Trustee of Reservations Signs

About this time last year, I did some design work for the Trustees of Reservations. I produced files for about twenty interpretive signs that were going to be installed at various locations around the Crane Estate in Ipswich, MA. The signage was installed this spring, but I never seemed to have time to get up to the estate to take a look. Well my wife and I finally got around to traveling up to Ipswich to check them out in situ. They looked terrific. The Crane Estate is one of my all-time favorite places, and the fact that something I worked on will be part of the landscape there makes me very happy.

What I've Been Up To

Since I haven't posted since June, those of you who follow my blog may be wondering what I have been up to. I have been working on several projects including; starting a new business partnership, collateral for the Salem Theatre Company, and a logo design for a nonprofit in Lynn, MA, however, I have been too busy to post about them, because I have been very busy working for History Alive!

The author in costume at Pioneer Village

History Alive! is a public outreach program run by the Institute for Public History, a department of Gordon College, a Christian College located in Wenham, MA. They have a mandate to bring history to the public in a way that is accurate, informative and entertaining. Currently History Alive! leases and manages two properties owned by the City of Salem;
Pioneer Village, a 3-acre recreation of 1630 Salem located at Forest River Park, and the Old Town Hall, located in Derby Square in downtown Salem.

The Old Town Hall is an early 19th-century building that once housed the town's government. It now houses the Salem Museum, a chronological overview of the history of Salem, from it's founding in 1630, to the Great Fire of 1914. Upstairs is performance space for Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop, an interactive recreation of the trial of Bridget Bishop, the first woman brought to trial for witchcraft in the Witch Trials of 1692.

Pioneer Village is a full-scale replica of early Salem that was built in 1930 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Salem.
I work as both an historical interpreter and tour guide at Pioneer Village, and as a museum guide at the Old Town Hall. Working at the village requires that I dress in 17th-century Puritan clothing (linen shift, wool breeches and doublet, hose, and shoes) and explain the history, structures, food, tools, beliefs and manners of the early Puritans. I enjoy this work both because of my love for history, as well as the ability to work outdoors and interact with people of all ages from all over the world.
The Village is open to the public until the end of October, then closes for the winter, re-opening in the spring.

Filming The True 1692 at Pioneer Village

In addition to being open to the public, Pioneer Village has also served as a location for the filming of several productions including a National Geographic documentary, The PBS series We Shall Remain,
and most recently, The True 1692, a 35-minute film about the Salem Witch Trials. I was recruited along with many other local actors, including, History Alive! and Cry innocent alum.

Chambers of the Cursed cast

I am also rehearsing for a Halloween show called Chambers of the Cursed.
"Walk the dark halls of the Old Town Hall and hear the voices of Salem’s past–cursed and clamoring to be heard. Live actors and interactive media immerse you in tales of murder and betrayal, telling the story of a city still defined by its dark history."
This show is being performed at the Old Town Hall Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the last two weekends of October.
I will be back to my regular schedule of design posts by November.