1812 Productions Creates 4 Part Video 'Abe Lincoln: Behind the Speeches'

A new video mockumentary has launched today on 21stCenturyAbe.org, the Rosenbach Museum & Library's interactive website which celebrates Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday through creative interpretations of his life, work and words. Philadelphia's award-winning, all-comedy theater company, 1812 Productions, was commissioned to create "Abe Lincoln: Behind the Speeches," a 4-part video series exploring Lincoln's role as a communicator and how he might have utilized technology from the turn of the last century through the present.

Created by artistic director Jennifer Childs, "Abe Lincoln: Behind the Speeches" features characters such as Lincoln's press secretary and an overzealous Lincoln scholar, and imagines how Lincoln might have used formats like vaudeville, radio, the long-form comedy album, memoir, television, podcasts and social media.

1812 Productions also lent their skills to the 21st-Century Abe "Bobble Abe" iPhone application, which is available for free in the iTunes store. The application portrays Abe as a bobble head that users can shake and bounce, along with humorous Abe quotes as recorded by actor Nathan Holt.

21stCenturyAbe.org project artists drew from 30 Lincoln documents from the Rosenbach's collection of rare and significant Lincoln materials, such as speeches, letters and notes that range from the Baltimore Address to Lincoln's attempt to explain his family history.

1812 Productions' Jennifer Childs says, "When I first looked through the Rosenbach collection, I was interested in finding ways that Abe Lincoln was funny. Did he use humor? If so, how? What was his comedic style? I'd read articles about his storytelling and gift for mimicry, and had certainly seen comical quotes that had been attributed to him. While some of that spirit was evident in the collection, it was not the material that moved me the most. The pieces in the collection that spoke to me were his speeches - his drafts and notes. They were so eloquent and beautiful that I came away from every visit marveling at what an astonishing communicator he was and wondering what it would have been like to hear him speak."

"Abe Lincoln: Behind the Speeches" was conceived and written by Jennifer Childs and Don Montrey, with video, sound and editing by Jorge Cousineau, and photoshop work by Dave Jadico. The series features Nathan Holt, Fred Anderson, Jennifer Childs, Dave Jadico, Don Montrey, Tony Lawton, Monica Stephenson and the voices of Susie Stevens, Scott Greer, Kate Tejada and Tyler Melchior.

21stCenturyAbe.org also features the work of scholar Douglas Wilson, artist/illustrator Maira Kalman, musician Bryce Dessner of the band The National and multimedia artists Archive (Anne Walsh and Chris Kubick). The innovative website encourages visitors to use the artists' creative interpretations as inspiration, to participate in the conversation about the 16th President of the United States, view the handwritten Lincoln documents (along with transcripts) digitally, and contribute responses in words, songs, videos, photos, drawings, web links and other media.

21st-Century Abe is designed by the Philadelphia firm Night Kitchen Interactive. The project has been funded by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, through the Heritage Philadelphia Program with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. Additional support has come from the Samuel S. Fels Fund and The Raab Collection.

The Rosenbach Museum & Library seeks to inspire curiosity, inquiry and creativity by engaging broad audiences in exhibitions, programs and research based on its remarkable and expanding collections. The museum was founded by legendary book dealer A.S.W. Rosenbach and his brother and business partner Philip. With an outstanding collection of rare books, manuscripts, furniture and art, the Rosenbach is a museum and world-renowned research library, set within two historic 1865 townhouses, that reflects an age when great collectors lived among their treasures.

Artistic Director Jennifer Childs and Resident Artist Pete Pryor founded 1812 Productions in the spring of 1998 with a goal to entertain and educate audiences through comedy, and to support and hire local artists. 1812 Productions is a multiple Barrymore Award-winning theater company. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, has received multiple nominations and been awarded the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. On April 20, 2005, 1812 Productions received an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. Most recently, 1812 Productions received three Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre for its 2007-2008 season. 1812 Productions, while continually on the search for a permanent home, continues to perform at various locations in Philadelphia.

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