|
Fall 2009
Program Series: “Heritage, Heroes, & Home”
We have a very
exciting fall series planned, with a “little something for everyone.”
We have planned two of our lectures in conjunction with other activities
going on in Salado, particularly the Founder’s Day event. We hope to
draw even more interest from the out-of-towners visiting that weekend.
The fall series will bring together an eclectic mix of outstanding
presenters. Stage performers, Hollywood actors, a western novelist and a
syndicated columnist will bring their perspectives on the topic of
“Home, Heritage and Heroes,” subjects increasingly important to remember
during our current unsettled times.
Sunday, Sept. 13, 4 p.m. – Syndicated columnist and author Sharon
Randall: Salado Civic Center; Reception following.
The fall series begins in September with words of wisdom from
award-winning writer, Sharon Randall. Ms. Randall has been writing about
these topics for the past twenty seven years.
She is a syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service in
Washington, D.C. Her weekly column reaches six million readers
nationwide each week and is distributed to some 400 newspapers,
including the Killeen Daily Herald. It also appears quarterly in Carmel
Magazine. She receives thousands of letters and emails each year from
readers who connect with her stories.
Randall began her writing career with a personal column called “Bay
Window,” about “everyday people and ordinary things,” for The Monterey
County Herald in 1991. The column became extraordinarily popular and
was picked up for syndication by Scripps Howard in 1994.
Sun., Sept. 27, 3 p.m. -- Rescheduled Enoch Arden music/dramatic
presentation: Stagecoach Longhorn Conference Center; (Weekend of the
Chocolate Festival) Reception following.
The second program in the series is the dramatic/musical presentation
featuring two performers from the University of Texas that was postponed
last spring. Dr. Robert Freeman, pianist and music professor, and Dr.
Lucien Douglas, narrator and drama professor, will present two musical
monodramas that address the subjects of heroes and home.
Take a Lord Tennyson epic poem, combine it with some Richard Strauss
music, add in performances by two prominent UT professors and you have a
unique addition to the fall lecture series. That musical/dramatic
presentation is also the concluding event in the Chocolate and Art
Festival Weekend, Sunday Sept. 27.
The production is Enoch Arden, a Monodrama, which tells a story
of a hero and coming home in a beautiful and heart-breaking way. It is
based on the epic poem written in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and set
to music by Richard Strauss. Numerous plays and movies have subsequently
been based on the poem, including the 1940 comedy, My Favorite Wife,
the 1960’s romantic
comedy, Move Over Darling, and more recently, the Tom Hanks film
Cast Away.
A second musical monodrama,
The History of Babar, will also be performed that is a much more
lighthearted look at home and heroes. It is based on the children’s
books about Babar the king of the elephants by Jean de Brunhoff and set
to music by Francis Poulenc.
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2-4 p.m.
Stephen Harrigan, Texas
author and screenwriter
Concluding event of the Salado
Founder’s Day Festival; Salado
Civic Center, 601 N. Main St.
Reception following
Title: "Historical Fact, Historical Fiction: a Novelist Looks at
Texas."
Award-winning novelist,
Stephen Harrigan, is the third speaker in the series and the
concluding event in the Salado Founders Day weekend of Oct. 23-25. His
lecture, co-sponsored by the Salado Public Library, will present a
writer’s perspective on the blending of historical fact and fiction.
He wrote the historical novel, The
Gates of the Alamo, as well as several other Texas-based historical
books and screenplays.
The Gates of the Alamo,
was a New York Times bestseller and received several awards,
including a
Spur Award
from the
Western Writers of America.
He has written three
other novels and three books of non-fiction, including his accalimed
Challenger Park, about the U.S.
space program.
Harrigan began his career as a journalist. For many years, he
was a staff writer and senior editor at Texas Monthly, and his
articles and essays have appeared in a wide range of other publications
as well.
He is
also a prolific screenwriter, principally in the field of
made-for-television movies. Among the movies he has written are The
Last of His Tribe (HBO), Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of
Laura Ingalls Wilder (CBS), and King of Texas (TNT).
A 1971 graduate
of the University of Texas,
Harrigan is on the faculty of UT’s James
A.
Michener
Center
for Writers.
Sun., Nov. 8, 4 p.m. – Inauguration of the Lee Marvin Memorial Lecture
featuring “The boys” from the movie The Big Red One Stagecoach
Longhorn Conference Center; Optional Dinner following.
The final weekend in the fall lecture series features the inauguration
of the Lee Marvin Memorial Lecture. The Institute is delighted and
excited to host Marvin’s costars from one of his last major films,
The Big Red One.
Marvin, and his wife, Pam, were friends and major supporters of the
Institute. When he died, Pam established the Lee Marvin Lectureship in
his memory. That lecture was to be held from time to time, and be given
by someone connected to the film industry who shared his passion and
commitment to that industry.
For a variety of reasons that lecture has never been held, but that will
change this year, as it appropriately concludes the series, “Heroes,
Heritage, and Home,” which could describe Marvin’s body of work.
The movie, The Big Red One, is the story of the First Infantry
Division during World War Two. Marvin’s character is a sergeant and
platoon leader to his “boys,” actors Mark Hamill, Robert DeCicco, Robert
Carridine, Perry Lang, and Kelly Ward. All are expected to attend,
pending unexpected filming and production conflicts along with Pam
Marvin.
As was portrayed in the movie, these actors became very close to Lee
Marvin and continued their friendship with him after it was completed.
Since his death, they have stayed close to his widow, Pam, as well. They
will be in Salado to pay homage to their mentor and friend. They will
show portions of the movie and discuss its production and impact on
their lives.
A reminder about Teacher and Student Scholarships
The Institute for the Humanities invites the faculty and students in the
surrounding school districts and higher educational institutions of
Bell, McLennan, Williamson and Travis counties to be a part of our 2009
lecture series.
Students: Any
interested student may attend for free, on one of our student
scholarships. If you are a student and are interested in attending
simply contact the Institute in advance or have your teacher or sponsor
contact us so we may plan for your attendance.
Educators:
Because the Institute believes that educator involvement in our
activities is important, the Institute Board has made a major policy
change that we hope will encourage more participation by teachers,
administrators and students. We have eliminated our very limited
teacher scholarship program, and replaced it with an invitation for any
educator to attend our lectures anytime for roughly half the public,
non-member price. This works out to about $12.00 to $15.00 per
event, depending on what the regular price is. We also have scholarships
available for interested students to attend the lectures free.
A Reminder about Speaker Recordings
CD's of the lectures of the most recent speakers are available for
purchase through the Institute. Audiotapes and some CD's of older
programs are also available. A few videotapes of selected programs are
also available.
Recordings cover all
the lectures given at the Institute during the last 28 years. Audiotapes
are $11.00 and CD's are $15.00 each. To order, please contact Erin at
the Institute at
ifh@vvm.com or at (254)947-5729. You my also order by mail. For
mail orders, you may print our
Order Form for your convenience.
Mail to:
INSTITUTE FOR THE
HUMANITIES AT SALADO
P.O. BOX 527
SALADO, TEXAS 76571
|
