Lady Carolyn

Roaring into the 1920's - Barnstormers to Bootleggers

2012-02-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

Another fun program! I love working with the National Automobile Museum. Their programs are historical and make for an interesting afternoon. Any historical program they organize is a fantastic event to receive CEU's if you are an educator. This event is Barnstormers to Bootleggers. Now on to pulling this together with power point, music, dancing, and costumes. We have a lot to do! This is Interpretation at it's best with some of Lauren's costumes.

Synopsis for National Automobile Museum symposium
program, March 29, with Lauren, American Duchess

The Bee’s Knees and theCat’s Meow, Fashionistas 1920’s Style

The 1920's - a time that is often referred to as the"Roaring Twenties" - a boisterous period characterized by rapidlychanging lifestyles, financial excesses, and the fast pace of technologicalprogress.

A new woman evolved in the twenties, redefiningwomanhood. It was more acceptable for her to smoke and drink in public, wear shorterhair styles and make-up, and skimpy and shorter dresses. There was also a greater participation in theworkforce because the new woman of the '20s wanted to work, not because she hadto. This all contributed to the newbreed of woman in the twenties.

Fashion also kept up with the fast pace of change in the20’s. It was the beginning of a new era offashion freedom for women. Women would shed the confining corsets and multi underlayers of foundation garments of the teen’s to the minimal under garments thatproduced the boyish silhouette that so stylizes the twenties. Men on the otherhand would settle into the silhouette of the three piece suit that is still theepitome of proper business attire today.

The “little black dress,” has its birth in the twentiesand still survives today as a fashion necessity, with plenty of accessories, theticket to being fashionable in the twenties. And the flapper dress, what wasthat and who wore it? The proper namesof clothes to have in your closet in 1921 were: the one piece coat dress, thewaist line dress, the tuxedo-scarf dress, the long waist dress, a Kimono Waist-LineDress, and a tunic dress, quite different from today's typical jeans andt-shirts.

During this presentation, we will move through thisdecade of fashion, and explore these fashions as they interact with society. From the Speakeasy to the lawn party, dancingthe Charleston or the Foxtrot, listening to Jazz, the Devil’s music, and dealingwith that inconvenient Prohibition, we will look how fashion collided withdaily life, the night life, and the law.

Some originals fashionswill be displayed and fashions will be modeled of the twenties.

National Automobile Museum

2012-02-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

Finally down loaded 350 pictures of the camera. This project was last summer. The National Automobile Museum the Harrah's Collection wanted a model for a photo shoot for Horseless Carriage Magazine. "No problem" says I, as the back of my brain is quickly going through my stash. They wanted 1904, that meant "pouter pigeon" look. I found a material in my stash that mimicked a crepe. The color is a little brighter than the mauve, pinkish color the magazines of the time talked about, but I thought I could make it work.

The very modern hat from Dillard's and the illustrations of what I needed to turn this hat into.

I liked the clam shell effect in the books - so I tried it on this

Front clam shell

Mimic of the clam shell in back, I did add more feathers a couple of months ago hang down across the back.

sorta my base - needed that fullness in the back and flatter front.

Cutting out the mock up on material

Mock up - trying to get drape and flat front panel

flat front panel - lace over lay is some old curtains in stash

messing around with drape in back

Figuring out some type of decoration with use of some old flat lace

Blouse was off of a wedding pattern

Deer in the head light look - but the "pouter pigeon" is there

They do wrap covers - the little boy was a cutie

Contest - Me, History & Interpretation - Winner

2012-01-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month and nearly a week and half of that month vegging in the eastern Caribbean, aboard a cruise ship since I announced the contest. My brain is functioning again. If there is one thing I've learned in branding or logos, words are tools and use them wisely. Everyone relates, interprets words according to their own historical use of a particular word.

Thank you, thank you for all the suggestions I had via postings, email and facebook.

I've been back over all the suggestions and plugged them into the logo and put them into a power point slide. I will use the slide at the beginning of each presentation, when I tell who I am, my "expertise", what the subject is today, etc.

I then took several of the suggestions/tag lines and mixed them with each others. I'm leaning toward these two. Remember that Lady Carolyn is in Red right above this line. So Lady Carolyn.....

          Brings History's Lesser Known (Tidbits) to Life
                                                                 Past
                                                               Stories


          Brings Lesser Known Historical (Tidbits) to Life
                                                                 Past
                                                                Stories

A couple people (Vicky, Maridy) suggested Tidbits - I like the word, but would it turn off the male population? is it connotations-- delicate? dainty? Dictionary and thesaurus -"a tiny morsel of food or a pleasing bit of anything, as news or gossip". Girls gossip!This word my be to feminine.

The word Past, everyone enjoys the past. Everyone you meet you want to know about their past or facts of their life, we're curious about them. Past is much better word we relate to than facts. Do you say "Tell me about the (facts, past) of your life". You may not be that direct on a first date, but you will find out their past. Facts- accurate word but seems dull. Facts and History is what everyone avoided in high school.

Stories, everyone enjoys a good story. No one suggested this word, it actually came to me while I was typing this up. As an interpreter we are taught that Stories can create an emotional bond which can tie us to the past or history.

As much as I personally love the word tidbits I think I'll have to past on this one. If I only spoke to women this would be such a lovely word to use. Women relate to tidbits in food, you know, you'll only take a little bit of that delicious dessert. What woman doesn't love a pleasing bit of news or gossip? And tidbits of history would wet their appetite for some juicy morsel of information about someone or something.

"Past" doesn't seem to have a zing to it, but stories could be exciting to settle down and hear about. Uumm may I be as good a story teller of history that matches the level of my historical costuming! Now that could be a scary thought, not living up to the costumes.

So.....

Lady Carolyn, Brings History's Lesser Known Stories to Life

Lady Carolyn, Brings History's Lesser Known Past to Life

Lady Carolyn, Brings History's Lesser Known Tidbits to Life -rats! I like, but no - don't think I can unless I get an overwhelming "yes use it"

Lady Carolyn, Brings Lesser Known Historical Stories to Life

Give me some feed back and then I'm done!And then to pick a winner of the slogan, that may have to be one or two, as I pirated part of their words, Maridy and Vicky.

Beginning to get brain dead again and I need to order a corset pattern, I HAVE to get busy on my Titanic era gown.

Interview and Interviewed with Sixth Star

2012-01-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I was in Florida last week to catch theship Celebrity Eclipse for a cruise and to speak aboard ship. Sometimes I don’t knowwhether to say I was speaking, doing a presentation, a show or wrap it alltogether into edutainment. I did receivesome wonderful feedback from Maria, the Activity Director on board. I’m unique, out of the box! Those of you whoknow me might say, “oh, she’s different alright” J She would love to have me book several back toback runs. What a nice complement!

But on to Sixth Star. Our ship left port on Saturday, January 14^th. To catch a shipback east, you have to fly in the day before due to the time changes, whichwould put the date for flying on Friday the 13^th. My dear husbanddoes have a bit of superstition in him, no flying on Friday the 13^th. So we flew in on Thursday. We had a free dayFriday so I made arrangements to meet with Sixth Star for information on theircompany. They in turn were interested inme as a speaker.

I met with Doug Jones, president of Sixth Star Entertainmentand Marketing. Doug is a high energy, inspirationalguy. You can definitely feel his edutainment, entertaining type of back ground. He started out in the late 1970’s in theindustry with the Royal Viking line. He then worked his way up through thecruise industry in various positions, but always in the sector of entertainmentaboard ships. This guy knows the “in’s and out’s” aspects of the entertainmentend of cruise lines. This backgroundgave him the ability to be the first to set up a company that would providespeakers aboard ships. He has been so successful in this endeavor that he nowis doing events on land for clients in the corporate or private sector whowants quality entertainment or props, e.g., conferences, trade shows or privateparties.

There are about six-or-so booking agencies for speakers oncruise ships, I asked Doug what he thought made Sixth Star distinctive, different,stand out from the others.

