LIVING HISTORY AS PERFORMANCE

210 Pages·2006·0.65 MB·English

LIVING HISTORY AS PERFORMANCE:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE MANNER IN WHICH HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
IS DEVELOPED THROUGH PERFORMANCE

Megan Mateer

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green
State University in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
May 2006
Comite:
James Forse, Advisor
Wiliam Armaline
Graduate Faculty Representative
Jonathan Chambers
Cynthia Baron
© 2006
Megan Mateer
All Rights Reserved
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ABSTRACT

Dr. James Forse, Advisor

Throughout the twentieth century, historians have sought a variety of new ways to engage
history, many through the use of performance techniques. New methodologies aided by
technology have allowed historians to gain new insights into the past and share those insights
with the public. In this study I examine how four methodologies have influenced each other in
attempt to achieve this goal: two living history museums: Colonial Williamsburg and Plimoth
Plantation; one outdoor historical drama, Trumpet in the Land; three examples of experimental
archaeology: the Pamunkey Project, Buckskinners, and the Washburn-Norlands Center; and two
PBS productions about living in the past: Frontier House and Colonial House. These categories
have two things in common. First they are all attempting to examine some aspect or event from
the past, second they all use performance techniques to do this.
My argument for this study lies in a two-fold examination. First, in discussing the
constructs of each of these methodologies, I argue that it is apparent that the first three categories
have been highly influential in the development of the fourth. Second, the misuse of
performance techniques has proven ultimately problematic for the PBS productions in their
declared efforts to take a step back in time. With the exception of the outdoor historical dramas,
which I use as an obvious example of performance and history coming together, those involved
with the other categories tend to distance themselves from being associated with other theatrical
endeavors believing that such an association diminishes their efforts. These attitudes tend to be
based in antitheatrical sentiments which prove to be counter productive to their goals of better
engaging past.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The accomplishment of this degree could not have happened without the encouragement
and support of my friends, family, and colleagues. I would like to first acknowledge the patience
and diligence of my advisor, Jim Forse. His help in the molding of this work was the perfect
balance of advising and listening that allowed me room to express myself while maintaining a
professional focus in the writing. As I entered the final throws of completing my dissertation,
my committee members, Cynthia Baron, Jonathan Chambers, and Bill Armaline, guided me
toward completion with their helpful and insightful advice into my work.
Yonghee Lee, Michael Coon, and Nancy Kennedy were fellow students also working
toward their PhDs in the same program of study. We were there for each other through the ups
and downs of being graduate students. I am the last of the cadre to walk the final mile.
This process has been especially trying on my family who has been patient and
supportive in their expectation of not only me but also my sister in achieving doctoral degrees.
Through the delays and frustrations, they have always been there with encouraging words. Last
but definitely not least, I wish to give my heartfelt thanks to Tracy Tupman. His help in the
research and editing of this work was invaluable. Above all, he never allowed me to become
discouraged. He lived with me through this process as I lived through his, always there with
encouragement or chocolate.
The list goes on too long for me to be able to thank all those I wish to thank. If you were
not mentioned by name, know that you are in my grateful heart.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1

Living History................................................................................................................ 2

Nostalgia and Counter Memory..................................................................................... 4

Antitheatricalism............................................................................................................ 7

Performance and Acting ................................................................................................ 9

Performance Reconstruction as Historic Analysis......................................................... 14

Precise Nature and Scope of this Study ......................................................................... 16

Literature Review........................................................................................................... 20

Organization................................................................................................................... 27

CHAPTER 1. LIVING HISTORY ........................................................................................ 28

The Idea of History ....................................................................................................... 28

Museum Collections to “Living” Museums ................................................................. 31

Social History................................................................................................................ 37

Performing History ....................................................................................................... 40

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 42

CHAPTER 2. “HISTORY” ON STAGE............................................................................... 44

History as Theatre .......................................................................................................... 44

Introduction .................................................................................................... 44

In the Beginning ............................................................................................. 45

Early America................................................................................................. 46

Outdoor Historical Drama.............................................................................................. 53
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Trumpet in Land............................................................................................................. 56

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 60

CHAPTER 3. LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM...................................................................... 62

Colonial Williamsburg: A Patriotic Performance......................................................... 62

The Early Years.............................................................................................. 63

Post WWII ...................................................................................................... 66

1960s............................................................................................................... 69

1970s – Present............................................................................................... 70

Performance.................................................................................................... 71

Summary......................................................................................................... 78

Plimoth Plantation.......................................................................................................... 82

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 94

CHAPTER 4. EXPERIMENTAL ARCHEOLOGY ............................................................. 96

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 96

Pamunkey Project ......................................................................................................... 104

Buckskinners................................................................................................................. 107

Introduction .................................................................................................... 107

NMLRA.......................................................................................................... 108

Rendezvous..................................................................................................... 110

White Oak Society.......................................................................................... 115

Summary......................................................................................................... 117

Washburn-Norlands Living History Center................................................................... 118

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 121
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CHAPTER 5. LIVING HISTORY AND TELEVISION ...................................................... 123

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 123

The “Real” on Television............................................................................................... 124

Reality TV ...................................................................................................... 126

“Real” People ................................................................................................. 128

Video Diaries.................................................................................................. 131

Summary......................................................................................................... 134

