Judith Kalaora as Deborah Sampson – Photo Credit: Scot Langdon
History never feels more important than when you’re living it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have turned to history for reassurance that society has gotten through similar, if not worse, circumstances in the past. Judith Kalaora, founder and owner of History at Play, is on a mission to tell the untold stories of the past, and many of them inspire just the kind of strength and energy viewers need right now.
Kalaora’s journey began 15 years ago when she worked as a historical interpreter giving tours in Boston. While communicating lots of information about the city’s unique history, she always slipped in a few lines about Deborah Sampson, a Sharon, Massachusetts native, who disguised herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War. People were hooked. Every tour, without fail, there would be more questions and excitement about Sampson.
And so Kalaora created a performance as Sampson that delved further into her life and the incredible courage she had. From there, telling more unforgotten stories felt natural, and History at Play was born. “I was always very intrigued that behind every page of history, it seemed there were a thousand women who had contributed, but there were no pages to those women,” says Kalaora.
These historical interpretations are unique because they aren’t quite reenactments, but they aren’t lectures either. Now Kalaora employs a whole staff of performers, and the actors engage the audience in an interactive performance as the character they’re discussing. At the end of the performance, there’s a Q&A during which the actor answers the questions as the historical figure.
This isn’t just a product of energetic actors. Hours, days, weeks, sometimes months, or even years of research go into each performance. Kalaora and the other actors learn everything about the historical figure, the time period, and their context. They truly embody the spirit of this person. Kalaora says that she’ll often rewrite the script for the show when she portrays a character as she gets older and gains a new perspective into their experiences.
Kalaora describes History at Play’s work as “educational escapism, the opportunity to escape into a different world and not even realize that you’re learning because you’re so highly entertained.” The organization has expanded to share the stories of women in history and people of color who have been equally excluded from the record.
During COVID-19, History at Play suffered the same performance cancellations and theater closings as many arts organizations. A large part of their clientele was senior facilities, and many bookings were lost almost overnight.
In a miraculous 48-hour period, Kalaora had completely pivoted History at Play’s business model to work online. “We were being thrown into the fire in a world that didn’t exist anymore,” says Kalaora. “But we are ahead of the learning curve because we made these mistakes early on, and our Zoom presentations are much more polished because of that.”
Now, a full year into the pandemic, the company has perfected the Zoom performance in a way few others have. Evidence of this appears when Kalaora does a school performance. Forty-five minutes into an hour-long presentation, students will still be enthralled in the performance, a rare feat with school-aged children.
Options abound to support History at Play and experience that educational engagement for oneself. History at Play runs performances twice a month on a pay-what-you-can basis. They also take commissions for specific historical characters and, of course, can be hired for performances. Financial support can be provided by PayPal or History at Play’s Patreon page.
A lot has changed since Kalaora first dove into Boston’s forgotten history. But all these years later, Deborah Sampson is still her favorite character to embody. “She’s been with me for a very long time, so I feel very close to her,” says Kalaora. “I feel like she speaks through me.”
