This is the only photo I have of my paternal grandfather’s parents, Robert August Bertram and Flona Agnes (“Aggie”) Murphey, together. They look like a fairly sedate older couple, though the light reflecting off their glasses makes their faces hard to read. Yet their meeting was just as unlikely, and required as much daring, as...
Blog
Ancestor Animation, part 2: “Mama was a Yankee, and Daddy was a Rebel”
The proud young parents in this photo most likely would never have met were it not for a specific piece of Federal legislation.
Ancestor Animation, part 1: Inevitable
William and Lizzie were destined to meet.
Did You Know? Minnie Maddern Fiske, actor and activist
"An overwhelming rebuke to the flippant scoffers who are ignorant of the ever-increasing power of the great theater iconoclast.”
Did You Know? The first woman in Shakespeare
"Forasmuch as many plays formerly acted do conteine severall prophane, obscene and scurrilous passages, and the women’s parts therein have been acted by men in the habit of women, at which some have taken offense, we doe likewise permit and give leave that all the women’s parts may be performed by women." Now THAT's what I call a patent!
Did You Know? Kabuki was invented by a woman
In 1603, Okuni made her great innovation, appearing in drag as a kabuki-mono, in a comedy sketch where she flirted with a woman played by a man in drag.
Did You Know? The women of commedia dell’arte
In Mantua, Italy, in the 1560s, actor/managers Flaminia and Vincenza ran rival companies attracting passionately devoted fans. Then they got that invitation from the Duke.
Did You Know? Yuan Dynasty Actors
In Yuan Dynasty China (1271-1368), women frequently appeared onstage – in fact, it’s likely that most Yuan Dynasty actors were women.
Did You Know? Hrotsvitha
The first known playwright in Christian Europe was Hrotsvitha, a tenth-century German nun.
DefibRillator at the Fringe
For the first time in years, I'm involved in a show for the Minnesota Fringe.