Retired UGA English professor Hubert McAlexander, 82, remembers the stories his childhood art teacher, “Miss Nettie” Fant, told about her summers as a member of the Chautauqua Circuit, a travelling version of the upstate New York adult education social movement so popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Chautauqua Circuit assemblies, founded by Keith Vawter and Roy Ellison in 1904, toured throughout America, setting up tents where artists, teachers, and musicians brought exciting, unforgettable entertainment and culture to the whole community. Perhaps some Athens seniors today, like Dr. McAlexander, will remember tales of these events told by their teachers, parents, or grandparents.

The first Chautauqua Circuit in Athens was held in April, 1914. The Banner Herald (April 28) urged people to attend the weeklong series of events: “Athens is the educational center of the state, and yet there has been no successful effort hitherto to establish here a splendid Chautauqua It was a happy idea, this arranging for a week of Chautauqua attractions this year. . . . The best way to make this an annual affair is to patronize the Chautauqua this week.” The appeal must have been successful, for the Athens Chautauqua continued for five more years—until 1919. Then the Spanish flu, along with World War I, may have helped bring about its demise.

Fast forward to 2020. Dr. Art Crawley and Dr. Peter Balsamo, retired educators, spearheaded a plan for the return of Chautauqua to Athens that June, in partnership with Greenville Chautauqua scheduling two programs in which nationally known actors would portray an historical figure. Then, in a kind of repeat of history, the Covid-19 epidemic cancelled those plans. Fast further forward—to 2022, and the Athens Chautauqua has been revived for a second time. Two such portrayals have been rescheduled for the Morton Theatre on Sunday afternoon, June 12: of Robert F. Kennedy, United States Attorney General 1960-1964 and of African American civil rights activist and feminist Pauli Murray (active from the 1940s through the 1970s).

 But first, in April, two other Chautauqua programs will be held in Athens. On Thursday, April 21, 6:45-9:00 pm at The Classic Center’s Pavilion in downtown Athens, nationally recognized actor Leslie Goddard, who has an MA in theater studies and museum studies and a PhD in history, will present a free historical interpretation, “Jacqueline Kennedy: A First Lady of Grace and Style.” Her performance will take us back to 1964, as the former first lady, besieged by tourists and paparazzi, is struggling to cope. The Jacqueline Kennedy performance is supported by grant funding from the Athens Downtown Development Authority, generous Contributing Sponsors (donations of $500 or more) and other friends of the Athens Chautauqua Society.

On Friday, April 22, 2022, 2:30-4:30 pm, at Trumps Catering, 2026 South Milledge Avenue, Athens, Georgia, Goddard will recreate another fascinating individual, one fewer of us will actually remember, but one we all know. Drawn from letters, diaries, and newspaper writings, the program is titled “Eleanor Roosevelt: America’s Extraordinary First Lady.” Trumps will serve afternoon tea and dessert as Eleanor Roosevelt comes to life before our eyes. This event is a fund raiser for the Athens Chautauqua Society. Individual tickets are $50; a table for six is $300.  (To donate or purchase tickets, see the end of this article. )

After viewing clips of the portrayals of Jackie Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt, Patricia McAlexander interviewed actor Leslie Goddard about her work. Here are excerpts from that interview.

PM: You write your own scripts for your historical portrayals. How do you approach research for these scripts?

LG: The research always starts with a broad survey of what has been written about this person.  But above anything else, I always want to read primary source materials—letters or diaries or interviews. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote thousands of letters, stacks of newspaper columns, and more than 25 books. So with her, the challenge was winnowing down an enormously large amount of materials. Jackie Kennedy, in contrast, guarded her privacy. She wrote no autobiography and did not keep a diary. With her, I had to seek out materials wherever I could— such as her testimony to the Warren commission, and the few interviews she granted to magazine and newspaper reporters.

PM: Do you balance between quoting directly from your subject and inventing, like an author of an historical novel?

