Arts Program Presentations

The links below will help you to quickly review our three Arts presentation categories. You can access a speaker's contact information by clicking on his/her name. You can also review our entire index of Speakers Bureau presenters. Please remember - only members can schedule a Speakers Bureau presentation. Once you find an interesting topic, use the reservation form to schedule a presentation.

• Art & Architecture
• Language & Literature
• Sound & Stage

Art & Architecture

Folk Art & Culture
Speaker: Eunice LaFate

Folk art is the art produced by self-taught people. Every culture has its share of folk artists, yet art historians often deny folk art its rightful place alongside fine art. Ms. LaFate, a Jamaican born prize-winning folk artist, addresses this issue and explores the concepts of folk art and culture. Audience members will have the opportunity to create their own folk art!

Louise Dupont Crownshield: Preservation Pioneer
Speaker: Kim Burdick

This slide-illustrated lecture explores the life of Louise Crownshield, the sister of H.F. Dupont. Raised at Winterthur, she and her brother became well known as collectors and scholars of Americana. While H.F. was forming what would later become Winterthur Museum, Louise was laying the groundwork for what would later become America's historic preservation, her work is recognized as having been of key importance to organizations such as The National Park Service and the Salem Maritime Complex.

Pablo Picasso: An Artist for all Seasons
Speaker: Sandra L. Denney

The suicide of Van Gogh is one of the saddest events in the annals of Art History. Having sold only one canvas, he considered himself a failure. This presentation focuses on the artist's life, the evolution of his style, and his relation to his contemporaries, especially Paul Gaugin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Quiet Moments: The Art of Andrew Wyeth
Speaker: Sandra L. Denney

The art of Andrew Wyeth combines the precision and discipline of superb technical skill with the sensitive portrayal of mood beneath the surface of subject matter. He observes, selects and intensifies an experience to make a vivid, powerful statement. That statement is also affective because Wyeth's interpretations include his compassion for people and his love for rural America. This lecture, presented by an art historian, focuses on a 20-year portion of his vast achievement. Comparisons and contrasts are made to earlier American artists with regard to both landscape (i.e. Thomas Cole) and portraits (i.e. Thomas Eakins). In addition to discussing Wyeth's purposes and feelings, the speaker includes character-revealing anecdotes.

The Life and Legacy of Vincent Van Gogh
Speaker: Sandra L. Denney

This lecture focuses on portions of the life of, and some of the major innovative styles in, the paintings of Picasso. The influence of various women on his life will be emphasized. Special attention will be drawn to the courage he exhibited both in his paintings such as Guernica, a protest against Franco's military dictatorship, and in his actions during the Nazi occupation of Paris.

Thomas Jefferson: Gentleman Architect
Speaker: Sandra L. Denney

Author of the Declaration of Independence, founder of the University of Virginia, and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was also an extremely capable architect. His love for the classical buildings of antiquity enabled him to advise the creators of Washington D.C. to employ an architecture reflecting the ideals of the Roman republic. Without his influence, our capital might have looked like another Williamsburg, which Jefferson likened to a brick kiln. This lecture, accompanied by slides and presented by an art historian, focuses on Jefferson's use of neoclassicism. Several of his buildings will be discussed in detail, as well as the ancient works upon which they were based. Special emphasis will be given to his beloved Monticello.

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Language & Literature

Australia Through its Literature
Speaker: A. J. DeArmond

The history of Australia is revealed by those who have written about the country and its people. This story is told both in personal accounts, such as letters, biography, and in such literary forms as fiction, poetry and drama.

Charles Dickens Live!
Speaker: Joe Plummer

Not only was Charles Dickens a great writer, he was a born actor as well. He packed the house whenever he read aloud from his own works. Audience members reportedly fainted from emotion at a Dickens' reading. In the presentation, the speaker recreates some of the excitement of Dickens' US tour in 1867-68 and brings some of this best characters to life.

Everybody Knows Somebody Who Knows Poetry
Speaker: Jean Hull Herman

Most people either love poetry or they hate it, at least they think they do. When asked if they know a person who "writes" poetry, the mood changes. Poetry is one of those activities that raises us up, helps us in times of sorrow and in times of joy to express our deepest emotions. Why do we write poetry? What do we write about? What does poetry do for us?

Living the Life and Learning the Craft of African American
Children's Author
Speaker: Irene Owens

The stories written by African American authors render the opportunity to visit many exciting and intriguing places, and acquaint the reader-listener with talking animals, trickster heroes and heroines, and authors' lives. America is a salad bowl of authors with worldwide appeal and the uniqueness of African American wordsmiths contributes to this variety through poetry, song and stories that project another set of oral and written accomplishments. This presentation explores that which inspires the written word. Session Requirement: Overhead projector.

