Ford’s Theatre has made a commitment to increase access and inclusion to our museum and theatre. Hosting a Sensory-Friendly performance was a great way to welcome new audiences to our space in an environment designed to welcome and embrace everyone.

As Membership Manager, Diane Barber gets to see first-hand how Ford's Theatre donors connect with President Lincoln's legacy. She has found that these 10 Lincoln quotes speak to folks from across the United States.

Three years after launching our Remembering Lincoln digital collection, we share lessons learned and continuing questions about collection-building, building a refined end-product versus citizen history project, defining audiences, challenges of scale, and how this project has refined our storytelling approach.

The National Oratory Fellows program is a signature initiative of Ford’s Theatre, drawing on our institutional expertise in history, education and performing arts. It is a long-term teacher professional development program designed to build teacher capacity to use public speaking and performance as teaching strategies in middle and high school classrooms.

Ford’s Theatre is committed to hiring and featuring local actors. This allows artists the chance to explore a wide variety of material and gives audiences an opportunity to watch their favorite actors transform from role to role.

Historic sites and museums provide a wide range of professional development opportunities for teachers, especially in the summer. What do educators really want to learn? And what makes a great learning experience? From 2016 to 2018, staff from Ford’s Theatre and researchers from George Washington University are partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services to find answers to these questions.

Reflecting on two summers spent in intensive, content-rich professional development through Ford’s Theatre—as a Civil War Washington Teacher Fellow in 2014 and as a Seat of War and Peace scholar in 2015—the biggest impact on my teaching has been getting to know the ordinary: the everyday objects, spaces and moments made the Civil War era extraordinary.

In this post, eighth-grade teacher and Ford’s Oratory Fellow Giani Clarkson shares his experiences teaching the art of oratory to his students in Washington, D.C. 

This July, 72 teachers from around the United States came to Washington for the first ever Ford’s Theatre Seat of War and Peace summer teacher workshop. 

When most people think of Ford’s Theatre, they are reminded of the terrible events of April 14, 1865, when President Lincoln was assassinated here. But when Frankie Hewitt founded Ford’s Theatre Society in 1968, she ensured that vibrant, engaging live performances would return to the restored theatre.