Ø Sheer Volume Bookings– They do about 90% of thebookings on several cruise lines. This sheer volume has forced them to fine tunetheir bookings and communication process between them, the cruise lines andthose they place on the ships, which has promoted a working relationship that allenjoy.

Ø Sheer Volume People – Their data bank of BridgeDirectors, Ballroom Dance Instructors, Destination & Special Interest Speakers,Distinguished Gents, Arts and Crafts Instructors and Specialty Artists (Face Painters,Balloon Twisters, Silhouette Artist, etc.) has allowed them to match peoplewith ships needs. They have had very few to no complaints about the speakersthey recommend to go aboard. Doug could not even remember the last time theyhad a complaint.

Ø Vetting Process – this seemed to be a stellar component to his company. His group finds qualified peopleand works with them to be successful. The dialog between the Sixth Star staff and a prospective speaker/person is to tweak their skills for ships. This dialog seems to bea main ingredient of success for Sixth Star and the person being placed.

Ø Instruction Manual and Port Information Sheet –He spent considerable time and energy to answer many questions ahead of time inthe Instruction Manual. Port Information Sheet, even speakers from otheragencies will look at his Port Information sheet to answer their questions about port, i.e., how farfrom airport to ship, address of port, different ways to get to port.

Doug did state they are always looking for persons who cando the enrichment speakers series. Destination speakers are always in highdemand. He compared his company to a casting agency for cable TV, as you know cableTV broadcast shows that several years ago would never have been accepted by themajor TV stations. Now people demand cable as much as they demand the major TVstations. Sixth Star is always looking for people who can speak to the interestof the people as much as the cable TV looks for that niche of people. Who would have thought food or crime investigationwould have such a devout group of followers.

I asked Doug what was the number one attribute they looked for.He had one word, actually he had two words. The number one thing is ADAPTABLE,not only in tweaking your skills for the cruise lines, but sometimes you needto roll with the punches aboard ship and be a team player. His other word, don’tlet the word Prickly end up in your data base.

If you think you might like to work with Sixth Star, http://sixthstar.com/ thefirst step is to fill out an application. If they feelyou have some skills they can work with the dialog will start.

As I left Sixth Star the logo and theme for AllstateInsurance came to mind “you’re in good hands with Sixth Star”.

Parlez-vous Destination, Enrichment on les Cruise Lines?

2012-01-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

Article 5 – Passion! It’s the sweetstuff that should be driving yourpersonal life,your career and speaking on cruise ships. Passion may be thelast principle of Beck and Cable in their book, Interpretation for the 21^st Century, but if thisguideline is not present your audience will know. I think passion should be oneof the cornerstones of your abilities for interpretation. Beck and Cable list three areas one must bepassionate about: the resource, the people and inspiring others.

The Resource

· You must loveyour subject! Audiences will forgive acouple of slides in a power point out of order as long as they know you arepassionate about your subject. Now this is not a license to put together a poorpresentation, but passion has to be the basis you build on. If you are usingyour subject matter as a means to cruise but don’t love your subject it willshow in your presentation. You can expect the passengers to rate you asmediocre and you may not be asked back again to be a speaker on that cruiseline. Yes, the passengers are asked to rate all aspects of their cruisingexperience and the Enrichment program is part of that experience. If you are passionate, love your subject,good news travels fast on a ship and you can expect a good number at yourpresentations.

· Part of the resource for speakers on cruiseships, is the ship itself and the company it represents. Cruising does offer an excellent way totravel and take a vacation, but you represent the cruise lines. You are not anemployee and you are not staff, but you do have full passenger status. Consider yourself an ambassador, you arethere to do a job – you were hired on to enhance the experience of thepassengers. Do your research on the cruise line you are representing. What type of passengers generally sail withthem, what age bracket are they, what do they expect of the speaker? Look atthe ship’s excursions, the lay out of the ship; it will give you a feel for thetype of passengers they are catering to. Try to have an affinity or love forcruising. If you have never cruised before and not sure if cruising is for you,at least have a love of travel and people.

The People

Tilden states in Interpreting our Heritage, wemust be in love. Tilden considered love, a “priceless ingredient” Not a mushy love,but a love of our audience and our resource, this type of love is considered abrotherly love for our audience. The Greeks call this love, agape (ah-gah-pey).

· The cruise linehad an interest in your subject and that is why you were brought on board. Youmay have great knowledge about your presentations, but chances are there may bea few passengers on board who know more about the arts, science or history thatcoincides with your talk. If they share with you, embrace them as one you canglean nuggets of information from. This means you must be humble about yoursubject and love your fellow passenger’s insights.

· There is acertain amount of notoriety being the speaker on the cruise ship. You maybecome a mini-celebrity. People may seek you out for comments, conversation andcompany. If you love your subject you will enjoy sharing your knowledge withothers. Some cruise lines expect more visibility as aspeaker. Some expect you be a host at a dinner table; be available at a“coffee” time to interact on a casual basis with passengers. Other cruise linesexpect nothing more than doing the presentations. You need to be a peopleperson and love the passengers, their comments, their questions and theircuriosity. Please do not become a borewhen visiting with others. Remember as soon as you leave the ship yourmini-celebrity status evaporates around your family and colleges and your 15minutes of fame is gone and forgotten.

InspiringOthers

Through the love of yoursubject you could be the spark that ignites passengers to delve more into yoursubject. You will be influencing those in audience, for good or a ho hum drumway. You will be introducing passengers to something you love. Yourinterpretation of your subject will inspire those to learn more or to visit a historicalstructure when they go ashore. The cruise lines are looking for you to inspireor enrich the passenger’s experience. When passengers book on to a cruise it isgenerally to escape the cares of the world they left ashore. If they choose tocome to your presentation and did not go to Bingo, dance class or sit aroundthe pool they are looking to be inspired, enriched and to some degree,entertained. If you are passionate about your subject you will be interesting,sometimes witty, engaging and naturally inspiring. You will love people andpeople will love you.

The following quote sumsup what love and passion should be. As a speaker, I now cringe at the image ofgongs and cymbals. Check your agape meter; it’s a dose of reality that shouldadd some humility to your life.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, butdidn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. I Cor.13:1

Anchors Away! Interpretative Cruising, Jan 14-21, 2012

2012-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Eclipse

In ten days we take off for Florida, to sail away on Celebrity Eclipse. I always choose the Caribbean in Jan or Feb to take a cruise. The holidays are over, but cold weather is still hanging around Reno and I'm always hankering for spring.

The Interpretation talks for this cruise are:

Cruising the Caribbean, Board the Banana Boat via the early 1900’sLearn what early cruising was like in the early 1900’swith the United Fruit Company who was the dominate "cruise" company to the Caribbean. (This is a fun one, I love doing this one)

Pirate Speak - Thou yeasty mammet! What say ye a curse to the spouse or aboon to the boss? We will learn phrases, facts and lore of the pirate.Handouts (informative and lots of trivia)

The Cruising Victorian Lady Bustles,hoops, cotton, silk, velvet, 27 lbs of clothing? 17-18 layers and accouterments?Could they travel in those things? See it layer by layer (the flagship show, I've been doing for years)

Life was Not Sweet on the Caribbean Sugar Routes A look at the Triangle Trade Route of Slaves and Sugarthroughout the Caribbean. (Sad commentary on part of history)

Musings - Me, History & Interpretation & Contest

2012-01-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

It's the New Year, the beginning of 2012. I am feeling that Lady Carolyn needs a shot of adrenaline. I've been tossing around some ideals in my head. Before attending the NAI training at the end of October I knew what I did, but the explaining of that was..well.. sometimes a little cloudy. I've know what my forte is, but putting that into a logo or a one sentence could be difficult at best. "Brings History to Life" is on my business card, which is an accurate statement, but history is not always a big earth shattering historical moment. The big wheel in history would be what you can put your finger on and say that person or event changed the course of history. I bring to life, the little bits or a little cog in the wheels of history. Sometimes my stories are a by-product of what was happening at the time the big wheel was the topic of conversation. My little cogs of information supported the big wheel and kept it turning, it may be if that little clog had not been there, the big event may not have happened.