LG: It’s always a balance between historical accuracy and drama. I have to be mindful of copyright, so if my subject’s own words are copyrighted, say, in a book she wrote, then I can’t cost-effectively use her own words. Of course an historical portrayal is always about a historical figure filtered through the actor. But always  I strive to make sure the events, the behaviors and the emotions are, as far as possible, accurate.

PM: How do you select the age for your subject/the period of her life in which she is speaking?

LG: I try to balance two things when choosing what year to set a portrayal in. First, I always try to portray the character when she was about the same age as I am, although it varies. I portray Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945, when she was in her early 60s, so I’m a bit younger at 52.  Second, I try to portray the character at a moment in her life when she’s making a tough decision.

PM: Do you select costumes that not only represent the historical era, but reveal character? Jackie Kennedy’s suit was quite different from Eleanor’s dress.

LG: Costuming is one of the toughest challenges of doing portrayals. The challenge is that you need to find items that are both historically accurate but also fit me and convey something about the character. With 20th century characters like Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy, I can often find vintage clothing that works. That’s my preference since you can find items that are historically accurate because they’re not reproductions. Jackie Kennedy wouldn’t be Jackie Kennedy without her pillbox hat and white gloves. Eleanor Roosevelt wouldn’t be Eleanor Roosevelt without a fur stole and a hat.

PM: When you put together your portrayals, how do you apply your degrees in both theater and museum studies? We’ve already discussed costumes, but voice/accents? You usually use no makeup, no wigs?

LG: It really is a complex process and all my degrees have turned out to be helpful. Jackie’s voice is a really fascinating one. It’s very much an East Coast upper-class vocal style common prior to WW II, with soft R’s so I have listened to a lot of recordings of her to try to get that down. That’s the museum studies part of me – get that historical accuracy. But it’s also a breathy, soft voice. I discovered early on that this makes it difficult for some audiences to hear and understand me so I’ve adapted it to be more audible. There’s a limit to accuracy if it interferes with audience comprehension. That’s the theater training side of it. As far as make-up goes, it depends on the setting. Most of the time, I do not wear much make-up when performing as Eleanor because it was not typical for her. I aim for natural-looking make-up when performing as Jackie, because that was typical for her. I actually tracked down one of Jackie’s favorite lipsticks and wear that, although I doubt few people would notice. I do wear a wig for Jackie because that curled bouffant look is hard to get with modern tools and my own rather thin hair. But wherever possible, I try to use my own hair because it looks more natural to me. I pin my hair up in Eleanor’s 1940s style.

PM: Do you consciously define a theme to present in your portrayals?

LG: I do. One of the things a portrayal can do that’s harder for a biography to do is to explore who this person was in terms of her personality, her emotions, what makes her human. As I mentioned, I always try to set a character at a moment in her life when she’s making a tough decision. With Eleanor, it’s whether to accept an offer to join the United Nations. With Jackie, it’s whether to stay in Washington D.C. or move to New York. And one of the things I love about Chautauqua is that when you put characters together, you start to see the things they share. Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy were very different people, but they shared many things, not least of which was a desire to ensure their husbands’ legacies and preserve a heroic public image of his administration.

Clearly the new Athens Chautauqua is again bringing exciting, educational entertainment to the community through programs the audience won’t easily forget.

You can donate  or purchase tickets ($50/person) for the fundraiser by credit card or Paypal at the website www.athenschq.org or send a check payable to Athens Chautauqua Society with your phone number and email address on the memo line or on a separate sheet of paper to

 Eleanor Roosevelt April 22 Event
Athens Chautauqua Society
P.O. Box 230
Watkinsville, GA 30677

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Patricia McAlexander taught for several years in the English component of UGA’s Division of Academic Enhancement. Now retired, she has renewed her interests in photography, journalism, and history—and in writing fiction. She has published two novels with the Wild Rose Press, and a third is forthcoming.