March 14, 2007 – Imagine meeting Queen Mary and being able to question her on what she was thinking just before taking part in the infamous Fireburn of 1878.
That and many other questions will be answered during a presentation of the Per Ankh production: "A Chautauqua: Queen Mary Comin' to Freedom City."
A Chautauqua is a first-person historical characterization or monologue based on biographies and historical information, according to Ocean James, who will play the role of Queen Mary. This is a rerun of sorts for James, who played Queen Mary last year when Per Ankh first produced "Three Queens Chautauqua Series," which was sponsored by the V.I. Humanities Council.
The productions are the work of Chenzira Kahina, who serves as lead researcher and writer for the culturally-sensitive group, Per Ankh. The other queens involved in the past production were Queen Breffu of the St. John Revolt of 1733 and Queen Coziah, who started the St. Thomas Mexican Silver Riot of 1892. Friday's presentation is also sponsored by the V.I. Humanities Council and will be a replay of just Queen Mary's monologue.
Kahina said that the production coincides with the 102nd anniversary of Queen Mary's death. That information was recently discovered by historian Wayne James. The event, which will kick-off at 8:30 p.m. near the Clock Tower, will also include a brief introduction on the meaning of Chautauqua and a presentation by James on his discovery.
"We wanted to be able to have a historically and culturally accurate presentation done on a first-person basis, of queens of the Virgin Islands," Kahina said of what motivated Per Ankh to produce the series last year, as well as Friday's upcoming performance.
She said, for example, that while researching information for the monologues, she found that Queen Mary was in her 30s during the Fireburn. Most people believed that she was much older.
Oceana James said she is ready to engage the audience in what will be an eye-opening historical account of the young woman's life that she will portray.
"There will already be people in Frederiksted for Sunset Jazz, and we want them to come out and enjoy this piece of our history. It is an interactive monologue, so the audience will be able to ask me questions while I'm in character," she said.
Discussions will also follow when James is "out of character."
She said that Per Ankh hopes to raise funds to document the series on film soon to be distributed to various schools.
"This is one way of having history right at their hands," Oceana James said, adding that the documents discovered by Wayne James showed that Queen Mary died on March 16, 1905. "We wanted to redo this in honor of her passing."
James said that the month of March also holds other significance for the Virgin Islands. The territory will commemorate Transfer Day on March 31; March is also Virgin Islands History Month, Women's History Month and was recently named V.I. Danish Friendship Month.
Oceana James said that she expects this Friday's monologue to be received just as it was last year.
"It was well-received and people kept saying 'When are you going to do it again?" she said. "Well, we decided that no time is better than the 102nd anniversary of Queen Mary's death."
For more information, call 772-2654 or 277-1575.
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