*Denotes show booked through Cathy Kaemmerlen
DUO SHOW! Bull Run/Manassas 
Cathy Kaemmerlen and Scott Depoy bring to life the first battle of the American Civil War, portraying over 20 characters from both the North and South, through their own words and letters, including Rose Greenhow, Abraham Lincoln, Jeff and Varina Davis, and Generals Beauregard(CSA) and McDowell(USA). From the glimmer, to the onset, to the battle itself, to the after effects, through monologues, poignant and insightful, funny and tearful, and through authentic period music, the battle that started our country's Civil War comes to life. Critically acclaimed as "magnificent" and the best way to bring history to life, BULL RUN/MANASSAS is a perfect complement to the fifth, eighth, and tenth grade Civil War social studies unit. As we prepare for our 150th anniversary or the Civil War, this 50 minute play opens our eyes to a vital period of American history that tested our nation and our principles.
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*NEW! A Visit With Louisa May Alcott and Jo March Visit with the author of LITTLE WOMEN as she shares her life as an author, living with sisters Anna, Lizzie, and May the models for Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo March was modelled after Louisa. You'll see Louisa and Jo go back and forth with scenes from her real life as they compare with scenes in her novel. She was called the mother of the modern memoir, with her most famous book termed an autobiography. "Write what you know about and what you've experienced," was the advice her publisher gave her as he convinced her to write a book for girls. Learn of her struggles, of the Transcendental Movement and her work as a nurse in the Civil War in this 45 minute show with audience participation. For grades 5-8.
*NEW! Eleanor Roosevelt, Godmother To The World
Wife, mother, newspaper columnist, speaker, UN Ambassador, human rights activist, and first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt emerged from her shell as a shy, ugly duckling to become one of our most popular and famous first ladies--a woman who made a difference. She was our first "working first lady" and a champion for those less fortunate. For third (emphasis on Eleanor, human rights activist) and fifth grades (emphasis on Eleanor and the Depression.)
Susan B. Anthony: Failure Is Impossible
Learn about the struggles for American women to gain the right to vote, led by Susan B. Anthony, who spent her life devoted to this cause. Among her many struggles and achievements was her arrest in 1872 for voting in the presidential election and challenging the 13th,14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. Travelling cross country, she made thousands of fiery speeches to garner support for women's rights. For her failure was impossible. Tens of thousands of mourners attended her funeral and called her "The Mother of Us All." This 45 minute program offers lots of audience participation and is a direct tie-in with third grade Georgia Performance standards for social studies: SS3H2.
VOTES FOR WOMEN!
"Thank you for cming to my school. It was excellent! I recommend for you to go to every elementary school that is learning about Susan B. Anthony."
3rd grade student, Puckett's Mill Elementary
Pearl Harbor Children
Presents three accounts of December 7, 1941: one of a young American girl, living on O’ahu, whose father is a civilian dock worker (Sarah Walker); one of the daughter of Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese flight commander for the Pearl Harbor attack (Miyoko Fuchida); and the third is of a fictional nisei, Japanese-American daughter of issei, living in Hawaii with the father interned as a prisoner-of-war (Yuriko Ito.) The three stories intertwine as we learn the facts about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and its consequences. There are musical transitions using authentic music from the period.
Character Traits utilized: courage, patriotism, citizenship, fairness, respect for others, kindness, cooperation, self-respect, self-control, compassion, tolerance, diligence, generosity, cheerfulness, patience, loyalty, perseverance, virtue
Let's Keep It a Secret: The Writing of the U.S. Constitution
Young Mary House during the summer of 1787 is sent to help her great aunt, the owner of the Indian Queen Tavern in Philadelphia, where many of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention stayed. While cleaning James Madison's room, Mary comes across his notes taken during the sessions and "spills the beans" to her audience, who in turn play various delegates at the Constitutional Convention. Grade levels 4 and 5. Limited to 100 or one grade level.
Fourth grade Civics and Government PSA component: "the student will describe the 'We the people' preamble, the federal system of governments, etc."
"You make us feel like we are stepping back in time. It has been wonderful. Thanks for getting our students interested in our Constitution."
Buttons For General Washington
Buttons is for young audiences of elementary age, who have some knowledge of the colonial period and the Revolutionary War. Set in the Revolutionary War, covering the time frame of October, 1777 through late summer of 1778, this is a spy story of one Quaker family, the Darraghs of Philadelphia, who sent secret messages in code, in buttons sewn on a son’s coat. Seen through the eyes of daughter/sister Anne, who, because of her older brother John’s illness, must deliver the buttons to brother Charles, aide de camp for General George Washington. 45 minutes with question and answer period and some discussion about spying through the ages.
Character Traits utilized: courage, patriotism, citizenship, honesty, cooperation, diligence, patience, loyalty, perseverance, virtue, respect for creator
*Letters to Lincoln/DEAR MR. PRESIDENT DEAR MR. PRESIDENT is a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president through the eyes of four women whose lives were greatly influenced by their associations with him. Narrator Helen Nicolay never met Lincolnbut saw him through the eyes of her father, John George Nicolay, who was Lincoln's chief of staff. He named Lincoln "the ancient one," "the tycoon," the wise one." Eleven year old Grace Bedell from Westfield, New York wrote to then presidential candidate Lincoln, advising him to grow whiskers, for his face was so thin. Vinnie Ream from Wisconsin, was an artistic prodigy as a child and grew up to make a bust statue of Lincoln, who posed for her. As the first woman chosen to create a likeness of a president, her Lincoln bust is on display in the US Capitol Rotunda. Julia Taft was the babysitter for the Lincoln boys who were playmates with her own brothers. She witnessed Lincoln as a loving, caring, playful, and accepting father who found his sons shenanigans most amusing.Just as Lincoln, the peoples' president, influenced the lives of many Americans, these four young ladies had their lives shaped by their relationship with this warm, sad, deeply philosophical man. You will get to know our 16th president through the eyes and experiences of Helen, Grace, Vinnie, and Julia.
