Oh, the Drama! The Alcott Family in Theater

 

From an early age Louisa May Alcott, and her sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and Abby May, often entertained their friends and families by performing “theatricals.” As children the two older sisters would dramatize stories for their neighbors, and as young teenagers, Anna and Louisa wrote and performed plays in their family’s barn at Hillside (now called Wayside).  For these shows they found or made their own scenery, costumes, and props; between the two sisters they took on all the major roles, and sometimes enticed their younger sisters, Lizzie and Abby May, who were less theatrically inclined, to perform the smaller roles.  Louisa loved to play the dashing heroes and villains of the pieces (such as the hero “Roderigo,” who appears in the Christmas play in Little Women), and Anna played the romantic and dramatic roles.

As older teenagers and into their adulthood, Anna and Louisa continued to be involved in theater.  They formed a community theater group in Walpole, New Hampshire; and in Concord, Massachusetts, they organized the “Concord Dramatic Union” with their friends.  Louisa’s roles now inclined toward the comic, character parts, and Anna, who reportedly was a very talented dramatic actress, would move her audience to tears with her portrayal of the serious roles.  Anna’s dream as a teenager and a young woman was to be a great actress in the theater, and for some time Louisa considered a life onstage as well.  Both young women tried their hand at playwriting; Louisa succeeded in having one of her plays, The Rival Prima Donnas,  produced and performed in a Boston theater in 1860.

After Louisa went on to become a successful and famous writer, she continued to act for charity, often playing scenes from Charles Dickens to help raise funds for worthy organizations.  In 1860 Anna married John Pratt, a young man who, with Anna and Louisa, was one of the original founders of the “Concord Dramatic Union,” and who had once played opposite Anna in one of their productions, The Loan of a Lover.  Anna abandoned her dream of being a great prima donna and raised a family of two boys, Frederick and John Pratt, but she still pitched in graciously now and then to play a dramatic role for family theatricals when the need arose.

The “Concord Dramatic Union” is today a thriving community theater, now named the Concord Players, which produces three plays each year at 51 Walden Street in Concord, Massachusetts.

Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House continues the tradition of parlor theatricals by offering a week-long summer drama program for children, Apple Slump Players, and by staging tableaus and scenes in their annual living history Christmas program every December.

 

Lis Adams
Director of Education

 

It's the Artists' Life for May

Today we celebrate May Alcott's birthday. May was the lively youngest Alcott sister, born July 26 1840.  May was a natural born artist and began to sketch and draw at an early age. Bronson & Abigail even allowed her to decorate the walls of Orchard House with whimsical sketches to support her creative spirit. Visitors today can still see some of her original work, drawn right on the paint! 

At the age of 19, May was admitted to and began studies at the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. There she really began to hone her artistic talent and explore work as a painter. As a student of William Rimmer and William Morris Hunt, May became an early teacher to American master sculptor, Daniel Chester French. As a 17 year old student, he was captivated by May, and we could think of no better way to honor her birthday than to share some of his remembrances of her written for the Prelude to May Alcott, A Memoir by Caroline Ticknor.

"One sparkling summer's morning in 1868 a young woman rode into our yard in Concord, Massachusetts, wearing the long skirt and close fitting bodice which, with plumed hat, made up the picturesque riding habit of that day, setting off her tall and extraordinarily handsome figure to advantage. This was May Alcott. Her face was not beautiful, according to classical standards, but the liveliness of expression and the intelligence and gayety that shone from it led one to overlook any want of harmony in her features...Full of the joy of living, her enthusiasm was easily stirred in almost any worth-while direction...May was fond of her home and a quite ideal relationship existed between her and her father and mother and sisters. She, more than the others, contributed to the lively and gay element in the household. One felt that here indeed, "people were of more importance than things."

Miss Alcott was devoted to her art and gave to it the best of her enthusiastic nature. She had talent and training, and her works, particularly her water colors, have a very distinct charm. Her sketches are still eagerly sought, both for their intrinsic value and for their association with the name of Alcott."

Leave your Calling Card & Be Entered to Win!

Nineteenth Century etiquette required leaving your calling card when visiting a household. Calling cards then were much like today’s business cards, but used for social interactions. The French version, Carte-de-Visite (visiting card), became popular in the United States during the 1860s and typically included a photograph. Family members treasured these when separated from each other
during the Civil War and when traveling. Recently we've launched a new "Calling Card" program at Orchard House for our visitors. But we wanted to be sure  to keep our online community involved too!

Coming this fall, Orchard House is poised to share our mission of education and preservation with more people than ever through several exciting on-line projects and initiatives. We would be honored to consider you our partner in these endeavors. By completing and leaving your own  electronic “calling card” below you will have the power to help us exponentially extend our outreach AND be entered to win fun prizes!

