Performance Schedule:
- 09-15-2026
- Nonprofit Event
- 02-04-2023
- Cocktail Party
- 11-06-2017
- Convention/Trade Show
- 01-07-2017
- Corporate Event
- 10-23-2016
- Corporate Event
- 04-10-2015
- Wedding Cocktail Hour
Influences:
NOTE: In relation to the above - SOLO or GROUP - I have other Living Historians that I work with, so I can come with Martha Washington, or James Madison, or Thomas Jefferson, or even with Lincoln*
INFLUENCE: Actor Hal Holbrook as "Mark Twain Tonight", I studied and read a biography about Holbrook that helped me understand the role of a re-enactor.
As a boy of ten in 1963, I was encouraged by the publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, Pulitzer prize winner Ralph McGill, to read this Constitution for the United States of America. At high school debate tournaments, I competed in Dramatic Reading and Extemporaneous Speaking events.
In 1993, I completed an intense one page study of the Preamble to this Constitution that was described by The New York Times on 6 November 2010 as the "Concordance to the Preamble".
George Washington was the "Caped Crusader for this Constitution" and I seek to continue his crusade.
*Lincoln is my Second in Command at Yorktown, who I decided would accept the surrender from the British, General Benjamin Lincoln, the general on the white horse in that famous painting of the Surrender of the British at Yorktown!
Live Performance Overview:
Typical Gig Duration: 9 - 90 minutes
A 30 year history teacher wrote, "What David McCullough and others are doing between the covers of books, Mr. Manship is doing in person, the substantive information combined with the pageantry of costume is an extraordinary entry into the life and times of an era…”
Passion or energy, scholarship on Washington and this Constitution, military and civic leadership experience, and facial appearance many folks say looks like Washington, combine to create a memorable experience for folks in the audience, such that George Washington comes alive.
George Washington LIVE! connects with the audience whether reading to children in a small group of "Revolutionary Readers", or in a class setting, an assembly for the entire school or college, or at a convention with hundreds, or an amphi-theater with thousands.
Northern Virginia Daily newspaper did a nice "multi-media" interview of my early 2008 visit in my previous uniform, boots and cap to Woodstock, Virginia. The Northern Virginia Daily has posted the interview online. The final photo is priceless, a red, white and blue hug!
http://www.nvdaily.com/multimedia/washington/
The Capitol newspaper of Annapolis also had a nice slide show, but no longer maintains the link as active, however, I made a video of their slide show with my "narration" and posted to YouTube posted here on this website video section.
x--http://www.hometownannapolis.com/slideshow/1230063631GeneralGeorgeWashingtonresignshiscommission
Stage/Setup Requirements:
- An audience.
- When Emcee, program schedule, and phonetic spelling for people to be mentioned.
- Knowledge in advance as to time to start and talk duration
- Drinking Water (Kangen Alkaline preferred)
Additional Performance Notes:
I have worked in many venues, from kindergarten classrooms to high school assemblies to law school auditoriums, from outdoor amphi-theaters, to university auditoriums and historic hotel theater stages, to church pulpits.
I have a "command voice", and also have sung solos, duets, and small groups as one of the "Founding Fathers and Sons of Liberty", and solo or in groups at public events, so can adapt to many situations. See the Hanover Courthouse video (end of the 10 minute video) to see how I lead the Citizens to sing in unison!
Set/Song/Sequence List:
In some settings, I create the scenes by "wordsmanship" with the narrative of my presentation.
Depending on your needs and time constraints, I can speak for 5 to 15 to 50 minutes, to 5 hours or 5 days, though no one as yet has asked for the latter two, or as I write below in the typical gig duration, 9 to 90 minutes.
I can do a one hour long, one day long or even a week long in-depth instruction on "this Constitution for the United States of America", the greatest document of statesmanship in the history of Man, that has been copied in whole or in part by dozens if not over one hundred nations in the world. While imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, it is also the sign of the influence of the American system across continents and centuries, a system of statesmanship that has transformed space and time.
Also, I can do a one day or week long travel around Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic training teachers in making History come alive by being a "Living Historian", both for students in the classroom and to benefit fellow citizens in your community.
I have done many "dinner theater" type performances, and been the keynote speaker at fundraiser banquets.