Character Traits utilized: courage, patriotism, citizenship, honesty, fairness, respect for others, kindness, cooperation, self-respect, self-control, courtesy, compassion, tolerance, diligence, generosity, respect for creator, patience, loyalty, perseverance, virtue.
Turn Homeward, Hannalee
First in the series of one-woman shows by Cathy Kaemmerlen, Turn Homeward... is a dramatic presentation of the plight of one of the 400 Roswell Mill workers who were arrested under orders of General William Tecumseh Sherman in July of 1864, charged with treason for making cloth for the Confederate States of America, and shipped to Louisville, KY to live in refugee warehouses until work as servants, farmhands, or mill workers could be found. The one woman play is loosely based on the historical fiction juvenile novel by Patricia Beatty. The play documents the horrors and realities of war, particularly civil war; family devotion, love, and perseverance, that can provide strength in times that are "hilly, bumpy, and stumpy;" and it portrays the good and bad characteristics of both sides who fought in the Civil War. The play covers the nine month period from July, 1864, through April, 1865, the final months of the Civil War, and Hannalee’s adventures, including serving as an eyewitness to the Battle of Franklin, KY, as she turns homeward. 45 minutes. Grades 4 on up.
Character Traits utilized: courage, honesty, kindness, cooperation, self-respect, compassion, tolerance, diligence, generosity, cheerfulness, respect for creator, patience, creativity, loyalty, perseverance, virtue
Rachel Carson: A sense of Wonder (Special Request Only)
Ecology / Earth Day
A one woman portrayal of marine biologist/ecologist/writer Rachel Carson, immediately after publication of her controversial book, SILENT SPRING, which served as a warning of the dangers of unlimited uses of the pesticide DDT. This 45 minute program is a tribute to the woman credited as the first “ecologist” of note, to her spirit and love for the natural world. In between biographical segments, are sense of wonder segments, designed to make us take a look at some of the wonders that surround us. For elementary grades with emphasis on developing a sense of wonder and a caring love for our precious environment. Perfect for earth day celebrations.
Character Traits utilized: courage, citizenship, honesty, respect for others, self-respect, compassion, diligence, respect for environment, respect for creator, patience, perseverance, virtue
*New Manchester Girl
The true story of Scynthia Catherine Stewart of New Manchester, Georgia, during and immediately after the Civil War. Scynthia, as well as others in the mill town, was charged with treason against the United States government for making cloth for the Confederate cause. After the Yankee soldiers burned the textile mill, she was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, along with her mother and siblings, as prisoners of war. There they were miraculously reunited with their father. After the war, they returned home to their ghost town to find wild strawberries growing in their yard, their manna from heaven that helped them survive that first post-war year. If you want a true account, book this show over TURN HOMEWARD, HANNALEE.
Character traits utilized: courage, honesty, diligence, respect for creator, patience, perserverance, virtue, compassion
Sacajawea Speaks
A 45 minute program to celebrate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the contributions that Sacajawea made to the expedition that opened the Northwest Passage. Through costume, props, visual aids, the audience will use their imaginations to aid them through this 18 month expedition that covered 11 states and thousands of miles by land and sea. With smaller audiences, Sacajawea invites the audience to sit on "listening blankets" to hear stories about her trip and allegories (teaching stories) that she told her infant son, Pomp, who accompanied her on the journey. Some stories included: the silver tipped grizzly bear, overturned pirogue, near fatal flash flood, the Buffalo jump, reunion with her native trip the Shoshones, bartering for horses, and many others. Ideally designed for audiences of 100 or less, for first and fourth grade curriculums.
Character traits utilized: courage, honesty, respect for others, respect for environment, loyalty, perserverence, patience
*Pilgrim Courage: From Mayflower to First Harvest
Follow the story of the courageous pilgrim voyage of 1620 from England to the New World, continuing through the first year at Plimouth Colony, as told through the eyes of Mary Allerton, 4 years old at the time of the pilgrimage and the last living survivor of the Mayflower voyage. Hear first hand what it was like to spend 65 days at sea; the struggle to start a new settlement and survive the first winter; the impact of the Mayflower Compact; making peace with area Indians; and the first harvest feast. Performed as a first person narrative, in authentic period costuming: "One small candle may light a thousand...out of small beginnings greater things have been produced." Designed for upper elementary social studies curriculum.
*Anne Frank: A Patch of Blue
Commissioned by the Teaching Museum North, Fulton County, Georgia, Cathy appears as Anne Frank. Through a series of flashbacks, Anne comes to life as she tells stories from her diary, of the 25 months she spent in hiding with seven others in the back annex of her father's business in Amsterdam. Anne's spirit comes to life through these excerpts and stories from her famous diary that documents the horror of the Holocaust instigated by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Anne always maintained that there is good in all of us. In the end the Nazi terror could not silence her voice. Specially designed for upper elementary, middle and high school social studies curriculum.
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