new salem illinois
Local writer's play spotlights silly moments in city history
Ship passengers are seen off during a dress rehearsal for "Yearning to Breathe Free." From left to right: Zelda Fengerman (Loretta Hess), Yavuh Fengrman (Linda Schnieder), Brayna (Deb Whitson), Brayna's daughter (Shelby Santel) and Joseph Fengerman (Barry Weiss). The play, by Springfield-area writer Tara McClellan McAndrew, opens June 24, 2010 at Theatre in the Park at Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site.In her ongoing research into Springfield history, local writer Tara McClellan McAndrew has noticed that people never seem to change.
“We are — and probably always will be — greedy, stupid, deceptive,” she said. “And of course we have better qualities, but those better qualities aren’t very funny.”
If you watch McAndrew’s new play this weekend, don’t count on seeing the better angels of our nature. Theatre in the Park will present “The Lighter Side of Springfield History” at 8 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. (The only other performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. July 30 at New Salem.)
Unlike McAndrew’s first play, “Yearning to Breathe Free,” produced last year at New Salem, she wanted to keep her latest work light.
“If people want a serious look at Springfield history, don’t come see this,” she said.
In her years of studying history, McAndrew has had a few misconceptions corrected: one is that early settlers were uniformly honest, law-abiding folks. Another is that corruption is a relatively modern feature of Illinois politics.
McAndrew said she was amazed at the embarrassment of riches when it came to political corruption stories from our past.
“The hard part was figuring out what not to include,” McAndrew said.
The play covers the period from 1816 to 1860 and is structured as a series of vignettes and songs.
For inspiration, McAndrew steeped herself in the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” and “The Complete History of America (abridged).” Those plays are fast, funny condensations of their subject matter, often dispatching entire episodes from history in a funny line or two.
new salem illinois - News
The play, by Springfield-area writer Tara McClellan McAndrew, opens June 24, 2010 at Theatre in the Park at Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site. By BRIAN MACKEY In her ongoing research into Springfield history, local writer Tara McClellan McAndrew
Salem Community High School Superintendent Brad Detering says Illinois requires schools to provide transportation to students that live more than 1.5 miles from the school building and many students live outside of that zone.
By Anonymous I recently saw Kari Catton's “The Secret Garden” production at Theatre in the Park at New Salem State Historic Site and got a real treat. Consistently great acting and singing brought a favorite children's story to life in a vibrant way.
Illinois College interns Lisa Martin and Sarah Helmich helped children make rag and cornhusk dolls. “They (New Salem residents) would've used whatever was available,” Helmich said of the buckeyes and wool that formed the dolls' heads and bodies.
Other state schools have lost funding, as well; Winston-Salem State University will lose nearly 14 percent of its budget this year, adding to a total loss of $31 million in state budget cuts over the last four years. Colleges are responding by cutting
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Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
Step back in 150 years and see Lincoln's New Salem the way it looked when Abraham Lincoln was a young adult.
Lincoln's New Salem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location of New Salem within Illinois. Location of Illinois in the United States ... New Salem was recreated as an historic village in the 1930s, based on ...
New Salem - Welcome
The centerpiece of Lincoln's New Salem is the imaginative recreation of the log village. ... A museum displays artifacts that once belonged to New Salem residents. ...
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