Over the weekend I've been playing around with a new business card, logo concept. Maybe changing the web site to reflect more accurately what I do. I'm not 100% satisfied yet, especially with the "Bringing the Little Cogs of History to Life". As my dear husband said "What's that? What does that mean?" so then "Bringing the Little Things of the Past to Life" seems better.

I seem to be brain dead working on this and it's only January 2, 2012 there's 363 days left to be energized. If you can think of a one liner to put here, it would be much appreciated and a Starbucks gift card will be coming your way.

The Story!!

2011-12-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

If you have been through NAI training you know the story is the connection between you and the audience. I received this video from a friend, as it finished I thought "Boy, if I can tell a believable story as well as this fellow, Tilden & Mills would be proud" especially when I'm doing first person! The last line on the screen is the clincher!

Parlez-vous Destination, Enrichment on les Cruise Lines?

2011-12-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

Article 4 - InterpretingFacts Creates an Emotional Bond.

To spark an interest, interpretersmust relate the subject to the lives of the people in their audience. Beck and Cable 2002, principle one, Interpretation for the 21^stCentury

Tildenstated “interpretation is relation”. When a good speaker creates an emotionalconnection it will cause people to act upon the information shared. It will cause a response of astonishment,wonder, inspiration or action.

The cruiselines books three types of people for their enrichment programs. They aredestination speakers, special interest speakers and those who can do arts andcrafts.

Thedestination speaker is not bound to only the one particular spot the ship maybe in port next but the geographical area the ship is traveling through. Whatvast resources of these areas are available for you to connect to youraudience? Consider Venice, Italy, renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. Can you tie the art of the Venetianpainters when docked at Venice to your audience today that creates an emotionalbond, a bond that goes beyond you? Can you start the process of thinking aboutsupporting the arts, to visit the various arts not only in Venice, but thegeographical region they hale from? “A great Venetian painter, Titian, wasknown as the fleshly painter for the beautiful portraits he painted during the1500’s.” This factual statement is a recital of facts; it is informational inliterature or a presentational power point of the painters of Venice. However if you were to state, “A greatVenetian painter, Titian, was known as the fleshly painter for the beautifulportraits he painted during the 1500’s but even he had to “delete” his portraitof Isabella d’Este and start all over again. Ahhh the vanities of women whoview a picture they think unflattering of themselves.” Now you have everyone’sattention, probably everyone in the audience has had to deal with someonewanting a picture deleted they think is unflattering. You just made a connectionfrom the past to the present. You related the subject to the lives of thepeople in the audience; this is the spark in the first principle of Beck andCable. Now when using your power pointand you show Titian’s portrait of a woman painted 40 years younger than whatshe was, it is personally intriguing. An audience member may feel the need toview this portrait and others in Venice. For the cruise lines this means booking anexcursion to see the paintings in Venice. Interpretation on destinations is more thandates, who did what and a list of what there is to see or names of trees, plantsor animals of the area.

The specialinterest speaker finds himself in the role of interpreting the interest of hisfield, to set forth the meaning of the information that connects to theaudience. If your specialty is movie stars or stars of universe how does goodinterpretation connect to your audience? How do you make that emotional bond?Interpretation is about connections from the past to the future, from currentand past information to connections to themselves. Do they see themselvesrepeating the mistakes or emulating the good qualities of the movie stars? Dothe stars of the night sky connect to their view of order in the universe? Asense of connection is critical in interpretation; otherwise you are a dry textbook reciting facts.

Arts andcrafts are charged with the same edicts of interpretation. They should be ableto combine a physical activity with an emotional tie in. For the cruise linesthe bonus would be tying a craft to the maritime, geographical, culturalhistory, art or science of the area. Yourcrafts must create an appreciation for history, the arts or science. Researchsuggests that people learn through their five senses: sight, 75%; hearing, 13%;touch, 6%; taste, 3%; smell, 3%. Definitely the interpreter doing arts andcrafts has the advantage for passengers retaining information using the sight,hearing, and touch, they will retain 94% of what they learned and had fun doingso. Our brain will appreciate a physical activity combined with facts and thecruise lines will appreciate you.

As apresenter you are the catalyst, the person responsible cause a spark. Tildenstated this as one of his first principles “Any interpretation that does notsomehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within thepersonality or experience of the visitor will be sterile” And who wants asterile presentation? Certainly not the cruise lines!

Anotherguideline in the next posting! For more information on interpretation I would encourageyou to check out National Assoication of Interpretation. For information on the nuts and bolts of howto begin speaking on cruise ships I would refer you to Daniel Hall’s, Speakers Cruise Free Program. Daniel's program does cost to join but Daniel’s programwill get you on the ships; NAI will keep you on the ships as a successfulspeaker/interpreter.As far as I know Daniel Hall's program isthe only agency that has a program you must go through or it is best to go throughto be considered for speaking on cruise ships. They will work with placingyou on board a ship. There are otherplacement agencies; Compass Speakersand Entertainment, Inc. , Sixth Star Entertainment and Marketing http://www.sixthstar.com/, Tim Castle, trac@nyc.rr.com and To Sea with Z . I mention all of theseagencies (there may be more) for you to check out the opportunities with each company, however thereare cruise lines that will allow you to book directly with them. There arecertain protocols one must observe to do direct booking. If interested in cruising or would like moreinformation feel free to contact me. Carolyn@LadyCarolyn.com. The bottom line though, you need NAI typeof skills to be successful.

Interpretive Posing

2011-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I find models for the Nevada Museum of Art class Historical Costume Painting and Drawing. In this class I pose models such as you might find if you were to time travel to the past. Imagine Rex, our mountain man, sitting on a stump around a campfire. Each student is free to draw/paint the entire model, 3/4 pose, head or focus on an accessory the model may carry with them. I have been fortunate and blessed that each model is particular with their entire ensemble from head to toe, to be as historically accurate as possible. We ended a six week class on Monday. We start again on February 7 - March 13, 2012, Tuesdays. If interested in being a model contact me at carolyn@ladycarolyn.com and I will give you the particulars. My thanks to all who modeled this time, you're the best.

Rex

Rex did a fabulous job as a Mountain Man. I've seen him sitting in an encampment at Rendezvous in Carson City. Rex also teaches at the Nevada Museum of Art. I noticed on the schedule for this next session he is teaching two classes, Mask Making and Cartooning. This is a man of many talents!

Erika is in a Renaissance gown, mid-1500's. In most classes there are at least five students, sometimes eight, once there was about ten. Modeling for such a small group makes it easier to get to know the artist.

Erika costume for this evening was mid 1800's, she calls this one her Dickens outfit. She a beautiful gal and lovely to paint or draw.

Lisa was the model for this session. She is in an Edwardian ensemble. Her daughter tagged along with her that evening and drew a picture of her mother! She did a fine job!

This picture reminds me of an old stereoscope card.

Me, Carolyn in 1920, a relaxed pose with legs crossed. Definitely not an appropriate pose before the 1920's.

Paintings are not like film, I always tell Daniel, the artist of this painting and one above he often captures the look of my Grandmother on my father's side. I see the genes in the eyes and jaw, cheek. It reminds me of the old saying, "Mirrow Mirrow on the wall, I am my grandmother afterall"

Parlez-vous Destination, Enrichment on les Cruise Lines?

2011-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

Article3 – History of Interpretation Beforewe jump into a discussion on guidelines of interpretation maybe we should lookat the history of this fascinating profession.

Long before the National Park Service(NPS) was born in 1916 interpretation was sought out by the public and theywere willing to pay for that service.This was the case at Yellowstone and Yosemite, long before they became nationalparks. Military troops had responsibility for protecting the land. A few troopsfound themselves in the position of interpreting these sites to visitors.However not everyone was as conscience in sharing their information as thetroops. Some stagecoach drivers and“guides” at the hotels told clients all manner of stories hoping for good tips.Interchange Cruise Lines with Yellowstone or Yosemite and it is easy tounderstand that National Parks Service, cruise lines and other entitiesappreciate professional, ethical guidelines or principles.

