Scholars/Presenters
Charles Everett Pace as Malcolm X
Charles Everett Pace is a full-time national Chautauqua scholar residing in Texarkana, Texas. His other characters include: Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du bois, and Scott Joplin. Oklahomans will remember Pace from the 17 years he performed throughout the state as a member of the Great Plains Chautauqua. Further information: www.charleseverettpace.com
Dr. Sally Ann Drucker as Betty Friedan
Dr. Sally Ann Drucker is an Associate Professor of English at Nassau Community College in New York. In 2005, she portrayed Lucrezia Borgia in Oklahoma’s Renaissance Chautauqua; other portrayals include Frances Wright, Emma Goldman, and Rosie the Riveter at Chautauquas in ten different states.
Judy Gail as Rachel Carsen
After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, Judy Gail became musical director and voice-over artist for Manhattan’s Shadow Box Theater. Later, at Miami’s Museum of Science, she created live presentations and wrote and hosted "Wonder With Me", a PBS television series. For the Florida Humanities Council and State Touring Roster she presented historical portrayals and programs. A Kennedy Center trained Artist-In-Education, she performs nationally and abroad. Her memoir, Rudolph, Frosty, and Captain Kangaroo, about her childhood in Columbia’s recording studios with her father Hecky Krasnow, producer of classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and artists including Gene Autry, has drawn praise. Judy now lives in Jackson, Michigan. Here, she is Interpretive Director for The Ella Sharp Museum exhibit about the historic Jackson Prison and its reformist Chaplain, presents performances and workshops for American History in the Schools, and portrayals for the Michigan Humanities Council Touring Roster.
Dr. Gary M. Gray as Barry Goldwater
Dr. Gary M. Gray, Edmond, OK, is a publisher, historian, actor and author renowned for his historically accurate portrayals of nine of America's greatest citizens. His performances have received acclaimed reviews. Dr. Gray holds graduate degrees from Phillips University, Southern Methodist and Notre Dame, along with a doctorate from Oklahoma State University. He has performed/lectured in every state and worlwide, and taught at Phillips University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Dr. Gray is the author of thirteen books and the former publisher and editor of two national magazines
He is the author of MR. PRESIDENTS: Voices of Freedom, Equality, and Dignity. The book features nine historical "moments in time" featuring George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and many more.
Dr. Doug Mishler as George Wallace
In the last fifteen years Doug has brought “history to life” in well over one thousand Chautauqua presentations, and one-man shows. He has performed as P. T. Barnum, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Ford and the other voices in his head before more than ten thousand people. His “boys” include: activist William Lloyd Garrison, war correspondent Ernie Pyle, explorer Capt. William Clark, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the Reverend Billy Sunday, artist Thomas Hart Benton, and journalist Edward R. Murrow. He recently added the South’s only President Jefferson Davis, social novelist Upton Sinclair, and this summer Governor George C. Wallace joined the voices. Over the years he has gained the reputation as one of the finest first-person performers. With a Ph.D. in American Cultural History, Doug teaches now at University of Nevada when not on the road with his boys. To improve his characters he started in the theatre six years ago and now is addicted, having acted in ten plays and just finished directing his seventeenth. Like his idol Theodore Roosevelt he believes there is still plenty of time to grow up and get a “real job”—later!
Karen Vuranch as Julia Child
Karen Vuranch is a storyteller, actress, historian and writer. Using solid historical research, she creates characters that bring history to life. She has toured internationally with Coal Camp Memories. Based on oral history, it chronicles a woman’s experience in the Appalachian coal fields. Karen also recreates historical figures: author Pearl Buck; Mother Jones; Clara Barton, Mary Draper Ingles, Grace O’Malley, and Wild West outlaw Belle Starr. Potluck: Stories and Songs about Women, Wisdom and Food, is an innovative show about the contributions of women in a community. Karen is also a traditional storyteller and has been performing in schools, libraries and communities for over 20 years. Karen has presented many workshops on both the techniques of storytelling and how to collect oral history. She participated in the Nu Wa Storytelling Exchange to China in 2002. Karen has served as an Adjunct Faculty at Concord University for the past 15 years, teaching Introduction to Theatre and Fundamentals of Speech. Karen has an M.A. in Humanities from Marshall University. She has eight publications, including The Influence of the Welsh Immigrants on the Development of the Coal Fields.
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