For immediate release June 13, 2006

Contact: Jacquie Lucy 410-780-6742

Chautaqua 2006 explores 'Creativity and Imagination'
with portrayals of Paul Robeson, Henry Ford, Leonardo Da Vinci and Coco Chanel
7 p.m. July 6-9 at CCBC Catonsville

Baltimore County, Md. – The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), in partnership with The Maryland Humanities Council, brings history to life with Chautauqua 2006: Creativity and Imagination. This free four-evening series will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6 through Sunday, July 9 under the tent on the Catonsville campus, 800 S. Rolling Road. Musical entertainment of the era precedes the Chautauquans who appear in costume, talking about their lives and answering audience questions. This year’s living history performances include – black actor/activist Paul Robeson, industrialist Henry Ford, artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci and fashion designer Coco Chanel.

Join us for this free four-evening series that brings history to life under a tent at CCBC Catonsville.

Thursday, July 6
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) epitomized the 20th-century Renaissance man. An exceptional athlete, actor, singer, scholar, and author, Robeson was valedictorian at Rutgers University and earned a law degree from Columbia University. He ultimately opted to pursue an acting career, and was especially noted for his rendition of "Ol' Man River" in the musical Show Boat and for his groundbreaking lead performance in Shakespeare's Othello. In time, however, Robeson's social activism eclipsed his career as a performer and his radical political beliefs eroded his mainstream popularity.

Marvin Jefferson has an extensive background as a professional actor and since 1997 has portrayed Paul Robeson in every school in the Newark, New Jersey, school district. In 2005, he appeared as Robeson in the Colorado Chautauqua. He taught at Essex County College, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the Newark Community School of the Arts, and currently teaches acting at Bloomfield College. Jefferson studied acting at the Mason Gross School of Arts, Rutgers University.

Friday, July 7
Henry Ford’s (1863-1947) revolutionary five-dollar, eight-hour day for workers, inexpensive automobiles, moving assembly line, and amazing command of technology made him one of the 1920s most popular and important figures. His public persona, however, became tainted by repeated occurrences of corruption, brutality, and anti-Semitism. A crusader for prohibition and for the abolition of smoking and jazz, Ford fought against what he saw as "moral decline" in the nation. Although a genius of the modern world, Ford can also be described as one of the last reactionaries trying to hold that world back.

Doug Mishler holds a Ph.D. in American culture from the University of Nevada, Reno, and has taught at the University of Nevada and Western Washington University. As a public historian, he has written a history of the Ringling Brothers Circus and has consulted on several public television and Chautauqua programs. In addition to Henry Ford, Mishler has performed as P.T. Barnum, Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, William Lloyd Garrison, Ernie Pyle, William Clark, and Billy Sunday.

Saturday, July 8
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) has been described as the archetypal Renaissance man. While he is well known as the gifted creator of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, he also had one of the best scientific minds of his time and carried out research in anatomy, astronomy, geology, architecture, and engineering. His innovations in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for centuries, and his scientific studies anticipated many of the developments of modern science.

Jonathan Pevsner, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has translated his lifelong interest in Leonardo da Vinci into a series of popular lectures and articles. In his work, Pevsner draws on his expertise as a neuroscientist to emphasize Leonardo’s studies of the brain. He is the author of a textbook, Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, and has won praise for his teaching, receiving the 2001 and 2006 Teacher of the Year award at Johns Hopkins and the 2003 Professors' Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Sunday, July 10
Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) (1883-1971) was the most influential designer of the 20th century. In the process of designing clothes based on simplicity and freedom of movement, Chanel popularized the little black dress, lifted the taboo on women in pants, and advocated pearls with casual attire. The quintessential independent woman, Chanel had an innate business sense and an enviable capacity for work.

Annette Baldwin has been researching, scripting, and performing first-person historical portrayals since 1986. In addition to Coco Chanel, Baldwin's repertoire of first-person histories includes Jane Addams, Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew, women's rights leader Susan B. Anthony, and journalist Dorothy Thompson. Baldwin has appeared at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and on the Chautauqua stages of Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Colorado, as well as Maryland in 2003

Chautauqua 2006 is sponsored by The Maryland Humanities Council, with support from Lockheed Martin, The NiSource Charitable Foundation, WYPR-FM Radio, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Maryland Division of Historical and Cultural Programs. CCBC’s participation is supported by the CCBC Liberal Arts division. Comcast is CCBC’s media sponsor for Chautauqua 2006.

Chautauqua 2006 At CCBC will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6 through Sunday, July 9 on the Catonsville campus at 800 S. Rolling Road. All performances of Chautauqua 2006 are free, open to the public and are handicap accessible. If you need sign language interpretation to enjoy the Chautauqua, call the Maryland Humanities Council at 410-685-0095 no later than June 23.

In the event of inclement weather, programs will take place on the mainstage of the Q Building Theatre. For more information on Chautauqua 2006 – Creativity and Imagination, visit the Maryland Humanities Council Web site or call the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-1369.