The National Park Service (NPS) isfirst recognize as the entity that sought to find common guidelines orprinciples which could be taught to rangers in the field who were impartinginformation to the public. What NPS discovered in the 1950’s were some rangerswere great in engaging the public, other rangers left people yawning andleaving the campfire and park tours. Freeman Tilden was hired by NPS to find thecommon denominators of interpretation that could be taught to rangers. He visitedscores of national parks. He visited state parks and private historical areas.He visited living history or craft demonstration areas such as ColonialWilliamsburg. He engaged in discussions with those who interpreted their sitesfor the public. He gave interpretative talks. He looked at brochures, signs,and displays to find common principles among the written and spoken word. He pondered what the guiding principles forinterpreting information were. In 1957 he wrote Interpreting Our Heritage. He found six principles that an interpretermust use when sharing information with an audience. These six principles havestood the test of time. In 2002 Larry Back and Ted Cable expanded on these six principlesinto fifteen when they wrote Interpretationfor the 21^st Century.

The art of interpretation is now usedby those involved in the interpretation of natural and cultural resources insettings such as parks, zoos, museums, nature centers, aquariums, botanical gardens,historical sites, historical societies, corporations and cruise ships.

A professional organization, National Association for Interpretation (NAI), with over 5,000 members, has variouslevels of training for those interested in this profession. At one time there was a cruise line that onlywould hire those trained by NAI for their programs aboard their ships. Thiscruise line is no longer around, although they did realize the need forspeakers who could connect information to their audience using the interpretiveguidelines.

The same principles NAI promotes arethe same the principles that the cruise lines expect. However unlike the cruise line that discovered CertifiedInterpretive Guides or speakers, most cruise lines are not aware of a programthat would enhance their speaker programs. You have the advantage of learningthese principle and guidelines and putting them into practice to help secureyour place as a speaker on various cruise lines.

In the next postings we will look at a couple of Beck and Cables fifteen principles and how they applyto cruise lines.

Parlez-vous Destination, Enrichment on les Cruise Lines?

2011-12-05T22:43:00.001-08:00

Article 2 - The “Art” of Interpretation Interpretationis an art, which combines many arts, whether the materials presented arescientific, historical or architectural. Any art is to some degree teachable. FreemanTilden

Interpretationgoes beyond talking about your subject it is the story of your subject. The artof interpretation is weaving words, props and technology into a finelychoreographed dance that captures the emotions and connects people to the subject.

You may havebeen to a party where new guests start sharing information of their travels andhistorical tidbits with wit and charm. They used great descriptive verbiage,pictures and mimicking that you found yourself wanting to go see “the tough guymonkey in Costa Rica on the stone bridge that was hand built by the natives inthe 1883, in which there is much local pride. This tough little guy is tearing the stones out of this historical relicto throw at you.”

You enjoyedyourself so much you found the time flew by and it was later than usual whenyou left. What an enjoyable evening, what an entertaining couple with theirstories. You learned some interesting facts; the evening was a pleasant surprise.

This shouldbe how guests feel when they walk out of your presentation. What a pleasant surprise!Yes, they have been to other presentations on the various cruise lines as theytravel. The talks are usually informative. But the person who was sharinginformation today made them welcome from the moment they walked in. Thepresenter was witty and engaging, his talk and slides followed in great orderand he knew how to make the power point compliment his presentation. Thepassengers not only gathered facts, they found themselves wanting to see thissite and its connections to humanity. It was pleasurable and they look forwardto the next presentation.

This is whatit is all about folks. This is the type of speaker the cruises are looking for.It’s not the fact that you may or may not have degrees after your name. Yes youknow your subject matter but can you interpret yourinformation where it connects history, cultural sites, science, and the arts withthe individuals in the audience? Can you make an emotional bond? Can you do thechoreograph dance? This is interpretation at its best. Destination, enrichment speakers and evenarts and crafts can forge this bond. If you make that emotionalconnection, by the artful way you do your presentation, your audience will havea pleasurable experience, which makes happy cruisers, which make happy cruiselines. This is the beginning of the principles for interpretation. Beck andCable call it a Spark. The next postings explore these guidelines and principles.

Parlez-vous Destination, Enrichment on les Cruise Lines?

2011-11-22T20:09:00.001-08:00

Article 1 - Are you an Interpreter? Not one who interprets one language into another, but one who interprets facts for others’ enjoyment, adding value to their day.

The profession of interpretation has long been a function of museums, art, archaeological or natural resources. Interpretation of history, cultural sites, science, and the arts is now a profession of cruise lines.

You must bring history, art and science alive with information or interpretation that stimulates and satisfies people. This mind set goes way beyond relating facts.

In 1920 Enos Mills wrote the training guide, The Adventures of a Nature Guide. Enos Mills owned a resort in Colorado on the edge of public land that is now Rocky Mountain National Park. He guided his guests on hikes through the country of the Rocky Mountains. He told stories of the animals and plants they saw along the way. His stories or “lectures” around the lodge fireplace connected the people to his home in the mountains. Enos Mills did what we as speakers aboard the cruise ships should strive to do: weave a story that connects us to the resource, cultural site, history or science.

It would behoove all those known as presenters or speakers on cruise ships to take on this cloak of interpretation. The passengers are spending their leisure time on cruises to learn new facts, see new sites and participate on a historical tour in port. Passengers will spend their time and money to do so. They also come to listen to a presenter or speaker. Why? They get benefits. They value that benefit or experience. They come voluntarily! Hopefully the process of gaining knowledge is an enjoyable one. Pleasant experiences make life more enjoyable. Translate that into pleasant experiences make happy cruisers, which make happy cruise lines, which makes awesome opportunities for interpreters of the enrichment programs. You are signed on to enrich the cruise experience. Interpreters seek to enrich experiences. They add value to leisure time and recreational activity (Knudson, Cable, Beck, Interpretation for the 21st Century, 2003)

Freeman Tilden, one the groundbreakers in the area of interpretation stated: Information as such, is not interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information. They are entirely different things. However, all interpretation includes information… Information is the raw material of interpretation. (Interpreting Our Heritage, 1967)

Information is the ethical, professional part of your presentation, but interpretation is the art of adding value to passenger’s leisure time. The art of interpretation will be explored in the next posting.

Titian's La Bella

2011-11-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

On November 11, at noon. I will be speaking on Textiles and Costumes of the Italian Renaissance. This is the Art Bites Program, sponsored in part by Nevada Humanities. Paige Mattern and Sara Carpenter will be modeling the difference between European and Italian gowns. For more information and tickets ($5.00) contact Nevada Museum of Art

BIG Pouffy Chicken Wire Wedding Dress

2011-11-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

What happens when you take 1/2 in plywood, chicken wire, bar stool and a used wedding dress? You end up with a product that a client asked you to build. At the end of September Shirley Lockett contacted me. She was interested in trying to build a prop for her Bridal & Beauty Show produced by the Lockett Corporation. When we met at Starbucks she showed me a 4x6 promotion card of the inspiration piece. That started the creative juices flowing. As you can see in the pictures below the process I used to build the set for her.

Shirley wanted the piece in the top right hand corner.

Shirley sent me a photo of the finished set for Bridal & Beauty Show

I used zip ties to secure the chicken wire to the plywood platform

still putting on zip ties

Dress I found at a thrift store

Shirley like the Phantom of the Opera theme -- I already had this mask fr another event

I made a gold forepart and lace overlay. All the pieces and parts were attached with ribbon

Me and the finished product. Wish the ladder was showing. Shirley is to send me a picture of the gal who actually was in this contraption at the show.

Well what do you think? Did I come close to the inspiration design?

