See these iconic characters come to life June 10-14
at Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Enid, 2929 E Randolph.
2025 Enid Chautauqua Character & Scholar Bios
Al Capone
Al Capone was a notorious American gangster who rose to prominence during the Prohibition era, becoming one of the most infamous criminals in U.S. history. Capone built a vast criminal empire in Chicago, centered around bootlegging, gambling, and other illicit activities. He gained control over much of the city’s underworld and was known for his violent tactics, earning a reputation as a ruthless mob boss. Capone often insisted that he wasn’t a criminal, but rather a businessman who supplied the booze Americans craved. His life and legacy have become synonymous with the golden age of organized crime.
Doug Mishler
Since 1993, scholar Doug Mishler has been nationally recognized for bringing “history to life.” Doug has presented figures from Nikita Khrushchev to Dwight D. Eisenhower. He has made over eight hundred first-person presentations of over thirty historical figures, including Stonewall Jackson, Henry Ford, Pablo Picasso, Theodore Roosevelt, Chuck Yeager, Gene Roddenberry, Ernie Pyle, and P. T. Barnum. The voices in his head keep him busy, but also in the last eight years he founded and has been the Managing Artistic Director of Restless Artists’ Theatre. When not in the theatre or doing his characters, Mishler has taught American Cultural history for over twenty years. Like his idol T. R., Doug believes there is still plenty of time to grow up and get a “real job”—but later!
Previous Enid Chautauqua characters
2024: Earl Warren
2023: Chuck Yeager
2021: Gene Roddenberry
2019: Pablo Picasso
2018: General Black Jack Pershing
2017: Hanging Judge Isaac Parker
2016: Nikita Khrushchev
2015: Ernie Pyle
2014: Theodore Roosevelt
2013: Henry Ford
2012: Jack L. Warner
2011: DW Griffith
2010: Stonewell Jackson
2009: Jefferson Davis
2008: George Wallace
2004: Thomas Hart Benton
Al Capone Performance
Tuesday, June 10,
7:30 pmDoug’s Workshop Schedule
Wednesday, June 11,
12 pmRocking the Foundation of “Traditional America” in the 1920s.
________Friday, June 13,
10:30 am“New Women” and “Neglected Males.”
Zitkala-Sa
Zitkala-Ša, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin after her marriage, was a multifaceted force—a Yankton Dakota writer, editor, translator, musician, educator, and political activist. Through her powerful pen, she explored the deep tensions of cultural identity, capturing the emotional struggle between the mainstream world she was educated in and the rich Dakota heritage that shaped her early years. In her later works, she became a trailblazer, offering the first glimpses of traditional Native American stories to a broader English-speaking audience, and giving voice to a culture that had long been marginalized.
Selene Phillips
Scholar Dr. Selene Phillips has her Ph.D. in American and Native American Studies from Purdue University, and she is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Louisville. Phillips served as the Humanities Scholar-in-Residence at Great Plains Chautauqua Society in Bismarck, North Dakota for four summers. She has authored papers, articles, book chapters, held lectures and presentations focusing heavily on Native American culture, and has presented her Native American performance of Sacagawea in many states.
Previous Enid Chautauqua characters:
2023: Eula “Pearl” Carter Scott
2002: Sacagawea
Zitkala-Sa Performance
Wednesday,
June 11,
7:30 pmSelene’s Workshop Schedule
Tuesday, June 10,
10:30 amHan! Han! (Yes! Yes! in Lakota): Beadwork, Porcupine Quills, Wild Rice and fancy dancing
________Thursday, June 12,
12 pmIndians in the 1920s
Zane Grey
Zane Grey was an American author and dentist whose name became synonymous with the Wild West. Best known for his gripping adventure novels, he captured the rugged spirit of the American frontier, painting it in an idealized light. Beyond the success of his books, Grey’s work found new life on the silver screen, with 112 of his stories adapted into films, as well as two television episodes and an entire series, Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre. His tales of daring heroes and vast landscapes have left an indelible mark on Western literature and entertainment.
