June 2012
The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa is calling all eligible applicants for the 2013 Oklahoma
Chautauqua - this year’s theme will focus on the “Roaring Twenties.”
We are celebrating 22 years providing Oklahomans the opportunity to see history come to life by way of
Chautauqua. The Oklahoma Chautauqua is the longest consecutive running Chautauqua and the largest
public humanities event in the state.
The Oklahoma Chautauqua takes place in the month of late May / June generally 3-4 weeks. Selected
scholars should have a minimum of a Masters Degree preferably in the humanities discipline.
Compensation for your character presentation is $1,200 per week, and $175 for research or costume
expenses. Scholars will be paid $500 for research, which includes a short essay to be printed in the
Chautauqua Companion Reader. One scholar will serve as moderator and will receive and additional $200
per week.
Five scholars will be chosen and if you are selected to audition, an interview in person or via phone will
be required. Selections are based on the appropriateness of the character and the interactions of the
character. Please keep in mind your historical figure should have extensive primary resource material
available for your research and preparation of character monologue.
All applications must be postmarked by July13, 2012. If you have any questions or would like to discuss
your choice of character, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you
Angela Fox, Oklahoma Chautauqua Coordinator
Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa
2210 South Main St.
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114
Email: jangiefox@yahoo.com
Voice Mail 918.549.7492
The Roaring Twenties
The United States – and the world – had survived the biggest war anyone could remember as well as the
largest pandemic in modern history. It was a time to celebrate life, and celebrate life those living in the
1920s did. The flapper redefined what it meant to be a modern woman in an age where women had the
vote for the first time. Jazz blossomed and became the sound of a decade. Art deco flourished, and oil
was king. It was a time of great prosperity, but it was also a time of intense change.
The 1920s saw great economic growth. It seemed that anything was possible through the use of
technology; automobiles, moving pictures, and radios brought a new world view, after all this Charles
Lindbergh flew to Europe – alone. It was also age that saw enormous advances in medicine with
Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin. For the first time in history, more Americans lived in towns
and cities than in the country.
It was also the first time youth in large numbers became cynical and disillusioned about the state of the
world. This Lost Generation found a home in Paris and included such writers as Ernest Hemingway, F.
Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. Back in the US, writers like Sinclair Lewis, Sherwood Anderson,
Edith Wharton, and H. L. Mencken provided social commentary in ways never before seen. The Harlem
Renaissance was in full swing led by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In addition, form
became overcame function. Art deco reigned supreme in architecture, but expressionism and surrealism
were the major artistic movements of the decade.
Dance clubs were enormously popular. The foxtrot, the waltz, the American Tango, and, of course, the
Charleston, were all the rage. Jazz played by greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Jelly Roll
Morton laid a soundtrack for the decade, which led to those years being called the Jazz Age. The 1920s
also saw the birth of the blues with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and others. In addition, country music
found a stage with the Carter Family, Jimmie Rogers, and more.
Prohibition, another defining creation of the 1920s, led to the rise of the organized mob. Al Capone,
Lucky Luciano, and other gangsters smuggled liquor for speakeasies that flourished in cities across the
country.
It was the breakout decade for sports, and probably no other athlete defined the decade more than Babe
Ruth. Ruth and Lou Gehrig laid the foundation for the New York Yankees’ dynasties that would follow.
In boxing, Joe Dempsey ruled while Knute Rockne coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to legendary
status. Red Grange was a standout as running back for the University of Illinois and later the Chicago
Bears. Bobby Jones popularized golf, and Bill Tilden dominated tennis.
This decade, these Roaring Twenties, came to a sudden halt on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the
day the stock market crashed. Suddenly, without what seemed like no warning, that grand age ended.
A decade of celebration came to a screeching halt as the country – and the world – plunged into a
depression the likes of which had never before been seen. Perhaps Edna St. Vincent Millay best
described the decade to come, when in 1920, she wrote:
My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends –
It gives a lovely light
Our goal with the 2013 Oklahoma Chautauqua is to cast a “lovely light” on that long ago decade known
as the Roaring Twenties.