Titian's La Bella

2011-10-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful how the Nevada Museum of Art is billing Titian's painting of La Bella.

La Bella is in town for only 58 days. She came from Italy to visit three museums in the US,

Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth, Museum of Art in Reno and Portland Art Museum in Oregon.

I was asked by the museum to present a program on Nov 11 regarding the costume and textiles behind the painting of La Bella. I am honored to be part of this program that is being produced in part by Arte Italia and the museum. I will be in costume of the Renaissance time period, but I will be bringing in Paige Mattern who will be in a Western European costume of 1535 (La Bella was painted in 1536) she has that wonder Gable Hood headdress of the Tudor time period. Sara, my granddaughter, will be in a Italian 1530's by looking at Paige and Sara side by side you will be able to see the different silhouettes of Western Europe and Italy. If interested in attending this program click on link.

Nevada Museum of Art -- Art Bites

After restoration the brilliancy the painting is astounding. I would encourage everyone to go see her, where else in the US can you stand 3 feet from a relic of 1536.

Event Tickets for Lady Carolyn on Textiles and Costumes of the Italian Renaissance - Friday Nov 11, 2011 / 12:00 pm-12:30 pm

Carolyn Runnells a.k.a. “Lady Carolyn” designs, makes, and interprets period costumes. Join the Museum for this special opportunity to learn about the extraordinary textiles and costumes of the Italian Renaissance.

Art Bites in 2011 are made possible, in part, by a grant from Nevada Humanities.

Nevada Museum of Art

2011-10-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

In August the teacher for the class at the Nevada Museum of Art asked that I provide models again for his Historical Costume Drawing Class. They are starting another 4/6 week class in Nov. Below is the link to the museum if interested in taking the class.

Class for Nevada Museum of Art

The models for this class was Liza, her daughter Anna and Rick.

Fun Event, June 26, 2011, KNPB Reno

2011-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Reno's weather can be sketchy at best, but on Jun 26 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon our public broadcasting station KNPB held an Afternoon Tea & Lawn Party on the grounds of a historic home. The historic property is now home to a landscaping/greenhouse/nursery. As you can image with these credentials the grounds are beautiful.

KNPB's theme was Downton Abbey, with actors from the local Nevada Shakespeare Company playing principle characters as they wondered through the guests.

Three of us from the GBCS (Great Basin Costume Society) took advantage of an opportunity to dress Edwardian and enjoy the activities.

A few days later, my monthly newletter from KNPB came via email. There was a report on the Afternoon Tea and Garden Party with a video attached. So posted below you will see that viedo and pictures from the Tea.

http://http//www.knpb.org/support-knpb/member-events/afternoon-tea

Carolyn Runnells (that would be me) Lauren Reeser, Lisa Fisher

Carolyn

Carolyn

Lauren and Lisa

The Duchess - she was a hoot

Rest of cast from Downton Abbey

Nevada Museum of Art

2011-07-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Below you will find the rest of the models from the last session that ended June 27th. We start the next session on July 18th, ends August 22

Dana --- Annie get your gun! Dana reminds me of Phoebe Ann Mosey otherwise known as Annie Oakley. This type of painting would be from late 1800's to early 1900's.

Sharron, beautiful in her Victorian Bustle. These paintings are reminiscent of several 1800's paintings.

Carolyn (that would be ME) in 1940's . I felt like I was at the station waiting on the train. It never did come so I left after 3 hours of waiting...oh wait I mean posing!

Tim -- is that Sir Francis Walsingham? Tim protrays Walsingham along with a other characters at Renaissance Faires and other events. Such stately portraits.

New Project

2011-06-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

I been wanting to make a late 1700's gown for several years now. I bought this material in LA last year after Costume College. I finally got around to making it - not only did I get the ensemble done, but I made my first corset! Welllll I did "make" a Ren corset years ago, it was so awful I never used it. I used JP Ryan's patterns for the corset and the Robe a l'Anglaise. I'm not super enthused with the hat, but it will work for now.

Models for the Nevada Museum of Art

2011-05-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

Our Edgar Degas Ballerina

Mary

Steampunkie Elizabeth

Open House Nevada Museum of Art

2011-05-24T23:03:00.001-07:00

The Museum had an Open House of the various classes that the museum offers to the public. I had the wonderful opportunity to model and be painted by Ron Spears

Cain's Crossing

2011-05-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of May was Cain's Crossing Ren Faire. Ashley Deering also modeled for the Nevada Museum of Art. Her portrait was presented to her at court. Hopefully it will help her find a husband, well a husband for her at fair.

Ashley's portrait painted at the Nevada Museum of Art Modeling Classpainted by Ron Spears

Bre learning to play a little harp

Thanking the Queen

Ashley (Lady Elizabeth) receiving her portrait fr QE I

Queen's Court and presentation of Ashley's portrait

Beautiful and Fair Virgin Bre

Getting ready for procession

Nevada Museum of Art

2011-04-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Below are pictures from the last two sessions at the Nevada Museum of Art. Everyone did a fantastic job. The students and teacher appreciate all the different eras and attention to detail of the ensembles. We will be starting a new session May 16th for six weeks. If anyone has a desire to model contact me. carolyn@ladycarolyn.com

Ashley

Fairlane

Warren

Breana

Doc

March Activites

2011-03-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Nevada Museum of Art This month we started another set of classes, 4 weeks this time. This month we had Steampunk, 1912 and Japan visit the art room. Next week will be Renaissance.

Women's History Month

March is also known as Women's History month. I was honored to give two presentations this month. The first presentation was at Zephyr Books where I portrayed Alice V. Boswell when she went to the Panama Canal to establish the General Federation of Women's Clubs. The second presentation was Undressing the Edwardian Woman for the Great Basin Costume Society. The pictures below are from that event.

Cruising Again

2011-02-17T18:38:00.001-08:00

On Feb 3rd I received an email calling for a speaker aboard the Mercury, a ship of the Celebrity Cruise Lines. I responded, they accepted and 18 hrs later David (son) and I were flying to Baltimore to cruise to the Bahamas on a 9 day cruise. What a furious 14 hours I had, that left 4 hours of sleep, but knew I could sleep on the plane.

Not only did I have to pack mundane (normal) clothes for cruising, but had to pull 4 ensembles together for 4 edutainment presentation and a formal night. Plus two midnight runs to Walmart for some clothes for David. I can't believe that I didn't forget anything!

Below is our ship the Mercury and pictures of my presentations/shows. It's not all work, David and I rode Segways, deep sea fishing and road a scooter all over Nassau and the island. Of course work is a relative term, 4 one hour presentations and a cruise for free for David and I.

Nevada Museum of Art

2011-01-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

Wayyyyy back in August or beginning or September I saw an advertisement in a Nevada Museum of Art brochure advertising a Life Modeling Class with models in historical costumes. I thought this would be an interesting fun gig to do, so I called and volunteered to model. The teacher was out of the country but they would take my name, number and pass it on to him. Time passed, I forgot I had volunteered, then a phone call came from Jerry Stinson, teacher of the class. He called me at the end of October or beginning November, asked me questions regarding my costumes and I shared my enthusiasm for costuming. Actually I was a chatty Cathy.

He came out the next day, looked at my wardrobe room and we talked about a schedule. I shared with him pictures of other costumers and their ensembles and then before I knew it I was volunteering to set a schedule for him of various models from different time frames, genders, body types. What I thought would be a fun interesting gig has turned into so much more than a lark. The intensity of the students concentration in the class room is almost tangible. Out of my association with Jerry, his students and the work they do has grown a tremendous amount of respect for their hard work. The first class session was six weeks, we are now on a four week class session.

Below some of the pictures I have listed the artist web site or email. Take a look at their wonderful work.

pilatesperry@gamil.com

bhowisbrand@gmail.com

lboyart.com

ronspears.blogspot.com

helzersketch.blogspot.com

Opps forgot Fantasies in Chocolate

2011-01-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

In November my friend, Erika Peckingham, and I went to Fantasies in Chocolate. The theme was "Fire and Ice".

