Harvey Lee Goodwin
Members of the public are invited to a free performance that fuses historic inquiry and interpretation.
The UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) partnered with the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance to present “Voices, Vignettes, and Context: Performance Research from Archives.”
Historical figures such as Bernie Babcock, Harvey Lee Goodwin, Mary Lee Harris, and Art Porter will be featured during the event, which starts at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 and 25 in the auditorium of the Engineering and Information Technology building on UALR’s main campus.
“Working with Theatre Arts and Dance has been an exciting opportunity for the Center,” said associate provost Deborah Baldwin. “This experience has allowed the archive to work with a discipline that hasn’t been a traditional partner. The experience has enriched both the student projects and the Center’s curriculum outreach efforts.”
Art Porter
Students worked in small groups to present the four individuals they researched in the archives of the Center.
“The classroom emphasis for this project was developing familiarity with historical research methods and applying the results of that research as a dramaturgical basis to conceive and develop a performance,” said Larry Smith, assistant professor of Theatre Arts and Dance.
“Our goal for this presentation is to shed light on the relationship between performance and work, but also to share what we have learned about these four people,” Smith said. “One of the rewards of archival research is the unexpected encounter with a human being’s life and experiences.”
