Dale 's profile
I create and direct compelling and provocative historical performances for museums that bring to life conflicts and complex issues from the past. I call these works “plays of conscience” because they feature real people and issues from history that help contemporary audiences understand controversial and sensitive issues that are relevant today.
These engaging and historically accurate re-enactments resonate deeply with audiences, and have produced meaningful follow up discussions among visitors. Using characters to portray powerful issues from the past helps contemporary audiences better understand the difficult issues we face in the present.
I started promoting museum performance as a teaching tool when I joined the Baltimore City Life Museums. Over 10,000 visitors experienced the historical plays that were produced and performed there for more than a decade.
I have since scripted and directed live theatre productions at museums across the country as a free-lance consultant. Live performance can have a lasting impact on an audience, and is an effective way to present controversial and sensitive topics. This is why I have dedicated much of my efforts to writing “plays of conscience.”
Many projects have focused on the lives and struggles of African Americans (“George Mason: a Legacy” at Gunston Hall; “Taste of Freedom: Black Sailors in the War of 1812 at the Maryland Historical Society; “Citizens at a Crossroads” at Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg; and “The Choice: Risking Your Life for Freedom” at Historic Sotterley Plantation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.)
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC hired me to write and direct The Value of Life, a play that explores how German citizens lost their values during Nazi Germany’s euthanasia programs. This provocative play has been performed nearly 150 times for over 7,000 visitors at the Holocaust Memorial and as part of a traveling exhibit to the Science Museum of Minnesota.
I wrote and directed a production for the Maryland Historical Society on Francis Scott Key and the events that inspired him to write the national anthem. I also co-produced, scripted and directed the Maryland Historical Players, who performed in special exhibits on the Civil War and the War of 1812 at the Maryland Historical Society.
I have produced historical performances for a variety of other sites and organizations, including the Jewish Museum of Maryland, Fort Delaware State Park, Baltimore Bicentennial Commission, Conner Prairie Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, Mystic Seaport Museum, Historic Spanish Point, Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the Pleasant Company and its American Girl Dolls.
I am past president of the International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL) and have been a long-time advocate for using theatre and historical performances in museums. I remain committed to the powerful value of using plays of conscience to help museum visitors make meaningful connections with the past to better understand controversial and sensitive issues in the present.
Dale Jones, makinghistoryconnections.com.
These engaging and historically accurate re-enactments resonate deeply with audiences, and have produced meaningful follow up discussions among visitors. Using characters to portray powerful issues from the past helps contemporary audiences better understand the difficult issues we face in the present.
I started promoting museum performance as a teaching tool when I joined the Baltimore City Life Museums. Over 10,000 visitors experienced the historical plays that were produced and performed there for more than a decade.
I have since scripted and directed live theatre productions at museums across the country as a free-lance consultant. Live performance can have a lasting impact on an audience, and is an effective way to present controversial and sensitive topics. This is why I have dedicated much of my efforts to writing “plays of conscience.”
Many projects have focused on the lives and struggles of African Americans (“George Mason: a Legacy” at Gunston Hall; “Taste of Freedom: Black Sailors in the War of 1812 at the Maryland Historical Society; “Citizens at a Crossroads” at Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg; and “The Choice: Risking Your Life for Freedom” at Historic Sotterley Plantation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.)
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC hired me to write and direct The Value of Life, a play that explores how German citizens lost their values during Nazi Germany’s euthanasia programs. This provocative play has been performed nearly 150 times for over 7,000 visitors at the Holocaust Memorial and as part of a traveling exhibit to the Science Museum of Minnesota.
I wrote and directed a production for the Maryland Historical Society on Francis Scott Key and the events that inspired him to write the national anthem. I also co-produced, scripted and directed the Maryland Historical Players, who performed in special exhibits on the Civil War and the War of 1812 at the Maryland Historical Society.
I have produced historical performances for a variety of other sites and organizations, including the Jewish Museum of Maryland, Fort Delaware State Park, Baltimore Bicentennial Commission, Conner Prairie Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, Mystic Seaport Museum, Historic Spanish Point, Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the Pleasant Company and its American Girl Dolls.
I am past president of the International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL) and have been a long-time advocate for using theatre and historical performances in museums. I remain committed to the powerful value of using plays of conscience to help museum visitors make meaningful connections with the past to better understand controversial and sensitive issues in the present.
Dale Jones, makinghistoryconnections.com.
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