Actors flesh out first president
He’s everywhere, from Mount Rushmore to the quarters jingling in your pocket.
The nation’s capital bears his name. (So does an entire state.)
But before Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington existed, George Washington made it possible.
Yet few know “the father of our country” as much more than a name — or a stiff, bewigged portrait on the dollar bill.
Friday evening, however, those who knew our first commander-in-chief — or, more precisely, costumed performers portraying those who knew him — will share their “Memories of George Washington” at the Nevada State Museum, in celebration of Washington’s 281st birthday.
The free 90-minute program features three members of the George Washington Teaching Ambassador Program — direct from Mount Vernon, Washington’s Potomac River estate in northern Virginia. (Which is 16 miles south of Washington, D.C.)
Dr. James Craik (portrayed by Tom Plott ), Washington’s personal physician — and close friend — will share memories of Washington as the young officer who fought in the French and Indian War and the surveyor who explored what was then the Western wilderness: Ohio.
Billy Lee (portrayed by Larry Earl ), Washington’s valet, rode with the general during the American Revolution — and was the only slave Washington freed, outright, in his will.
Rounding out the trio: an enslaved Mount Vernon housemaid known only as Caroline (Azania Dungee ), who attended to Washington in his final hours.
Attired in costumes of Washington’s day, the three historical actors will recount personal stories — and answer audience questions about Washington.
The Teaching Ambassadors program was designed to “knock George Washington off his marble pedestal,” explains Nancy Hayward , Mount Vernon’s director of educational outreach.
“People don’t relate to icons” who are “carved of marble,” she says. By humanizing Washington — and exploring how “passionate” he was “about his country, his family” — the historical icon “becomes much more interesting to people.”
As “the legends grow” about him, “the real George Washington gets lost,” adds Peter Barton , administrator for the Nevada Division of Museums and History.
And that’s a problem, because “there’s really an almost unlimited number of lessons in Washington’s life,” he notes, from “his early failures as a soldier” to “his visionary status.”
The Traveling Ambassadors share memories of Washington from various stages of his life; Craik “met Washington in his early 20s,” Hayward says, while Caroline, who did not know the former president, “because she was Mrs. (Martha) Washington’s maid … was in the room when he died.”
Valet Billy Lee, meanwhile, will recall “the great battles” he and Washington “fought together, as a team,” she says, from the perspective of “a man getting older, recalling his glory days with Washington.”
Through Billy Lee and Caroline (a wife and mother whose husband also lived on the Washington estate), the program also explores what life was like for Washington’s slaves. (Washington was the only slaveholder among the founding fathers to free his slaves.)
For Friday’s program, “we brought in some terrific historians,” according to Hayward, who bring “strong character interpretation” to their characters and “three very personal views of George Washington.”
Following Friday’s free program at the Nevada State Museum, local teachers will attended a daylong workshop with the Teaching Ambassadors; next week, Hayward and Plott will visit several Southern Nevada schools, then head north to Reno for additional school programs and a public performance.
Nevada is one of three states chosen for Mount Vernon’s Ambassador Program, which emphasizes Washington’s character, accomplishments and legacy.
Because Nevada didn’t enter the Union until the administration of another legendary president — Abraham Lincoln — there’s “less knowledge and less discussion of Washington” in the Silver State, Barton says.
“It’s a way to get to know the real George Washington,“ he adds. “Here’s history.”
Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@
reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.
Preview
What: “Memories of George Washington”
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Nevada State Museum, 309 S. Valley View Blvd.
Admission: Free (486-5205; Facebook.com/nsmlv)
