Volunteers Needed to Help the Project

Volunteers Needed to Direct the Following Areas:

• 1847 Meal - Contact caterer, Designate servers, Table Décor and Prep, Ticket Punch, Clean up…
• Gift Shop – Nova & Rebecca Coon Oversee setup, consignment where needed, sale of items, information…
• Costumes - Contact area resources to oversee costumes needed in all areas of event, both performance andadditional sites.
• Technical Director: Assist Dr. Jorns in the technical issues regarding preparation of performance…stage construction, lighting, adaptations of Columbian Building, etc…
• Assistant Director - Assist Dr. Jorns with note taking, props, auditions, possess love of theatre
• Lighting – Tom Hawk & Mike Rowley - Run lighting board with dimmers, work with Dr. Jorns concerning all lighting materials needed.
• Housing and meals for actors - Need to accommodate approximately 4 folks from Freetown Village (Wednesday evening through perhaps Sunday morning.)
• Town beautification - Includes signage, area business window displays etc…
• Tour guide/Hostess - Guide tour buses and school groups to proper locations, inform guests of restroom locations, show times etc…, must be friendly and enjoy working with public.
• Ticket Sales/Ushers - Handling advance orders, bus tours and seating audience for performances.
• Publicity -Work with Program Director to distribute publicity. Develop a database of area organizations, committees, school, churches etc… to promote the event.
• Musicians – Susan Humphries - Contacted to play period music intermittently and as performance requires.
• Rutherford House – Renee & Landmarks, Inc. - Recruiting volunteers for site preparation, and house tours. Includes working with Ashmore and Rutherford interpreters.
• Pioneer Village – Rev. Bob & Rob Lee - Recruiting volunteers for site preparation, and guides. Includes working with actors from Freetown Village and maybe guest lecturer.
• Museum Display- Renee & Oakland Historical Foundation - Historical Foundation museum display, set up/show documentary film, train hostess/film operators.
• Facility Maintenance - Tents, Tables, Chairs, Portable restrooms where needed, make sure facility on square is presentable and available.
• Performance Director – Dr. David Jorns - Writes script, directs theatre in the round, conducts auditions, works with lighting director etc…
• Photographer - Oversees photo shoot of entire event recruiting help as needed.

We’ve scheduled a Meeting for Volunteers on Monday, March 9^th, 6 pm in the Columbian Building to set up committees, get a visual effect of the performance, review event schedule and share the vision for the overall outcome intended for the event. Please mark your calendar today and plan to join this community endeavor.

School Groups

School classes of youth in 5th grade through 12th grade are invited to either of two presentations of the program on Friday, Sept. 18 from 9:00-11:15 a.m. or 11:45 a.m. -2:00 p.m. We can accommodate 250 students at each performance. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 217-508-9113 or e-mailing the project at trial.tribulations1847@gmail.com. Cost is $4 per student, up to two adults are free. Students will:

• Visit two historic sites & meet the people involved,
• Watch a performance about the trial,
• Address Illinois social science goals for grades 5-12,
• Challenge your preconceived notions of history.

Educational Goals:
1. Lincoln represented the master-enslaver, Matson, the only time he represented an enslaver.

2. African American’s history in Illinois includes enslaved and freedmen. Those who gained freedom chose between living here within the restrictions of the Black Laws like at Brushy Fork or colonizing to Liberia.

3. National and state laws existed about slavery that were often in conflict and the court system played a critical role in the resolution of those dilemmas.

4. Abolitionists existed in Illinois and Coles County, though their positions were very unpopular with the public.

Moral/Ethical Goals:
1. Lincoln’s role and possible motivations for participating in the trial and how that reflects on his beliefs and our perception of him.

2. The courage of the Bryant family to take action to gain their freedom and to trust the legal system to work.

3. The moral dilemma of taking public action on your beliefs for social justice despite the consequences.


Classes will move on their own bus from town to village. Schools will be divided into roughly three equal groups of 70-90 students. Volunteers will meet each bus and accompany them on each stop of their visit. Pre & Post visit materials will be provided to each registered class. Below is an outline of their visit.

Group Tours

Motor coach tours are welcome at the public programs on September 18 and 19, 2009 (4-8:30 p.m. each day or 10:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on Saturday). Discounted price for groups is $20/person. Ample parking is available. Tour groups will participate in the following components in small groups:
Groups may choose one of the following schedules (each tour accommodates 65 people):

Freetown Village Joins Project As Interpreters

The project partners are pleased to announce that the well-respected living history group, Freetown Village of Indianapolis, will interpret three of the main characters in the Matson/Bryant story: Jane and Anthony Bryant and Lucy Dupee.

Freetown Village's mission is to educate the public about African American lives and culture in Indiana through living history performances, the collection and preservation of artifacts, exhibits and allied programs. Freetown Village, Inc. is a living history museum without walls. The trials, triumphs, and daily life of African Americans are presented through theater, storytelling, folk crafts, heritage workshops, music, day camp, and special events. Since 1982, Freetown Village has presented programs throughout the state of Indiana and to the contiguous Midwestern states reaching well over 1,000,000 children and adults in small and large communities. Programs have been presented in schools, churches, libraries, museums, theaters, centers, parks, hotels, offices, gymnasiums, parades, homes, and for almost every time of event or occasion. For more information about Freetown you can visit their website at: http://www.freetown.org/Freetown/Welcome.html.

Trial & Tribulations participants will meet Freetown interpreters at Independence Pioneer Village as they portray Jane and Anthony Bryant and Lucy Dupee among the historic log buildings in a picturesque setting. Jane will be found in a log house preparing for the family's upcoming journey to Liberia. She will discuss her history, how she and the children were jailed, what happened during the trial and why they made the decision to emigrate to Liberia.

Anthony will be in the church/school building reading his quarto bible and preparing to leave the local African-American religious community he had served. He will talk with visitors about his role as a Methodist "exhorter," his experience in asking for help from the local Methodists, and the actions he took to protect his family.

Lucy Dupee will also be in a log home, helping to make some of the supplies that the Bryant's will need on their trip. She will be able to speak about the local Brushy Fork community, the impact that the Matson Slave Trial had on it, and how Illinois' Black Laws may have influenced the Bryant's decision to leave the country.