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Biography | Why Living History | Caveat Emptor

Why do I speak portraying a historic character in a costume?

The quality of our choices determines our future, determines whether we have more and greater successes or failures. The only way we can improve our choices is by observation of that which has gone before. Technology is ever changing, however, people and their choices are much the same now as they have been for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Thus the great value of history is as a vast laboratory where human ideas and actions have been put to the test and can now be investigated. The successes, and the failures, resulting from those ideas are an invaluable treasure of guidance for all of us, there for the taking.

Imagine, heaven forbid, you had amnesia, that you lost all of your memory. How would you go home? How would you go to work? How would you do anything or make any decision? Our futures are absolutely determined by our knowledge of the past. We have all paid substantial dues to acquire that knowledge and we need not waste those dues. The real value of history is not only in the entertainment value with which it is so richly endowed, rather it is in its ability to inform our decisions now and into the future, making them more likely to get us what we want in our lives.

My personal and professional crusade is to revive important lessons from American History which have contributed to this country and to the lives we live today and to show the relevance of those ideas for us in our everyday lives. American History has all the lessons one would need. I do this not as an actor, which I am not, but rather as an historian who has chosen to illuminate certain persons, ideas and events from the past through the technique of "living history" or "historic character impersonations." There is no memorized script. I work hard to make my portrayals accurate, entertaining and memorable. And this method works!

I portray John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas and savior of the Virginia Colony, the failing experiment which became "America," President John Tyler, one of this country's most principled and courageous Chief Executives, and several others. With Rolfe and Tyler and the others, I have chosen Virginians who are poorly known, but who have contributed vital links in the chain of American success. I am determined to contribute to a new acknowledgment of their contributions and to the present utility of their timeless ideas. I am also a booking agent who books other speakers who do much the same thing for other historical characters.

More and more, our clients are creative corporate event, convention and meeting planners. We have for over fourteen years worked at historic sites, museums and schools and still do. However, having joined the National Speakers Association in 2000, my recent focus has been on marketing to meetings of all types and sizes. We believe in the value of our work and pursue it passionately. The character, bravery, wisdom and vision of the people we portray can and often does serve as an inspiration, especially among people who regard themselves, or aspire to be, "leaders."