Of Heaven, War, and Poetry
Speaker: Jean Hull Herman

Gods are always getting mixed up in wars and poetry, either being invoked or cursed. The Sphynx, the Pyramids, Stonehenge and other circles, the Nazca drawings in the Andes…who sets out to explain all this to non-theologians? Poets. But many Biblical stories are of wars, of battles, therefore, poets try to deal with the topic of war.

The Art of Storytelling from Brandywine to the Bay
Speaker: Ed Okonwicz

Experience adult storytelling through tales of history, humor, romance and mystery, all set in familiar sites between the headwater of the Brandywine and the banks of the Delaware Bay. Learn about the region's rich history through yarns, folk-tales and historical and contemporary pieces told by this well-known local author and storyteller.

The Editor
Speaker: Jean Hull Herman

How do we do it? Why do we do it? Who do we publish, why? Details about publishing, using Möbius as an example. There are VERY few journals that handle the amount and scope of poetry Möbius does. MÖBIUS is that rara avis, a literary print journal, poetry only, that has survived, even prospered.

Jean offers a variety of topics that can, if requested, be tailored for your audience.

They Make Us Laugh: Humor Through Literature
Speaker: Lee Mussoff

While authors may tickle our funny bone, they also make us squirm. Our best artists make us see the truth about ourselves and it isn't always pretty. Using CD's, videos, and lectures, the speaker will present and discuss selections from a variety of writers, playwrights, and lyricists who combine humor and insight to help us laugh at ourselves. Audience interaction is welcome.

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Sound & Stage

American Patriotic Music, from the Revolution to September 11
Speaker: Ed Okonowicz

Learn the stories, see pictures of the composers and listen to the sounds of nearly two dozen well-known American songs - from 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and 'The Star Spangled Banner' to 'God Bless America' and 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree'. Learn about the different versions of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' and listen to patriotic songs inspired after 9/11. The program includes music, plus pictures of performers and composers associated with America's patriotic songs.

Doug Yetter, pianist/musicologist and Ken Skrzesz, baritone, have formatted this lecture/demonstration to touch on elements of musical composition, text, and historical significance of songs created by composers of the 20th Century and written for the musical theatre.  This hour-long presentation appeals to any audience with an interest in American history from the perspective of musical theatre, its creators and its influence on popular culture and society.  Selections are drawn from a wide variety of shows including Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Parade, Shenandoah, South Pacific and West Side Story.  Individual programs can be shaped to suit the needs of your audience.

"The Glorious American Musical – a Mirror of Our Time"
Speaker: Lee Mussoff

The American musical has evolved through the 20th century from vaudeville through rock. One of America's greatest contributions to world culture, the musical gives us not only immortal music and song but also mirrors major events and turning points. As early as 1927, Showboat was dealing with prejudice and civil rights; in 1943, in the midst of World War II, Oklahoma celebrated the growth of a bright new land, reminding us of what we were fighting for. The speaker will discuss a variety of shows from a historical perspective and will include many musical selections. Audience interaction is encouraged.

"Oh, You Saigon Girls, Can't You Dance the Polka!": Folk Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War
Speaker: Saul Broudy

Few are aware of the large body of songs that grew out of the American presence in Vietnam. The Vietnam veteran speaker, who collected songs from helicopter pilots during his Army tour of duty, will talk about the role songs and other folklore played in military life and how they reflect everyday life 'in country'. He will present them both through live performance (accompanying himself on the guitar) and tape-recordings actually made in Vietnam.

Singing Workers: American Occupational Folk Songs
Speaker: Saul Broudy

Before modern mass media and widespread literacy, workers in various occupations made their own songs to express their emotions, convey information, tell stories, solidify group identity and help them make it through the day. The speaker sings the songs of railroad workers, coal miners, farmers, hobos, truck drivers, pilots, and other workers, and discusses the role this music played in the workers' lives.

The Actor's Art
Speaker: Richard Davison

This presentation is based on exclusive interviews with leading actors such as Hume Cronyn, Ruby Dee, and Nathan Lane, of both stage and screen that are included in the book, 'The Actor's Art'. It will include discussions, anecdotes and advice offered by prominent theatre people such as Hal Holbrook and Susan Stroman.

The New York and London Theater: Past & Present
Speaker: Richard Davison

Outstanding theatrical productions and performances in New York and/or London since 1950 are placed in the historical context of their times. Examples of productions that may be explored include: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Music Man, Death of a Salesman, Of Mice and Men, Hamlet, Arcadia, South Pacific, A Man All Seasons and Big River.

What's in a Song?
Speaker: Lee Mussoff

From Gilbert and Sullivan to 'The Producers' and beyond, words and music work together to show us our humanity. Politics, war, love, marriage, family, youth, age—we find them all in the lyrics of songs. Using CD's, videos, and lecture, the speaker will play and discuss a variety of musical numbers. Audience interaction is welcome.

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