David Fenimore
David Fenimore retired in 2020 from the University of Nevada, Reno English Department after 32 years teaching literature, writing, and the humanities. Since 1993, he has traveled the U.S. performing first-person portrayals of historical characters including Woody Guthrie, Horace Greeley, California settler Capt. John Sutter, Donner Party survivor Lewis Keseberg, and of course, Zane Grey. He spends his free time writing, traveling, pursuing outdoor activities, and playing the piano about as well as Woody played the guitar, which is to say, adequately, at best.
Previous Enid Chautauqua characters:
This will be David’s first time on the Enid Chautauqua stage!
Zane Grey Performance
Thursday,
June 12,
7:30 pmDavid’s Workshop Schedule
Tuesday, June 10,
12 pmJohn Ford’s The Searchers: The anatomy of a perfect western film (warts and all)
________Wednesday, June 11,
10:30 amWhen I was a Cowboy: Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Riders of the range
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith, known as the “Empress of the Blues,” was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and one of the highest-paid Black entertainers of her time. As a powerful social, cultural, and political influencer, Smith used her music to express her views, breaking racial barriers in a segregated society. Touring in her own 72-foot railroad car and maintaining a demanding performance schedule, she became a major force in both blues and jazz, influencing artists like Louis Armstrong. Her emotionally charged voice and groundbreaking success challenged the limits of her era, leaving a lasting impact on the music industry.
Rebecca Marks Jimerson
Rebecca Marks Jimerson is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and studied at the University of Southern California under John Houseman and George Furth. She co-wrote Resurrecting Black Wall Street, inspired by Lessie Benningfield Randle, one of the last surviving Race Massacre witnesses, and founded the Resurrecting Black Wall Street Historical Black Colleges lectures. Her Chautauqua performances include portraying Winnie Mandela in Cape Town, Harriet Tubman at the Juneteenth celebration in Galveston, Texas, and Ida B. Wells in Keene, New Hampshire.
Rebecca holds a BA from the University of Oklahoma and an MS from Oklahoma State University. She is currently a Professor and Curriculum Developer in Mass Communications and Criminal Justice at Southern Nazarene University and serves as the Community Engagement Liaison for the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
Previous Enid Chautauqua characters:
2024: Coretta Scott King
Bessie Smith Performance
Friday,
June 13,
7:30 pmRebecca’s Workshop Schedule
Thursday, June 12,
10:30 amGot the Blues?
________Saturday, June 14,
12 pmVisions of the African American experience during the 1920s
Mae West
Mae West was an iconic American actress, playwright, and sex symbol known for her bold, witty, and provocative persona. Rising to fame in the 1920s and 1930s, she became a trailblazer in Hollywood by using well-planned innuendos challenging traditional norms around gender, sexuality, and humor. West remained a bold, independent figure throughout her life, influencing both the entertainment industry and societal attitudes toward women and sexuality.
Karen Vuranch
Karen Vuranch has toured nationally and internationally with Coal Camp Memories, a play about women in the Appalachian coalfields. Karen recently retired as a faculty member of Concord University but continues to teach as an Adjunct. Karen has an undergraduate degree from Ashland University in Theatre and Sociology and an M.A. in Humanities from Marshall University, with a major in American Studies and a minor in Celtic Studies. She has eight academic publications and has released two CDs of stories and a DVD of Coal Camp Memories.
Previous Enid Chautauqua characters:
2023: Jackie Cochran
2023: Clara Barton (Winter Chautauqua)
2022: Cass Elliot
2021: Gertrude Bell
2014: Edith Wharton
2011: Louella Parsons
2011: Pearl S. Buck (Winter Chautauqua)
2010: Clara Barton
2008: Mary Draper Ingalls (The Pioneer Woman) (Winter Chautauqua)
2006: Belle Starr
2005: Grace O’Malley
Mae West Performance
Saturday,
June 14,
7:30 pmKaren’s Workshop Schedule
Friday, June 13,
12 pmVaudeville: Family entertainment in the early 20th century
________Saturday, June 14,
10:30 amSpeak no evil: Censorship in America
