An Evening With the Lincolns

Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s visit to Oakland reveals much about their personal and public lives. B. F. and Dorothy McClerren brought these two historic Illinoisans to life for an audience of fifty at the Columbian Building on Friday.

B. F. portrayed the famous Lincoln humor and eloquence as he recounted Lincoln’s life story.  He told of courting Mary and living in New Salem and continued with stories from his years in the national spotlight.  He quoted from Lincoln’s speeches and writings with a voice and mannerisms reminiscent of Lincoln.

Dorothy held the audience spell-bound as she depicted Mary Lincoln.  She recanted her childhood and Mary’s motherhood all in character.  She spoke of the difficulties she had with her step-mother and how that led to her being more educated than the average woman of the day.  She also talked of the birth and deaths of her children and how they raised the boys.  Her presentation ended when she stepped out of character to explain Mary’s tortured life after Lincoln’s assassination.

The program was a fundraiser for the Trial & Tribulations: The Story of the 1847 Matson Slave Trial event scheduled for September 16, 17 and 18.  The audience contributed $255 and another $300 donation was received in the mail.  The McClerren’s waived their normal fee in support of the September program.

Trial & Tribulations is sponsored by Independence Pioneer Village, Oakland Historical Foundation, Oakland Landmarks, City of Oakland and Oakland Chamber of Commerce and is made possible in part by grants from the Ruth and Vaughn Jaenike Access to the Arts Outreach Program of the College of Arts & Humanities, Eastern Illinois University and the Oakland-Hindsboro Foundation.

Auditions for Three Fifths of a Man

Local amateur actors and actresses are invited to audition to become a part of history, or at least to portray characters and events from history.

Open auditions for the original play Three Fifths of a Man, about the 1847 Matson Slave Trial at which Abraham Lincoln represented a slave owner for the only time in his law career, will be held on Monday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. in the Columbian Building in Oakland Illinois.  The building is located at the corner of Pike and Main Streets on the picturesque town square.

Male and females over the age of 16 are welcome and no prior experience is needed to audition.  One minute prepared auditions are welcome, but not necessary.  Tryouts will involve reading from the script written and directed by Dr. David Jorns.  Jorns has a PhD. in Theater History from UCLA and has been on faculty at several universities in Missouri and Illinois.  He has directed over 50 plays and is currently teaching theater history classes for Eastern Illinois University at Parkland College.

The mostly male cast will portray real people from 1847 highlighting their inner motivations as well as the historical events.  Jorns explains, “It’s so unlike the history we know from school.  Performers do not need any prior experience in plays to succeed, though they will be required to rehearse regularly.” Jorns is understanding of people’s prior commitments and will be as flexible as he can with rehearsal schedules.

The performance is part of an innovate historical program, Trial & Tribulations, in the evenings on September 16, 17 and 18 where audience members will informally meet seven of the characters from the trial at three historic sites in Oakland, enjoy an 1847 meal, and attend the performance of this play.

The program is made possible in part by a grant from the Ruth and Vaughn Jaenike Access to the Arts Outreach Program of the College of Arts & Humanities, Eastern Illinois University.