Getting Ready to Act Out Some High Drama on the Upper Chesapeake, During Two War of 1812 Historical Theatre Productions

This photograph is from a reenactment of the British plundering of Havre de Grace.

The Friends of Kent County, Maryland War of 1812 committee is working on staging two interesting original plays, as the bicentennial celebration of British attacks on the Upper Chesapeake gets into high gear.  These productions will draw on the county’s history during these dangerous times as they present high historical drama along the Sassafras River in 1813.

:The Burning of Georgetown” and Kitty Knight” kicks off the performance season.  It is the dramatic story of how Kitty Knight saved the Pearce House from the enemy torch during the burning of Georgetown on May 6, 1813.  The second show, “Mitchell Becomes a Prisoner,” acts out the story of the British plundering of the plantation of Joseph Thomas Mitchell on Sept. 8, 1813.  On that day, a raiding party of marines and sailors stormed onto Kent soil and plundered the farm, even shooting Mitchell’s horses.

The committee has been working to develop scripts of these two pivotal events in this region and will start auditions as a cast of 31 actors and re-enactors are needed for the productions, according to the Chestertown Spy.  Click here to read the full story in the Spy.  It’s going to be a jammed packed spring and summer for some lively, engaging history programs around the region this spring and summer.  We’ll look forward to seeing these fascinating portrayals.