OPAS Education & Outreach

Barry Stewart Mann
Peace Pipes & Talking Leaves: Cherokee Leaders and Lore

November 16, 2010

Festival Hall:
Greensboro Elementary School
Union Point Elementary
Nathaneal Greene Academy Elementary
Lake Oconee Academy

The Plaza Arts Center:
Putnam County Primary School
Gatewood Elementary School
Redeemer Episcopal Academy


On Tuesday, November 16^th, the Oconee Performing Arts Society (OPAS) presented

Barry Stewart Mann in Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves: Cherokee Leaders and Lore

to students in grades K-5 from both Greene and Putnam County. The day began with two
 
back to back performances at Festival Hall in downtown Greensboro for students from

Greensboro Elementary School, Union Point Elementary, Nathaneal Greene Academy and
 
Lake Oconee Academy. The afternoon session took place at The Plaza Arts Center in

downtown Eatonton with another two back to back programs for students of Putnam County Primary School, Gatewood and
 
Redeemer Episcopal Academy.

 

Barry Stewart Mann is one of the many artists available through Young Audiences,

Woodruff Arts Center. He is an actor, storyteller, writer and educator who has taught and
 
performed around the country.  He holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and an
 
M.F.A. in Drama from the University of San Diego.  Barry is a member of the Alliance
 
Theatre Acting Faculty, the Residency roster of the Georgia Council for the Arts, the
 
Southern Order of Storytellers, and the National Storytelling Network.  He has performed

across the country, with San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Florida Shakespeare
 
Festival, the New York Renaissance Festival, and Arkansas Rep; and, locally, with Theatrical Outfit, Theatre Emory, Horizon
 
Theatre, Jomandi Productions, ART Station, and the Atlanta Shakespeare Company at the New American Shakespeare Tavern.

His life partner, Sheri Mann Stewart, is a direct descendant of Nanye-hi, and together they have explored her Cherokee heritage.

 

Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves: Cherokee Leaders and Lore gave students a fascinating glimpse into Cherokee culture,
 
historical figures, and folklore.  Barry Stewart Mann portrayed Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee syllabary; Tsiyu Gansi-ni
 
(Dragging Canoe), a famed warrior; and, through a life-sized puppet, Nanye-hi (Nancy Ward), a Beloved Woman.  These

characters in turn related details of their pivotal lives, as well as sharing customs and stories of their people.  Sequoyah

recounted the Cherokee creation narrative and the tale of how White People got books and Indians got bows and arrows,

introduced the seven clans of Cherokee society (with striking gourd masks and the help of volunteer 'clan leaders'), and described

his creation of the Cherokee syllabary.
 

 

Nanye-hi (Nancy Ward), the Beloved Woman of the Cherokee, told the story of Ataga-hi, the enchanted lake, described the

Green Corn ceremony with volunteer 'dancers', and recounted her historic pleas for peace. 

 

Tsiyu Gansi-ni told the tale of the Animals' Ballgame, engaged students in a simulation of
 
Cherokee stickball, and passionately explained why he saw no other option but war. 

Throughout, the program was filled with colorful authentic-styled costumes, masks, props,

puppetry, and audience interaction; and it concluded with a fun choral leave-taking in the

Cherokee language.

 

OPAS would like to thank Festival Hall and The Plaza Arts Center for donating the use of their theatres. A special thanks to the

Plum Creek Foundation for their generous support which made this program possible.

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