A Man of Many Talents

G.Robin Smith  is a history scholar, author, actor, musician,  playwright, screenwriter, and educator.

Smith attended LBCC from 1973 to 1975, remembering it as "a lovely time." He was in the Swing Choir, student government as 2nd VP, and even worked at the Commuter. He recalls Bill Sweet as an adviser, Judy Green as an adviser in Student Services, and "many other kind and gifted staff, faculty and students." 

After graduating from LBCC in 1975 and from EWU in 1977, with degrees in Theater, Smith worked and toured with various theater groups before starting a Medieval hands-on education company called "A  Knight's Tour." Around 1995, Smith's wife, Cymbric Early-Smith, took over the company and expanded it's educational eras to include Ancient Mediterranean, English Renaissance, American Colonial, and American Civil War. "The company has always been hands-on and interactive in everything they teach," says Smith.

With a "lifelong admiration" of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and a passion for "hands-on history," Smith has taught in hundreds of educational institutions, giving unique, interactive performances in an art form called Chautauqua.

Smith as Benjamin Franklin

Chautauqua is a "presentational, educational tradition" that began in 1878 where performers, dressed in character, present a variety of topics or personalities and "bring them to life."

Smith performs frequently in schools, as well as in theatres, evening fundraisers, and as a keynote speaker for business meetings and conferences. He also teaches Chautauqua technique to theatre students.

He portrays characters such as William Shakespeare, Sir Alymere Gregory du Brand, and Sir Alec Guinness, but he does Ben Franklin more than anyone else. 

His act begins with being introduced as his character. Smith then comes out (usually portraying  Franklin) and presents a biography of 'his life' in the first person, focusing on the theme of the night.

After about 30-40 minutes, he takes questions from the audience for another 30 minutes or so, then breaks character, and lets the audience ask questions of him, the presenter. Then there is an open chat time after for people to just come up and speak to him one on one. His audience members range from third graders up through high schoolers, University and adults, and mixed ages, depending on the event.

He says he does occasionally get asked questions that he hasn't gotten to in his research, but that he can usually can give an answer that "fills in the blank" enough. Then he goes home and researches that one detail so he has it all nailed down for the next performance.

"There are other characters that do attract me such as John Quincy Adams, but it takes a good deal of time - and sponsorship - to bring a character to performance. So, for now, Ben is the one I usually get asked to do." says Smith.

Currently he is continuing to develop his Benjamin Franklin presentation as both an educational program and an effective fundraising tool that he says "doubles as a 'lightning rod' for starting discussions on civic responsibility and encourages collaboration between members of our government."

Raising money for non-profits has been a major focus for Smith. "In early 2012, I took back ownership of The Interactive History Company (www.InteractiveHistory.net) to make it an arm of our non-profit fundraising system." 

He has also taken on the role of General Manager and Director of The Washington Shakespeare Festival and the Skagit 'Everything Renaissance' Festival, "both start-ups with great potential." 

Smith says he would come back to Albany "at the drop of a martin-fur hat," and would love to do a mini-tour of LBCC, OSU, and some area schools and businesses, but  has no plans to visit the Willamette Valley at this time. 

 

His plans for the future include wanting to expand the use of The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (www.SOFII.org), "an international idea resource that is free to all." He is its volunteer Ambassador for Washington State. He is also the Managing Director of Shakespeare Northwest, located in Mount Vernon, WA.

Smith looks forward to advancing the Washington Shakespeare Festival into a major innovator of interactive performance and Shakespearean research. And of course, to "enjoy trying to fill in for 'Ben' in helping our world cope and to do good for my fellow creatures, as he did.

For more information on G.Robin Smith's presentation, events, characters, and causes, visit: www.ben-franklin.org