You will not be added to a regular mailing list, but rather to an exclusive list with limited e-mail contact this fall. (You may opt-in to more mailings later, if you wish.) The Alcotts treasured human relationships and we take our cue from them in carrying on that tradition. With your help, many more people around the world will be able to learn from, be inspired by, and enjoy Orchard House and the Alcotts.
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Reflections from the Classroom - Adult Learning at the Summer Conversational Series

Bronson Alcott was at heart an educator. Whatever else he did, he came back to education: from being a teacher of young children, to serving as the superintendent of Concord schools, to traveling across the country to give conversations. The Concord School of Philosophy was the last of his endeavors, and the most lasting. Although the School closed after his death, the ideals of the School of Philosophy became the foundation for a yearly conference, begun in 1999. For the last 15 years, the Summer Conversational Series at Orchard House has continued Bronson’s legacy of adult education. Individual talks no longer last all day, but for the scholars who come, it is a chance to present more than the typical 20 minute talk given at most academic conferences. Young scholars still pursuing their studies, classroom teachers who remain life-long learners, college professors from multiple disciplines, and eminent scholars from museums and other institutions all come together in the same room. The yearly theme connects all the presentations together; threads of discussions begun on Sunday connect throughout the week until the final conversation on Thursday afternoon, when participants then reflect on those connections. Bronson Alcott would be pleased!

Topics for the Conversational Series have included 19^th century issues such as abolition, the women’s sphere, and education. We have looked at Louisa May Alcott’s lasting legacy, what primary sources can teach us about the past, and Transcendentalism. John Matteson shared his early research on Bronson and Louisa one year, and the next year read from the finished Eden’s Outcasts (and the next year was celebrated for being awarded the Pulitzer prize for biography). Sarah Elbert, author of several books on Louisa May Alcott, has spoken at the Series many times, as have Joel  Myerson, Daniel Shealy, and Eve LaPlante (an Alcott relative). Presenters have come from France, Japan, and Argentina.
This year the series focuses on Creative Genius in the Time of the Alcotts. Only half-way through the week, and the conversation ranged from discussion of the Faust myth, the difference between talent and genius (according to the Alcotts themselves), what illustrations can tell us about interpretations of Little Women, and Louisa May Alcott’s marketing genius. Although these may sound like very different topics, they have all overlapped and built on each other. We may not yet know exactly what genius is, but we are enjoying the journey this conversation is taking us.

I have traveled from California each year since 2006, first as a participant, then as a presenter. It is the best week of my year, seeing people who have become friends, gaining new insight into the life and work of the Alcott family. If it were not for this Series, I would not have as deep an understanding of Bronson, as developed an appreciation of May, or as strong an admiration of Abba. And my love of Louisa’s fiction might still be just a hobby, rather than a scholarly pursuit.

What is it that draws us all here, besides the chance to share our work with like-minded people? There is something special in this yearly meeting. Perhaps it is that many of the presenters stay for the week. Having heard the earlier talks, later presenters can build on what’s come before. Those who have already presented can share ideas that they did not have time for, when they connect to the current discussion. The conversation after each talk becomes a true conversation, not just a Q&A. The Series is a space where the scholar (who has written multiple books) thanks the graduate student (just beginning dissertation research) for new insight into a specific topic. Speakers bring work they have just started, or read from finished books. Participants, all of whom are genuinely interested in what’s being shared, ask astute questions and add their own insight through their comments. And added to all of that, is Orchard House itself. Volunteers and staff bring lunch and home-baked goodies and select and beautifully wrap gifts for each presenter. We all, presenters and participants, go on the house tour and shop at the gift shop (what new books can I find this year?). As I talk to others during the Series, I sense that many of us simply love this place. It is not just the Alcotts, or the people who come to the Series. It is all of it together. I am proud to be part of Bronson Alcott’s educational legacy, and I am already planning for next year.



- Dr. Cathlin Davis, professor of Education, CSU Stanislaus

If you missed this year's Summer Conversational Series but are looking for a way to dive into some higher learning in the Alcott tradition, we'd love you to join us for a two part seminar on July 22 & 23  titled Women in French Literature and the Transcendentalists. This seminar will be held from 7pm - 9pm and is presented by Anne-Laure Francois, Assistant Professor, Universite Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense

Part I will focus on 19th Century French women authors Madame de Staël and George Sand
and their influence on the Concord Transcendentalists, while Part II will examine the
representation of women in two well-known French works of 1857 --
Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil and Flaubert’s Madame Bovary.