Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
Missouri Humanities Council

Contents:

• Do-It-Yourself Chautauqua Programs: Grants and Help Available Now
• Results of the Woman's Chautauqua Institute at Cottey College
• Missouri Students Place First in National History Day
• Tourism Industry Offers Grants for Humanities Institutions
• St. Joseph Black Archives Offers Program on Slave Dwellings
• What Makes Someone an "Other?" Essay by Julie Douglas

Do-It-Yourself Chautauqua Programs

Our organization is investigating some new ways to help towns organize a small Chautauqua festival.  We have consulted with people in Bonne Terre who organize the Big River Chautauqua so well, and have put together a compilation of advice about how to get started.

We have also put together a Directory of Chautauqua Scholars with help from our counterparts at Colorado Humanities.  This is a national directory featuring people who have given Chautauqua-style programs sponsored by state humanities councils. It will be a download from our web site in August.

Now is the time to start thinking about June of 2007 and what you could develop for your community.  We will have start-up information on our web site next month...how to put a small festival together and want to do it again.  We will put out details about MHC grants to support locally-made Chautauqua programs.  We would like to see a variety of approaches and themes to get a larger idea of what local initiative can produce.

Woman's Chautauqua Institute

Eight women and three teenagers from across the United States came together in mid-June for the first "Woman Chautauqua Institute" hosted by Cottey College (Nevada, MO), funded in part by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council. This group began their Chautauqua training as attendees of the MHC Chautauqua in Maryville where they were in residence for the weekend. There, they saw scholars portray Mary Elizabeth Lease and John James Audubon. Several members of the MHC Chautauqua troupe gave short talks to the group to help them learn about developing Chautauqua presentations. They ended their stay in Maryville helping to take down and pack up the Chautauqua tent alongside the troupe and community volunteers.

The "Woman Chautauqua Institute" moved back to Nevada on Sunday afternoon. Over the subsequent three days, participants took part in the following types of workshops: Primary Research, Scripting, Character Development, Acting Technique, Memorization Technique, Effective Q&A Technique, Stage Movement and Voice, and Costuming. Each participant also received several hours of one-on-one coaching.

The culmination of the Institute was the public Showcase program where participants were able to demonstrate the character interpretations that they had developed and enhanced throughout the week. Characters included: Martha Ann Allen Carrier, 1692; Judith Sargent Murray, 1800; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1860; Des Bah Dine’ Woman, 1862 (Navajo); Jane Addams, 1908; Pauline Johnson, 1912; Gertrude Bell, 1917; and Ella Shields, 1951. Additionally, one of the three teenage young women who interned at the Institute portrayed the sixteen-year-old classical cellist, Jaqueline du Pré, 1961. The other two participated in the showcase in a one-act play.

Participants in the Institute found it a very rewarding experience and look forward to joining the ranks of Chautauquans in the coming years. Kay Kuhlmann, Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership at Cottey College, was also pleased with the success of the project and hopes to be able to host the “Woman Chautauqua Institute” annually. To learn more about the “Woman Chautauqua Institute”, visit http://www.cottey.edu/home/departments/leadership.html or contact the Leadership Center at Cottey College by e-mail at CWL, or phone 417-667-8181, ext. 2204.

Missouri Students Place First

Two ninth-grade students from Hollister High School in the Banson area have become the first Missouri students to take a First Prize in National History Day since 1994.  The "season" for national history day began last fall with a history conference for Missouri teachers.  An MHC grant supported that conference.

Read all about Randall Bonnell and Jordan Butler in this article by Missouri's National History Day coordinator, Diane Ayotte.

http://mohumanities.org/E-News/July06/nhd.htm

Tourism Industry Offers Grants

Tourism Cares for Tomorrow, the tourism industry's nonprofit organization, awards grants to worthy tourism-related nonprofit organizations worldwide for conservation or preservation of exceptional cultural, historic, or natural sites. Tourism Cares for Tomorrow considers projects or programs with either or both of the following goals: 1) projects that protect, restore, or conserve sites of exceptional cultural, historic, or natural significance; and 2) programs that educate local host communities and the traveling public about conservation and preservation of sites. Historically, grants have ranged between $10,000 and $20,000 each. However, based on merit and availability of funds, grants of up to $100,000 will be considered.  November 1 deadline.

www.tourismcaresfortomorrow.org

St. Joseph's Black Archives Sponsors Program on Slave Quarters

On Tuesday, July 18 at 12:10 p.m., the Black Archives will sponsor a "bring your own lunch" program on Slave Dwelling Architecture in Missouri's Little Dixie.  Architectural and cultural historian, Gary Fuenfhausen, will be the speaker.

The program will last 45 minutes and is free and open to the public.  The location is the Black Archives/St. Joseph Museum at 3406 Frederick Avenue.  Free admission includes an opportunity to visit the Black Archives, Glore Psychiatric Museum, and the St. Joseph Museum.

For more details, please follow this link, or all (816) 232-8471.

http://mohumanities.org/E-News/July06/byol.htm

What Makes Someone an "Other?"

My colleague, Julie Douglas, recently attended a conference in New York City and had an opportunity to tour a renowned museum about "everyday people."  She came back to Missouri with some interesting ideas to share.

http://mohumanities.org/E-News/July06/other.htm