Whales, World War II and the Gold Rush are a few of the narrative points at this year’s 21st Annual Historical Cemetery Tour, presented by the Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB) at Sunnyside Cemetery, 1095 Willow St.
Portrayals of these deceased figures provide a brief glimpse of what life was like for them— just ask Madison Mooney, who will perform for the first time and depict Amanda Neece, whose family traveled west for the Gold Rush and eventually settled south of the area in Long Beach.
“I think it’s an interesting process because we are telling history while telling a human story,” Mooney said. “So, instead of just kind of listing facts like you would read in a textbook, you get to embody a character and bring it to life, as opposed to just reading. I think it’s an interesting way to kind of tell a story, especially for Long Beach and all the interesting stories.”
Roxanne Patmor, with the board of directors at HSLB, and Kaye Briegel, treasurer, gather research and write scripts for the actors. They also determine the topics and people, to be presented at the tour, from a pool of suggestions and genealogy studies of the area.
The tour has transformed significantly since Patmor first became involved in 2004. When it first started, she said the society would clip out old obituaries from articles, and people would stand in the cemetery and read them.
Over the years, the Long Beach Playhouse offered costumes to the society for first-person storytelling. That eventually progressed to the inclusion of actors and directors.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-20-at-4.14.39-PM.png” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Elizabeth M. Desloge depicting Bessie Baxter, in her story entitled “Gone But Not Forgotten,” at the historical cemetery tour in 2015″ captionposition=”right”] Carl daSilva, director of the cemetery tour and “Fences” — a Long Beach Playhouse production due in March— compared both settings of theatre and cemetery and how they factor into the actors’ performances.
“This is in the middle of the city with cars going by and airplanes and helicopters and whatever else is going on, and the audience is just sitting there in the cemetery,” he said. “I suppose the main purpose of my presence there is to help these actors adjust and cope with all these things and do the best that they can in terms of entertaining and informing that audience.”
For Mooney, the challenge is perfecting the nuances of the Neece Family and her role of Amanda. In her preparation, she also makes an independent decision as to what type of person her historical figure really is.
In her case, Amanda is a “little feisty and a little sassy.”
“It’s kind of fun to bring that to someone you see in black-and-white photos,” she said, “and when you’re looking back at history, it always looks so stuffy and formal, but, doing this, it kind of shows the human side and the history of the city and things like that. So, I think it’s a very interesting way that this unique event gets our history out there.”
There are also times when couples play couples.
Jane and Mitchell Nunn, who are both participating at the tour for a fifth year, are tasked with telling the story of Norma and Bill Harris, a couple from World War II who eventually put on fashion shows across Southern California.
The performances come naturally for both Jane and Mitchell, the former adding how rehearsing from home provides them a great opportunity to practice the roles much more efficiently.
Two or three years ago, a curious situation presented itself for the duo, she said.
“We did a couple who were involved with the Long Beach school district, and one of them had recently died,” Jane said. “He had passed away in March that same year, and some of his children came and watched our performance a couple of times… and that was strange. Usually, the people we do have been gone for some time.”
Patmor finds the whole research process enlightening. In her studies, Patmor learned that, in the late ’20s, locals would embalm whales and put them on display on railroad cars around the country. This practice, she said, originated in Long Beach.
DaSilva also found it engaging to learn more about Long Beach, a city he said he takes pride in.
“It’s also very cool to actually be there in the actual cemetery where these people have been buried,” he said. “There’s sort of a strange connection to these lives in that way. It makes it a little more immediate— the connection— instead of just reading about this guy from long ago that you don’t know. It’s very present, it’s right there— that’s where they passed away, and this is the city they lived in. And, in some cases, they mention a store or a house on a corner of a street that you recognize, that you know, that you drive by. The whole thing is very cool. There’s some fascinating things that we are learning through this process about these people and the history.”
The Historical Society’s 21st Annual Historical Cemetery Tour will be Saturday, Oct. 29 with continuous performances from 9am to 2:40pm. Tickets are: $20 for general admission; $15 for members, $8 for those ages 5 to 18; and $1 for those ages 4 and under. Tickets can be purchased at hslb.org, and they will also be available at the door from 8:30am to noon.
