Kickstarter

I am a Delaware native. My Dad was a DuPont lifer. My sister and I wear-tested clothing that he would bring home in the '50's.

I am a playwright and actor. In 2003 I was commissioned by New Castle County to write a show for the Victorian 'Rockwood Mansion'. One of the scenes I wrote was a conversation between the 3 du Pont cousins; P.S., A.I. and Coleman regarding their purchase of the company in 1902.

My research was at Hagley Library. Once I got into it, I thought, "Wow, so very very few Delawareans know how profoundly both the du Pont family and company have changed our lives!" (Example: In the '20's, with the law of the land 'Separate But Equal', DE's way of educating children was systemically racist. P.S. du Pont turned that completely around.

And this responds to my Kickstarter program. 2 years ago I met with the DE Department of Education chairs in 1) Social Studies 2) English Language Arts and 3) Performing & Visual Arts. My show subscribes to the Standards of all three in the grades 5, 8 and 11. In fact, these educators suggested creating a 6-8 week "Unit of Instruction' with my show being the culmination.

After that I researched well over 30 underserved schools in the state (there are more); schools that P.S. helped to create. I wish to go to these schools with this Living History presentation and give these students the history and legacy of DuPont. If we are fortunate enough to overfund, we will go to additional underserved schools.

Unlike Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc, the du Ponts kept much of their philanthropy home. Delaware would not be the fabulous state it is without the presence of the du Pont family and the DuPont Company.

Through my relationship with Hagley Museum, I have procured archival photographs on the screen as I portray in First Person: E.I du Pont, Boss Henry du Pont (Pres during Civil War), P.S. du Pont and finally, a DuPont Co chemist.

This is not just a story of The Coming of Age of Delaware. It is the story of the Coming of Age of America. Every student in Delaware should understand and appreciate this story.