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Advisory: Middle School Students to Talk With Thomas Jefferson for Broadcast of Shaping the World: Conversations on Democracy -

FOREST, VA – Members of the press are invited to attend as a class of 8th graders, selected from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Roanoke, interview Thomas Jefferson and Charles Willson Peale on Friday, May 1, 2009 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Shaping the World: Conversations on Democracy, produced annually by Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in collaboration with Blue Ridge PBS, will be recorded at their studio on McNeil Drive in Roanoke. 

If you are interested in attending, please contact Carol Jennings, production manager at Blue Ridge PBS, at (540) 344-0991 or Octavia Starbuck, Director of Interpretation and Education at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, at (434) 534-8108. Arrangements also may be possible for brief interviews with students and the two professional interpreters immediately following the taping.

About “Conversations on Democracy”

In its ninth season of production, Shaping the World: Conversations on Democracy brings together Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries with bright young minds from local classrooms. This year a class of 8th grade students from Woodrow Wilson Middle School was selected for the program.

Several of this year’s participating students visited Poplar Forest as fourth graders from Wasena Elementary School in Roanoke. Not long after their trip, they saw a newspaper article about the need to raise $3 million for Poplar Forest to buy back 72 acres of Thomas Jefferson’s land. In 2005, these same students came together to collect money -- including allowance, ice cream money, birthday and Christmas money – to donate to the rescue effort at Poplar Forest.

This year, these students will have the opportunity to interview Thomas Jefferson and Charles Willson Peale about archaeology, education, history, the arts and agriculture. Both men were patriots, scientists and inventors and were endless fascinated with science and natural history.

Thomas Jefferson is played by renowned interpreter Bill Barker, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Barker has been Poplar Forest’s Jefferson since the beginning of the Democracy programs and is no stranger to Poplar Forest student and adult audiences. He has performed as Jefferson for more than 20 years, appearing at the White House and the Palace of Versailles as well as in programs aired on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and C-SPAN. Charles Willson Peale will be portrayed by actor and historical interpreter Christian Johnson, who has appeared at the White House Visitor's Center, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Archives, and in Paris, where he performed at UNESCO's headquarters last fall.

The student interviews on May 1st will be used to create the educational program that is aired annually in the fall by Blue Ridge PBS and other public broadcasting stations in Virginia. The program will also be video-streamed by Virginia’s Education Department to schools throughout the Commonwealth. Airing dates and the associated web curriculum containing lesson plans and support materials will be announced in early fall.   

For more information on the program, contact Director of Interpretation and Education Octavia N. Starbuck, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest at (434) 534-8108 or Octavia@poplarforest.org.

Conversations with Thomas Jefferson
Both Mr. Barker and Mr. Johnson will reprise their respective roles the following day, Saturday, May 2, at Poplar Forest for two performances of Conversations with Thomas Jefferson.  A matinee performance will begin at 2:15 pm (reception at 1:30). An evening reception with stationed tours of Jefferson’s retreat home will take place at 7:00 pm followed by the conversation at 8:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased for either performance in advance by calling the Poplar Forest Museum Shop at (434) 534-8120.

Members of the press interested in attending the Conversations performance should contact Anna Bentson in advance at (434) 534-8116 or anna@poplarforest.org.   

About Poplar Forest
Poplar Forest is Thomas Jefferson's secluded plantation and retreat home, now a National Historic Landmark. Undergoing award-winning restoration and archaeology, Poplar Forest offers tours and special events. Call (434) 525-1806 or visit www.poplarforest.org for additional information.

Poplar Forest is open to the public seven days a week, March 15 through December 15 (closed Thanksgiving Day). Group tours are available year-round by appointment.