Work on play just beginning for MVHPCAs Chair of the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission (MVHPC), I thank Nathan Countryman for a Sept. 23 article covering of one of our meetings. I would like to expand on the issues discussed in the article.
For about the past year the MVHPC has been considering how to commemorate the 2022 Sesquicentennial. To connect with Mount Vernon’s active arts community, we engaged two local artists to write a play on a few of our historical figures. Lisbon librarian and Mount Vernon resident Amy White was instrumental in Lisbon’s play marking the Centennial of Sauerkraut Days. CDG Director and playwright Joe Jennison knows Mount Vernon well and has performed many of his works here. Amy and Joe like working together. They are in the process of conducting historical research, writing draft scenes and thinking about staging. The two writers have shared some of their initial work with me, and I know their final script will inform and entertain the community.
Of course, creation of a script is only the first step. Discussions are just now beginning about how, where, when, and in what form to use the script. Though the MVHPC does not plan to produce the play ourselves, we do plan to cooperate with partners to see that the script is shared in some form with the wider community. There are no plans yet that are firm enough to share; more is yet to be revealed!
Suzette Astley
Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission committe chair
Letter to editor
October 7, 2021