4/5/07

One-woman-show combines history and performance art
By Philip Gibbons

PHILIP GIBBONS/Manning Times

With the change of a strand of beads or the donning of a hat, Carolyn Taylor, retired professor, actor and performance artist, takes on the persona of a wide variety of characters from history. Taylor presented a program at the Clarendon County Library on March 22 in recognition of Women’s History Month.

Carolyn Taylor, a resident of Lancaster, has loved the theater since grade school, and has been speaking and performing all her life. Now she has managed to combine her interests in history and the performing arts into a show of dazzling proportions.

“What I do is a series of dramatic monologues,” she said, “spoken by real historical characters, some more famous than others.”

On March 22, Taylor brought her show to the Harvin Clarendon County Library. It lasted about forty minutes. She arrived with only a minimum of supplies: a few props, some large poster boards and a simple costume designed for ease of movement and transference of personalities. Moving from character to character was as simple as putting on a set of beads or glasses, and changing her voice and word usage. Her acting ability and emotional prowess carried the rest.

“What I try to do is assume the ‘essence’ of a character, the persona of that person. It’s also about understanding the circumstances of their times, and the socioeconomic pressures on them,” Taylor said. “I like to identify with women who have had some of the same experiences that I have had, or that all women have had, such as raising your children while working, and some of the same southern experiences like working in mills. So these are the kinds of people that I do.”

The characters she performed were of all types – rich and poor, black and white. She moved from them quickly and easily, transforming without a beat from Franklin Roosevelt’s mother Sara (begging her son not to continue politics) to a poor hillbilly woman with a textile background struggling to raise her children. She also assumed the role of the first black woman ever hired by Cannon Mills, and related to the audience her experiences during the period of segregation. One of her favorite characters, unfortunately not included in Taylor’s library performance, is Mary McLeod Bethune, a black educator born near Mayesville who was a friend and advisor to President Roosevelt.

Carolyn Taylor has had much experience in the field of teaching and acting. She has performed in several outdoor theater groups, was on a local radio station for five years, taught high school history and retired as a college professor of speech and theater. She is a member of the South Carolina Humanities Council Speakers Bureau.

“They can send me anywhere in the state if I am requested, and if I choose to go,” she said.

When asked what she loved the most about the theater, she said. “It’s what a singer would tell you if he or she was performing for an audience. I like the interaction.”

Carolyn Taylor’s performances are a source of joy for her, but they also serve the purpose of enlightening her audience. It’s a necessity that comes from her background in teaching history and being an educator.

“I’m doing what I love to do, but I’m also doing something to bring a little bit of history and understanding of women— mainly Southern women— to my audience.”