Time Travelers on Television ........................................................................................ 135

The Frontier House........................................................................................................ 139

Colonial House .............................................................................................................. 146

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 155

CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION............................................................................................... 160

But is it history? ............................................................................................................ 160

We are not actors! ......................................................................................................... 160

History vs. Theatre? ...................................................................................................... 168

Role-playing for Television .......................................................................................... 170

Do these experiences help in understanding history? ................................................... 176

Summary ........................................................................................................................ 177

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 181

APPENDIX A LIVING HISTORY SITES .......................................................................... 193

APPENDIX B EXPERIMENTAL ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES......................................... 202
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INTRODUCTION

History and Performance: The Museum Comes Alive

Theatre and historical methodology have long standing links. As ancient men regaled
their audiences with their adventures and excitement of the hunt, they were engaged in
performing a version of historic narrative. As the Greek poets told and retold the story of the
Iliad and the Odyssey, they were performing what they believed happened in the past. In fifth-
century BCE Athens, performances of Greek legends and history would be expanded to full
productions on a stage with actors, costumes, masks, and props. Medieval theatre in Western
Europe sought to portray and teach the events of Biblical history. The Shakespearean stage
sought to perform England’s history, and down to the present day historic events have been
played out on the stage and screen as a means of engaging the past, and as a way to understand
or come to terms with the significance of those events. Though critics have questioned the
historical authenticity of these representations, the act of performing history is as old as theatre
itself. Conversely, the same cannot be said of historians using performance to further their
understanding of history. As performers have combed the history books for dramatic material,
historians have been slow in recognizing the advantages of performance as a means of accessing
this same history. It was only in the twentieth century that some historians have come to realize
that “living” the history may afford new insights into the past. This realization has led to the rise
of living history museums. Even though these museums have extensive public popularity,
academia still does not readily recognize their reenactments as legitimate historic research. Yet,
the development of the history museum has led to the merging of performance and history in the
attempt to bring history alive to the general public and researchers a living laboratory through
which first hand simulations of historical possibilities can be posited.
The most recent manifestation of living history has been edited televised productions that
document the experience of families living in carefully constructed time capsules. Beginning in
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1999, such programs have been airing on BBC and PBS: The 1900 House, Frontier House,
1940s House, Manor House, The Ship, and Colonial House. The premise of these shows is
based on several families volunteering to live in a reconstruction of another time for a specified
period of time. This new approach to historical engagement is a product of the influence of
various other constructs: the living history museums, experimental archeology and reality TV.
Performance has been an integral part of these creations. The use of performance techniques in
the television productions has taken attributes of these methodologies to create a new form of
“living history.”

Living History

The phrase “living history” can have different meanings depending on where the
emphasis is put, either living history or living history. The first refers to history that is brought
alive, the second history that is lived. The distinction is subtle. An example of the first would be
living history museums, the second would be about people like the Buckskinners whereby
historical recreation is part of a lifestyle choice. An exploration into the first is necessary to
understand the genesis of the second.
Institutions that seek to bring history alive are referred to under a variety of names:
outdoor history museums, open-air museums, or living history museums. Whatever they may be
called, these museums represent a further development of historic preservation that attempts to
access history through live performance. Jay Anderson has written several books about living
history and the history of living museums. He defines living history as “an attempt by people to
simulate life in another time” (“Living” 291). Anderson has determined that there are three basic
reasons why people become involved with living history projects:
To interpret material culture more effectively, usually at a living museum; to test
an archeological thesis or generate data for historical ethnographies; and to
participate in an enjoyable recreational activity that is also a learning experience .
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. . It can be used as a research and interpretive tool for better understanding the
culture of one’s counterparts in other times and places. It can also serve as a
medium for acting out in a socially acceptable behavior not commonly
encountered in the contemporary world; for example, dressing up in armour and
fighting with swords and shields, hunting wild game with the muzzle loader.
(“Living” 291)
Along with this definition, he acknowledges the performative quality found in living history.
It is obviously theatrical with its use of costume (period clothing), props
(artifacts), sets (historical sites), role playing (identifying with historical
characters), and the designation of time in space as special and somehow not part
of our ordinary everyday world. (“Living” 291)
Through living history projects, two differing disciplines, history and theatre, have come
together to take the past away from the two-dimensional narrative found in books and create a
three-dimensional portrayal of the past. The living museum developed from the random
collection of artifacts displayed in early museums to the categorizing and organizing of these
artifacts in later museums, to contextualizing artifacts historically in dioramas, to historic
simulations in life size dioramas. The performative quality of these living history projects
introduces a new dynamic. In a living museum, an individual can see, hear, touch, and smell the
history come alive around him or her. This is exemplified at Plimoth Plantation where one can
see reconstructions of the houses and “inhabitants” roaming the dirt street; hear the barnyard
animals and wood being chopped; smell lunch being cooked over an open hearth and possibly
have a taste.
Yet, for some attendees, to merely see, hear, touch, and smell the history is not enough.
They yearn to physically experience the history for themselves, “participate in an enjoyable
recreational activity that is also a learning experience” (“Living” 291). These are the people who
wish to live the history. Away from museums, archeology, and other scholarly endeavors,
groups of ordinary people whose only qualifications may lie in a deep seated interest in a given