BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) - The current artist-in-residence at the Homestead National Monument of America is including bits of Beatrice history in a play for potential national use called “The Awakening Land: Stories of National Expansion and the Homestead Movement.”
The Homestead has hosted about eight artists-in-residence each year since 2008, but Michael Cansfield is the first playwright, the Beatrice Sun (https://bit.ly/1WA6AJR ) reported. Cansfield was living and working in the space provided by the monument from Sept. 16 to Sept. 26 to research and work on the play. The public was invited to an event Sept. 27 at the monument’s Education Center, during which Cansfield explained his play and inspirations and read excerpts.
A large part of the play is inspired by a correspondence of eight letters written by early Homesteader Daniel Freeman, who lived on the land the monument now occupies, and the woman he later married.
“The letters are incredibly charming and flirtatious,” Cansfield said.
Several other homesteading stories from diaries and letters uncovered during his research converged in Cansfield’s writing process. The play will tell different homesteaders’ stories and illustrate the culture of the West during the late 1800s after the Homestead Act was passed.
“I wanted something that touched on a lot of the dreams, aspirations, successes and failures of homesteaders and see if I could capture a little bit of that feeling,” Cansfield said.
Another Beatrice-specific story that made its way into the draft of the play is the forming of the Beatrice Ladies Library Association.
“The rest is from a variety of sources that are not Nebraska-specific,” Cansfield said.
The play will be about 45 minutes to an hour long and will be written for two male actors and three female actors who will portray the multiple stories.
“Right now, I’m not thinking about publishing, I’m thinking about performing,” Cansfield said.
Cansfield said he doesn’t know how the play will be used in the future, but he has ideas.
“I think it could be a great educational tool,” Cansfield said. “Schools and groups in any state could use it.”
The play could be a potential part of the National Park Service 100th anniversary celebration next year or a candidate for one of three public programs put on at the Chicago History Museum, Cansfield said. Cansfield works at the museum, where he writes grants for exhibitions and produces three public programs each year about cultural history.
Cansfield has extensive education and experience in theater. This is the first play he has written. He was inspired by a 1970s miniseries, “The Awakening Land,” about the founding of Ohio.
“I thought, this would make an interesting play,” Cansfield said.
He looked online to see if a homesteading play existed and was led to the Homestead National Monument website, which advertised the application for the artist residency.
“I took it as a sign, because it was early January and the deadline was January 31st, that I should submit something and see what comes of it,” Cansfield said. “Three weeks later, I found out I got it.”
Park ranger Susan Cook serves on the committee that sifts through applications and selects artists to fill the positions. She said Cansfield’s idea stood out because it is unique.
“We try to choose artists that help us tell our story,” Cook said. “It’s just really a new look and a new way of telling the homesteading stories.”
Cansfield said he felt overwhelmed at times while he was digging through history and memoirs. There were aspects, such as Native Americans’ experience and African Americans’ experience during the Homestead Act era, that he felt were too big for his play and were someone else’s story to tell, he said.
There were a lot of diary entries and letters to read.
“I found more stories than I could ever possibly include,” Cansfield said. “Most of them were written by women, which makes sense because they were the ones who often had the time and education to do so. I was glad I found some from the male perspective, too.”
Cansfield said he was surprised to learn that a lot of the homesteaders moved to the West from Missouri, Iowa and Ohio, rather than from further east as he has predicted. He said the environment at the Homestead National Monument is an inspiring one to work in.
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Information from: Beatrice Sun, https://www.beatricedailysun.com
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