Washington, D.C. – Ford’s Theatre announced the launch of Lincoln’s Great Words Challenge, June 8 to July 31, 2020—an eight-week online oratory challenge exploring Abraham Lincoln’s speeches. The challenge features weekly hour-long workshops via Zoom exploring the text of Abraham Lincoln’s public addresses and his oratorical delivery while also providing public-speaking training to improve participants’ skills. The challenge includes an opportunity for participants to submit video recordings of their own performances of Lincoln’s great words. Participant videos may be published on the Ford’s Theatre website and social media channels.

Washington, D.C. –Ford’s Theatre Education selected California seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Lindsey Charron as recipient of the 2019-2020 Lincoln Teacher Leader Award. Charron is a Ford’s Theatre National Oratory Fellow in the master fellow cohort, a program started in 2011. National Oratory Fellows learn to use public speaking and performance skills, such as close reading of historical speeches, speech writing and performance, as strategies to support student learning in the classroom. Through the National Oratory Fellows program, grades 5-8 educators enliven history and English Language Arts learning, and deepen student understanding of great American orators, including Abraham Lincoln.

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Ford’s Theatre continues digital programming throughout the month of May with new digital events. On May 14 at 4:00 p.m. EDT, Ford’s Theatre will live stream a conversation on its Facebook Live, YouTube and Twitter platforms addressing common myths surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. A new series of live-streamed events begins this month titled "Cabinet Conversations: Creativity, History and Leadership." Events will be simulcast by Ford’s Theatre on its Facebook Live, YouTube and Twitter channels on various dates this spring and summer. The first of these events is a conversation with Ford’s Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault and author and historian James L. Swanson on May 20 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Swanson will discuss how his interest in Abraham Lincoln began and his journey to write Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. ...

Washington, D.C. – Ford’s Theatre Society is further altering its programming schedule through May 17, 2020. All performances of "Guys and Dolls" have been canceled and the production will be rescheduled for spring 2021, with dates to be announced. Special thanks to "Guys and Dolls" sponsors Lead Sponsor: ConocoPhillips and Underwriters: Altria Group, General Motors Company and KPMG LLP. The musical "Man of La Mancha," originally announced as the spring 2021 production, will be postponed to a future season. Patrons with tickets to "Guys and Dolls" performances should visit the Ford’s Theatre website (www.fords.org) to see their options for receiving account credit, donating the value of their tickets to Ford’s Theatre Society or receiving a refund. The National Park Service has closed the Ford’s Theatre historic site (Museum, Theatre, Petersen House). The Society’s Aftermath Exhibits are closed. The Society’s History on Foot walking tours and performances of "One Destiny" scheduled through May 17 have also been canceled. All Guided Tours of Ford’s Theatre are canceled through May 17.

Washington, D.C.— Ford's Theatre presents the exhibition "Searching for Truth in the Garden: Gonzaga's History with Slavery"on the second floor of the Center for Education and Leadership (514 Tenth Street NW) from March 2 through August 2020. The installation is the culmination of extensive research completed by six students from Gonzaga College High School, a Jesuit high school in Washington, D.C. Their research, which took place during the summers of 2017 and 2018 at the Georgetown University Library, showed that profits from slave plantations went into the building and construction of Georgetown's Washington Seminary, which was founded in 1821 and later renamed Gonzaga College. They also found reference to the names of five enslaved individuals in Washington Seminary accounting books.