Spain and assassinated the Inca ruler. His career invites us to explore the boundaries between hero and villain, bravery and cruelty, and civilized and uncivilized values from the New World and Old.
Pizarro will be portrayed by Hank Fincken from Indianapolis. You may remember Hank’s energetic and authentic portrayal of Thomas Alva Edison several years ago.
Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)
Cultural anthropologist and author of the bestseller, Coming of Age in Samoa, Margaret Mead is credited with changing the way we study different human cultures. In later works Mead argued that personality characteristics, especially as they differ between men and women, were shaped by cultural conditioning rather than heredity.
Margaret Mead will be portrayed by Amelia Newport of Denver. As a Greeley Central High School student Amelia did several evening Young Chautauqua cameos. She graduated from the University of Denver and currently portrays two different citizens of Pompeii for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science Pompeii exhibit.
Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)
Carl Jung, the great Swiss psychiatrist was one of the 20th century's leading explorers of boundaries. He explored the boundary between the conscious mind and the unconscious, between the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious, between waking and dreaming. He found that many boundaries functioned as barriers: boundaries between cultures, races, genders, religions.
Carl Jung will be portrayed by Dr. George Frein of Fort Worth, Texas. George has previously portrayed Dr. Seuss and historian Henry Adams on our Chautauqua stage.
Mary Shelley (1797 -1851)
What bounds or circumscribes being human? Consider: physical strength and stamina, intellectual prowess, seeking remote geographic destinations, differentiation from animals, and distinction from God. Mary Shelley explores every one of these boundaries in her novel, Frankenstein. Through a new literary form that has come to be known as science fiction, she forces us to re-examine what makes us human.
Mary Shelley will be portrayed by Susan Marie Frontczak of Boulder. High Plains Chautauqua audiences have been mesmerized by Susan Marie’s previous portrayals of Eleanor Roosevelt and Marie Curie.
Captain William Clark (1770 - 1838)
While we often associate Captain William Clark with the Corps of Discovery and his trek to the Pacific with Meriwether Lewis, Clark spent the rest of his life exploring new boundaries. Clark spent the next three decades in St. Louis as the federal government’s emissary to native tribes in West, creating new kinds of political, economic, and social boundaries with native peoples in the face of American expansion.
Dr. Jeffrey Smith of Lindenwood University in Missouri will also portray Captain William Clark.
Amelia Earhart (1897 - 1937)
Much more than a noted pilot, Amelia Earhart pushed through social barriers and served as a role model to women and an inspiration to both sexes because of her courage and determination. Her life became a model of pushing against boundaries, both physical and social. Amelia disappeared in the midst of bravely exploring boundaries - leaving an almost mythic legacy.
Amelia Earhart will be portrayed by Elsa Wolff of Morrison, Colorado.