Columnist Susan Snyder: History takes life at Chautauqua

Tuesday, May 23, 2000 | 9:55 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Tuesdays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

In a town where fun is the hottest commodity, there's growing interest in a form of entertainment that's more than 100 years old.

No, no. Not THAT.

The third annual Las Vegas Chautauqua next month will bring residents a chance to talk with people like Geoffrey Chaucer, W.E.B. DuBois and Robert Oppenheimer.

Oh, OK. They're all dead, but that's the point. The Chautauqua brings history to life using scholars-turned-actors. They are modern versions of summer seminars popular around the turn of the century.

The first one was conducted in 1874 on the shores of New York state's Lake Chautauqua. It expanded into a traveling tent show that ignited public discussion of the latest concepts in politics, literature, science and religion.

The advent of radio and movies snuffed the Chautauqua by the 1930s. It was revived 30 years ago as a living history forum. Chautauquas are hosted in 22 states, said Clay Jenkinson, a Reno literature scholar, Chautauqua performer and artistic director for the Las Vegas event. It is an offshoot of Reno's 10-year-old Chautauqua, which is the nation's largest, drawing 1,200 people a night.

The actors give presentations as different historical figures, then answer questions. Las Vegas' event will feature people from the medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment and 20th-century periods.

Discussions can become rather touchy, depending on the character. Jenkinson has seen the Bertrand Russell presentation, scheduled here June 17. He expects some controversy. The British mathematician was an outspoken pacifist and leader in the movement to ban the atomic bomb.

"Bertrand ends with a pretty strong attack on American hypocrisy. Even the small audience we had was uneasy," Jenkinson said. "People will argue with a historical character in a way that they won't argue with a real person."

Jenkinson will portray Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, and share the stage with Russell. He chose Oppenheimer to sate a desire for learning more about quantum mechanics.

Hey, scholars have hobbies too.

Character development takes months. Actors read a dozen or more books on their characters and memorize excerpts of their writings. Jenkinson has studied Oppenheimer for a year.

"I've read 15 to 20 books on him, but I'll never know enough," the scholar said. "I'll have to refresh myself before I come to Las Vegas." Gives him a little light reading for the plane.

Actors also have to figure out how their characters think -- or thought -- so they can answer questions.

Jenkinson says people always ask Oppenheimer why both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. And they ask why its destructive capabilities didn't pique his conscience until after the Los Alamos tests. Well, don't look here for the answers. Ask him yourself.

The Las Vegas Chautauqua is June 14-17 at Summerlin's Hills Park. Each session begins at 6:30 p.m. and costs $5 per person or $15 per family. Call 895-1878.

Plan to bring a picnic and your curiosity.