Sept through Dec, 2010

2011-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Riding the Stream of Life seems to be the mode that I was in September through December. You know how it is, you just get busy with Life and don't do the little things that need to be done. For me this would be setting down and posting on the blog. I posted pictures and information about the events I've been involved, starting with December and going back to September. I forgot that the blogger loads the pictures backwards from what you upload them.

December:

I helped my step-son, David, with a project for his English Class. A couple of English classes combined together to do a study on the Victorian time period. The students broke into small groups. Each group had to choose a part of the Victorian time period and do a report. They set up tables in the main hallway of Damonte High School to display their reports. Examples of some of the study groups were: education, crime and punishment, entertainment, music, art, etc. David volunteered he and three of his buddies for Victorian clothing. He figured this would be an easy A with my help. This was a senior class project and I was not about to let my clothes out of sight with four 17 yr. old boys at school. I volunteered to go along, which filled their requirement for female clothing and one of the boys dressed as a female. Yep, silly boys, now you know why I insisted on going. They also needed to showcase children's clothes. That was easy to fulfill also. We had my 5 yr old granddaughter along. Sara (g'daughter and David's neice) was a chick magnet for David. With David walking around in his Victorian Cutaway and Sara hanging on his arm in children's Victorian clothing saying, "Uncle David, Uncle David. . ". All the girls were hitting on David, "Oh David, she's soooo cute". Needless to say the group received and A++.

Damonte Ranch High School Victorian Days---and yes the "girl" in the gray dress is a boy. Pictured below Sara, David, Jake, Trevor, Brandon

The girl in the late 1800's swim suit borrowed it from my closet for her display.

One of the fun groups I belong to went to the Salvation army to sing Christmas Carols as they handed out gifts of toys to the families. We may have not sounded that great, but we sure looked great! We then went to the mall in costume to Starbucks for a cup of Christmas Cheer and "figgy pudding".

Great Basin Costume Society at the Salvation Army and Meadowood Mall and Starbucks.

September Through November

I had three History Undressed shows during these months. The Friends of the Library, city of Colfax, City of Reno's Seniors Program and the National Auto Museum, Harrah's Collection. Great groups all of them and thoroughly enjoyed performing for all.

I also worked with the Foothills Church of Christ for a fundraiser for Village of Hope, Ghana, Africa. I did a program, Womanly Arts, that had tableaux of woman through the ages doing various arts.

These pictures are the program at the Foothills Church of Christ Fundraiser.

Pictures from Friends of the Colfax Library fundraiser. I took the motor home over and used it as a dressing room to dress the ladies who volunteered for the fashion show.

Costume College 2010

2010-08-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

There were a few shows in June and July for the tour industry, but the first weekend in August was a feeding frenzy for the costumer's soul. Every year in southern California the Costumers Guild West holds the annual Costume College, over 120 classes from historical to Sci Fi. Posted below are a few of the costumes that were wondering the halls.

Cain's Crossing Renaissance Faire

2010-05-14T06:31:00.001-07:00

I was asked to be Queen for Cain's Crossing. The Lady who usually does Queen had some surgery and was not quite up to the task. She was at fair, but being Queen and "on" all the time can take a toll on the body physically.

One of the hardest parts of being Queen and and staying in character is not being able to do any thing for yourself.

I did archery and actually hit the bull's eye on the second shot. I thought I had better quit while I was ahead.

National Auto Museum 4/22/10

2010-04-24T19:16:00.002-07:00

What fun today! I worked with Harrah's National Automobile Museum on a skit for one of their inservice programs. Lady Carolyn was the Ladies Maid today.

2010-03-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

The Carolyn Dummy or a Dress Form fitted to Carolyn's Body

Last Friday, two friends, Jennie and Paige did a paper tape fitting of my body. Jennie learned this technique last year at Costume College.

The first thing I did was go to the thrift store and bought a really fitted, umm tight, turtle neck and wore a pair of leggings. Jennie said make sure it covers my upper arms and up toward my neck. I would have wet paper tape all over the shirt and it would be cut off of me.

Jennie laying on layers of tape.

Things can get a little friendly at times and if you didn't know your taper well before the fitting, you will by the end when they poke and push in certain places.

With the wet paper tape it can get wet and damp. It feels lovely to have the blow dryer on ya to dry it out some.

After 2-3 layers Jennie is cutting me out. Notice how she is cutting in a zig zag pattern. This makes it easy to tape it back together by matching up the points.

After I was cut out of the tape we hung the form over a form to dry out before pulling back together and taping.

2010-03-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

Another School Event - Auburn, CA

Today I went and played with my Renaissance guild at a school event in Auburn, CA. It has been a year since I have been able to meet with this group and I realized how much I enjoy them and the world of sharing and teaching.

2010-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Event on March 4, 2010
Kanen Tours, San Jose

What a beautiful place to enjoy Spring! Kanen Tours held their event at a center just a little south of San Jose.

These three ladies came in their Victorian finest. We had a little improv fashion show for the guests and all enjoyed their spirited enthusiasm.

The mansion is beautifully decorated. It is also a Bed and Breakfast.

Outside of the B&B and Event Center

The Luncheon was held on the back patio over looking the valley with spring erupting all over.

The views of the green velvet hills.

2010-03-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Event on March 3, 2010

On March 3rd, the Silver Legacy wanted a presentation that would incorporate San Francisco and the Reno area. They had several people coming over on the Snow Train who would be interested in someone who had connections to both areas who might have made it big though the gold rush of 1849. Voila - The Mackays. I also will present the same program on the 10th for another group coming on the Snow Train.

2010-02-28T15:09:00.000-08:00

GBCS --- that stands for Great Basin Costume Society!!!!

There's a new group in town, the GBCS. Lauren Reeser who has moved here from the bay area was pinning away to play. So she and her mother put together the format for this new group. All are welcome to play at all events or whatever event catches your fancy!

Here are a few pictures of the group that met today. My apoligies to Paige, who sat on my right and to Shirley, who was on my left, and Tiffany across from me and the other little gal and Biddy who seemed to play musical chairs and I never caught her in a seat to get a pic! I never left my seat until the end to take pictures of the group around the table and missed these ladies.

GRRRRRR I had names beside each pic, but the blogger thingy was putting names where ever and when ever it wanted on the page - so here are just the pics, sans names.

History Classes in Washoe Co School District

2010-02-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity six times to teach a few classes to some history classes, Jr High and High School

Cruising in Dec. Part 2

2010-02-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

Scott joined me for the second half of the cruise. It was our honeymoon time along with me "working". Doing presentations on cruise ships I do not count as work!!

Scott and I at one of the formal nights. Scott was fabulous about "dressing up"

The photographer keep calling Scott "Mr. President"

Scott and I on one of the Port Days - this was in Guatemala.

Cruising in Dec. Part 1

2010-02-28T14:00:00.001-08:00

My new sis-in-law went with me on this cruise. What a blast we had!

In one of the many lounges on the cruise ship after a presentation.

There is something about cruising in the sun and sand that just doesn't jive with Christmas.

Wedding Bells!

2010-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is a picture taken on the cruise ship in the same outfits we were married in. Gatsby all the way!

This is the view from a 3 yr old with a camera. Sara took lots of pics of the wedding, of course she always looking
up!

Our beautiful wedding cake, make by Shaine, new step-daughter! Our wedding day is also Scott's birthday so she made his favorite cake.

Wow Time has Flownnnn!

2010-02-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Since the last post there has been several events. In Sept of 09 was another cruise. This cruise was to Alaska. What a beautiful country!
Getting dressesd for a presentation -- "Pack yer bags mother! We're off to the Gold Fields"

My Daughter and I in England, Scotland and one day in Paris!

2009-08-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

After the transatlantic trip I stay an extra two weeks in England. My daughter Maridy flew in to meet me and we had a wonderful trip seeing the sights of England and Scotland.

