WAYNE – This year marks 100 years since the ending of World War I. To honor that milestone, Humanities Nebraska has brought their annual Chautauqua to Wayne, allowing people to learn about the era through the eyes of influencer who lived it.
On this edition of In Focus we’ll be talking to two of the scholar/performers bringing history to life during “World War I: Legacies of a Forgotten War.”
President Woodrow Wilson, author Edith Warton, activist W.E.B. Du Bois, Nebraskan and politician William Jennings Bryan and social reformer Jane Addams are all visiting Wayne from June 6th until the 10th, or at least performers and scholars portraying them for Humanities Nebraska’s Chautauqua.
During the week, these performers will give context to the legacies of World War I through the eyes of these historical figures. Each night, President Wilson, portrayed by Paul Vickery, will speak with each of the other figures. During each day, the scholars leave behind their famous characters and lead workshops covering topics surrounding the Great War.
For Vickery, Karen Vuranch, portraying Warton; Charles Everett Pace, portraying Du Bois; Ted Kachel, portraying Bryan; and Helen Lewis, portraying Addams; bringing these figures to life means lots of work, research and finding ways to connect with the audience.
“It’s just the idea of an alter-ego, Vickery said. “You get to try to put yourself in their shoes and in their suit and try to come up with things that they have said and maybe put own little spin on it here and there.”
Each evening presentation begins with a post-war speech by Wilson, then the other performer addresses the audience with time for questions of the historical figures after. The interaction between audience and figures are essential to bringing the history to life, according to Vickery and Vuranch.
Daytime workshops are held in Gardner Hall in room 115. Each performer has an area of expertise and topics are wide ranging, highlighting changes in America’s role in international relations, how it impacted the home front in terms of race, gender, ethnicity and class issues and how the war changed technology. While there is lots of information packed in to each activity, the Chautauqua is far from a dry lecture.
“I have a history professor that used to say ‘if you take the story out of history, you’re left with a meaningless syllable’,” Vuranch said. “History is story and if you find the story – story engages the human mind, if you give a dry listing of dates and times and places, people go, ‘ok, fine,’ but story brings us to the edge of our seat.”
Some of the stories told during the Chautauqua will be stories from Wayne. All week, two young Wayne residents have been taking part in the Youth Chautauqua Camp, researching lives of community people who lived during 1918. The Youth camp will present their stories Friday evening. The Wayne Community Theater will also be presenting “The Letters of Edith Stocking, WSC Faculty,” and “Letters Home by WSC Students” on Sunday.
World War I may have been 100 years ago, but Vuranch hopes the events will help inspire the public to keep learning.
“What I hope they learn is that interconnectedness of all history – the fact that history comes together in a way and put in perspective in a way that they wouldn’t have understood before,” Vuranch said.
A full list of Chautauqua events can be found on the Events Calendar page on waynedailynews.com or at humanitiesnebraska.org.