I think one of my most memorable experiences was the few days we spent in Derbyshire. Maridy found an awesome B&B, Sheriff's Lodge. The innkeepers, Alan and Kate, were people after my own heart. We had many of the same interest. Alan arranged for us to dress in 1500's ensembles and visit Haddon Hall. The home of the Duke of Rutland. I actually play the part of the Dowager Countess of Rutland, Bridget Manners at various Renaissance fairs. Alan and Kate, also encouraged us to dress Vicorian and attend a four mill where they were celebrating Victiorian Days. I even dressed Kate's mom who is my size in the same ensemble I wore to the mill and she went back to the mill and enjoyed herself as a Victorian lady.

Below are some of the pictures from the Derbyshire area.

This guy and his "monkey" were lots of fun.

Kate's mom in my Victorian ensemble.

Maridy, Kate's Mom, and I in the garden.

Maridy at Haddon Hall working in the kitchen like a good servant!

Looking out a window where how many have looked out since 1550?

The family chapel.

WOW 4 months since last post!!

2009-08-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

My life has certainly moved at a fast past in the past 4 month! The past 4 months has included:

1. a wonderful two week cruise
2. two weeks in England
3. a mom with a broken hip and rehab
4. buying a house
5. moving
6. dating a wonderful man

The activities that took the most time was taking care of my mom and moving. I have WAY too much stuff! But I did thin it out some.

Below you will find some of pictures of the tansatlantic cruise and pictures of Lady Carolyn doing her thing aboard ship. My sister in law, Annie, went with me on this trip and we had a wonderful time.

France, the flowers, the pastries, the eating outdoors!!

Ireland, BEAUTIFUL!

The Azores - beautiful country!

The Bahamas - getting around on a scooter!!

Lady Carolyn after one her presentations!

A full house!!

Voyager of the Seas

2009-04-04T19:51:00.001-07:00

Two weeks from today (4-4-09) I will be leaving to board this beautiful ship for a two weeks on a transatlantic cruise, Galveston, TX to South Hampton, England. I will be presenting 9 shows/presentations for the nine sea days of a 14 day trip. You want to know the best part? I'll be cruising free! Yep you heard right-- free for me and a companion, who happens to be my sis in law! Then my daughter is flying into London and we will spend two fast filled weeks in the UK Would you like to know how to cruise for free? Check out Daniel's Halls site it will tell you everything you need to know to get on a ship for free!
http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cmd.php?af=890103

Kerosense Cowboys

2009-03-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

What a fast pasted 5 days this has been. The casting agency that I work with, Integrity Casting, was called to provide extras and Production Assistants for a production company that blew into Northern NV. Name of the movie that is being produced is Kerosene Cowboys, with Mario Van Peebles and Bill Pullman. I was on location for three days either as a PA/wrangler or an extra. Long hours, but entertaining! Below is a few shots of talent that we had to find for one scene.

Roland and Bill Pullman

Randy Arrington (writer of the book) and Phil

Bill Pullman and Tonya

Phil and Roland

RED CARPET ETIQUETTE

2009-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, 2/07/09, Maridy (my daughter) and I taught a class on etiquette to aspiring talent for the film industry. Integrity Casting hired us to teach & coach talent who will be needing all the skills they can use in various situations they will be exposed to in the film industry. This could be on set, a gala event, a "go see" or for an audition. Yeah for the auditions! First we taught the men, there are things that the men need to know about the world of etiquette that are independent of the females and the same goes for the females. Therefore the second half of the class was just for the females.

Maridy and Mack unpacking the all important mirror so you can see what you REALLY look like

Maridy teaching the gentlemen.

Carolyn getting ready to expound up the importance of table manners -umm very useful with your agent or a scene in a dining establishment.

Carolyn teaching something, however those shoes sure match her sweater and I think the Wicked Witch of the West would be jealous.

Cruising Through Panama -- LA to Dominican Republic

2009-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

What an absolute fabulous time! My brother and I left on Jan 4, 2009 for a two week cruise. Royal Caribbean hired me to come aboard and do my shows/presentations Bringing History to Life for the various ports of call we would be stopping to visit or countries we would pass through. I did five presentations wearing costumes from the 1500's to early 1900's depending upon the history that was being presented. I also had costumes for three formal nights.

For the first time out of doing this type of venue it went well. Just like any dress rehearsal or opening night of a show there are a few things I will tweak for the next cruise, but overall I was pleased. I was prepared for seven topics. I was to do six, but because of scheduling regarding going through the canal I did five presentations.

My brother, bless his heart, is great when it came to taking a bijillion great pictures of the countryside, but pictures of me doing the presentations well I'll let you be the judge of his expertise of inside shots or night shots. To say the least they ___________ (you fill in the blank)

My thanks to my sister-in-law, Annie, for letting my brother go with me. We laughed and talked like we were kids again! But Annie will have her revenge for her lonely time at home when she travels with me on the Alaska cruise this September and John stays home.

By the way if any of you have a skill, expertise or passion that you could present on a cruise ship, check out this link to Daniel Hall's site. You and a partner can cruise free--yes that word was FREE! This is how I got started and if you follow his directions it's a no brainer!
http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cmd.php?af=890103

At the airport getting ready to fly to LA. I had to wear part of the pirate costume down, to cut down on overweight charges. I did have to pay for one bag. A couple of people wanted to know if I was German.

So what do you do with your hats in a small cabin? You can't leave them in the trunk as you need the floor space and the trunk is stored under the bed and hard to get to.Thank goodness I had
safety pins with me ( what good costumer does not?) and I pinned them to the valance in the room.

For those of you in the Greater Bay Costumers Guild, these are the only decent pictures I have of the swim suit. The others taken at the pool party at night on board the ship did not turn out. (my brother's photo abilities) By the way getting out of a pool with no steps, just a ladder is a very interesting situation. That suit is HEAVY!

Two of the formal nights on board ship. Everyone loved my brother in his top hat!

The following pictures are of the presentations throughout the two weeks. As you can tell my brother, again bless his little heart, needs some camera lessons. Oh well we had the grandest time and I would take him again camera abilities and all.

The Cruising Edwardian Female

The 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition

Maria Colon or Columbus, daughter-in-law to Christopher Columbus, who lived in the Dominican Republic

Crossing the Isthmus of Panama before the Canal

1 1/2 Weeks Till Cruise Date

2008-12-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

See this ship going through the Panama Canal, it's the Vision of the Seas. I, well Lady Carolyn will be sailing with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines presenting her Edutainment series aboard this ship for a free cruise! Yep you read right a free cruise,-- welllll. . . I am under contract to provide 7 talks/shows/presentations in exchange for the cruise. So that's 7 hours of doing something I love in order to have a free cruise for my brother and I for 14 days. Oh am I lovin' life, ---out of Reno, 23 degrees, snow and off to Panama! All of this is mine and yours if you have a passion you would like to share with others. I just followed Daniel Hall's recommendations on how to cruise free and so can you! Just click the link to find out more and Happy Cruising, wait-- this is almost Christmas Eve --- Happy Christmas and Happy Cruising, what a wonderful Christmas present to myself and to you.
http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cmd.php?af=890103

Dickens Fair, Dec 6, 2008

2008-12-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

What's like a stage set for the general public? Where can you dress in your finest mid 1800's ensembles and walk the streets of London? Where can you see and chat with all your favorite Dickens characters? Where can you set and have a cuppa when your tired and so badly want to put your feet up? Where can you dance all day long with accomplished dance partners who teach and lead you through all the basics? There's only one place that I know of and that is the Dickens Fair, in the Cow Palace in Daley City, CA. Now some would say that the Cow Palace is in San Francisco, but I have a friend who will correct me every time if I say the wrong city. I love this place!

This year my whole family went, plus a family friend. We took the 34' RV over, stayed in an RV park a couple of miles from the Cow Palace on Friday night. On Saturday morning we drove over to the Cow Palace early went to the back of the parking lot where we could take up space and put the RV slide out for more room. Nine people in an RV and several of them females need hoop room! Plus two of the boys are in wheelchairs and my mom has her scooter. WHEW! Oh did I mention the two dogs and three other people met us at the RV to get dress also? We got the first set of people dressed and threw them out doors and barred the door. Thank goodness San Francisco was fairly warm that morning! As you can see by the pictures below we had a grand time. Getting some of the hoops out of the way by hanging them off the RV mirror!

Josh, one of the first group kicked out of the RV waiting... and waiting... and waiting!
Hurry up Bethany (fiance)!

Lovely Katie

Me in the Green, Katie in Riding Habit, Sara (the littlest one), Maridy in the back
All of were in the costume contest.
Maridy won best overall!!

Ta Da!!!! Lovely Maridy and her Award Winning Ensemble

Joe (son in law) and Sara (granddaughter)

Josh and Bethany dancing!

Victorian Tea and Lady Carolyn

2008-11-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Nov 8, 2208 the Foothills Church of Christ, Reno, NV had a fundraiser for the Village of Hope, in Ghana, Africa. The ladies decorated the tables and room where the tea was held with a Christmas theme. They even had a lovely Victorian store where guests could do some early Christmas shopping.

There were several guests who wore their Victorian or Edwardian ensembles. Everyone was so lovely I decided to include them in a small fashion show before my presentation. One guest told two of my models they looked liked they had "been plucked from a photo of the time period" What a lovely compliment to the ladies and the ensembles themselves.

Beautiful Danae
A few beautiful ladies of our group

Standing in line Renaissance and Victorian Time period

Ummm Tea is hot, but good

Edwardian time period standing line

Somewhere in Time
Victorian, Edwardian and Hollywood's version of Prairie life

Proper ladies and the hussy, my do they look like they are trying to ignore her?

Marilyn Monroe, Melissa Gilbert, Natalie Portman and Sean Connery Visit Integrity Casting

2008-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

Marilyn bussing Larry Elliot

Marilyn with Melissa Gilbert

Marilyn huggin up the other musician

Toni Suttie with Rick Veldstra

Natalie making music

Integrity Casting, Reno Office, had an open house at their new location in Reno or technically the town of Sparks. What fun to play Marilyn and interact with Katie Mattison who played Natalie Portman, Lindsey Berg as Melissa Gilbert and Jack Davis as Sean Connery.

The open house was a great success and in a beautiful office building. Integrity Casting is a licensed casting agency, in Nevada for film, commercial and print. Toni Suttie, the casting agent, is. . . well there are many adjectives to describe Toni, fun, beautiful, great heart, conscientious and has integrity, which in the film industry can be rare to find at times. Here are some great pictures of this event.

Nevada Day Parade Nov 1, 1008

2008-11-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

Nevada is one of the few state in the union that celebrates our becoming a state. We entered the union on Oct 31, 1864 and in this era we celebrate with many festivities. One event is a parade in Carson City, our state capitol. ( we also get the day off of work and out of school).

I've included information taken from the Nevada Day Web site.

The 2008 Nevada Day Theme is
Hollywood in Nevada - Movies and Television

The 2008 theme brings together all the gilt and glamour of Hollywood within our state. 2008 will mark one hundred and eleven years of movie making in Nevada, which all started in 1897 when a film was made documenting the heavyweight prizefight between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and British challenger Bob Fitzsimmons. Hollywood has been no stranger in Nevada. Over the 50 plus years of the television industry, our state has played host to numerous TV shows filmed in Las Vegas and Reno. CSI Las Vegas and Reno 911 are just two examples of TV shows currently on the television fall and spring lineup.

The history of the movie industry within Nevada dates back as long as there was film in the camera. Many people are not familiar with Nevada's extensive movie resume. Just a few of the movies filmed in Nevada are The Misfits, staring Clark Gable, Marilynn Monroe and Eli Wallach. Academy Award winning film Leaving Las Vegas. To name a few more: Charlie Varrick, Sister Act, Mars Attacks, Pink Cadillac, Honkytonk Man, Vegas, The Godfather, Oceans 11, Misery. The Shootist Staring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall and many, many others!

Over Hundred years of movies in Nevada is quite an accomplishment and is something to celebrate. It was a perfect theme for the Reno Film Festival to enter a float into the parade.

On the float was the director, cameraman, clapper, and the "star" Charlie Chaplin. Walking along side of the float was several "stars" greeting guests along the parade route.

Maridy Carpenter who was the star Debra Kerr from the "King and I" did an awesome picture gallery of the real stars and our stars. Take a look at her site.

http://yesteryearproductions.blogspot.com/2008/11/nevada-day-parade-nov-1-2008.html

In the pictures below, you will see a few people getting the float ready for the parade and "stars" getting ready in the dressing room, also known as a motor home.

City of Reno, Senior Citzens

2008-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, April 17, 2008, I had 24 senior citizens from the City of Reno come by my house for a little talk from "Louise Mackay" before they headed up to Virginia City to visit for the day. They were a lovely group.

more pics Goldfield

2008-04-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

From the next few pictures you can see that Goldfield in nearly a ghost town, once a thriving town of 20,000 people, now about 240. They have a sense of humor in town the lady in the window is a mannequin. BUT the last picture is of a saloon/bar that was redone with a new restaurant in the back. What at find in Goldfield, off Rt 95 a couple of blocks. We also stayed a new hotel, the Santa Fe on 5th Street at the end of town. It had only 5 rooms, but they were wonderfully clean and big rooms. It's style was a lot like the new saloon. LC

The Great Race, Goldfield, NV

2008-04-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

On March 22, 2008, I traveled to Tonopah and Goldfield, NV to be with the towns as they celebrated the cars coming through town on their way to Paris. You will find some wonderful pictures of this event with part of the townspeople dressed for the occasion. What fun doing the Genteel Disrobe for them in the 1908 format. ----I may have to load pictures in a couple of blogs to get them all in. LC

2008-04-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

SNCAT a local television show did an interview with Louise Mackay today at the Studio. What fun!! I must say that I think that Louise did a good job. I will soon have a copy of the interview for sale, it will be a 30 minute DVD. LC

Louise Mackay

2008-04-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

On April 1, 08 I had the opportunity present a Chautauqua of Louise Mackay. For those of you who are wondering Chautauqua?? it is a first person presentation of the individual you are portraying, you become that person for 30-40 minutes, answer questions for 15 min in first person, then answer questions as yourself about the person you portrayed. Now that we have the Chautauqua question cleared up, who was Louise Mackay? Louise was married to John Mackay, one of the Silver Kings from Virginia City. He and his partners hit the big bonanza of silver mining in the 1870's and became one of the richest men in the world. John's job was to master the business world and Louise's job was to master the wealth that would open doors of society for her children. Louise lived in New York as a child, grew up in a mining town in California, gain wealth in Virginia City, lived in San Francisco, then lived abroad for more than 40 years off the wealth of the Comstock mines. She became on of the most important and respected hostesses of Paris and London in the late 1870-the early 1900's. Above are a couple pictures of "Louise" (me) in a gown of 1886 at the height of her popularity. LC

National Automobile Museum

2008-03-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

On Feb 12, 2008 the National Automobile asked me to created a version of the Genteel Disrobe in 1908 format. The museum has the Thomas Flyer in their collection. This car won the 1908 New York to Paris race. Feb 12 was the 100 year anniversary of the beginning of the race, the museum had a Bon Voyage party to celebrate. These pictures are of the original car (mud and all) and the ensemble for the show.

High Tea in San Francisco

2008-02-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

I and three other ladies went to San Francisco for this on Feb. 9, 2008. Here are a few pictures of the event. Any chance to dress and be a part of History is fun!

One of the ladies--my beautiful daughter

Frankie looks like an old world painting

All four of us at the B&B

2008-02-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

We are still working on the web site! We have changed the format, but more will be work to be done. This is just the beginning. I'm changing the focus from clothing/fashion to a historical approach of the types of edutainment I do.