A Play about Jennie Gourlay-Ford's Actress

[ForJenniesBenefit]

Hello,

I’ve written a one-man show titled “For the BENEFIT if Miss JENNIE GOURLAY” and am excited to share it with you. Jennie Gourlay was a supporting player in the cast of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre. This piece is about my finding her name on a handbill at Ford’s and my journey to discover who she was and what happened to her after the assassination of President Lincoln, an event that cancelled a benefit performance she was scheduled to star in on April 15th 1865. I am telling both of our stories actually; I feel a strong identification with this fellow actor whose career path was shifted by events beyond anyone’s control.

Please understand that though I do use humor to tell our stories it is in no way my intention to make light of President Abraham Lincoln’s tragic fate at Ford’s Theatre or to disrespect his memory or the memory of any of the people who were there on that night. I have a deep, surprising and unexplainable love for Miss Jennie Gourlay and my intention in bringing her story to light is to see her acknowledged for her life and her career and remembered as more than just a footnote in history.

I want to invite you to visit the website I’ve created for the piece:

http://www.ForJenniesBenefit.com

There you will find a great deal of information about the show as well as information of some upcoming performances. If anyone here is interested in attending I would be greatly honored, please let me know if I can assist in any way.

Thank you for reading this, thank you for this symposium, and I hope that you will take an interest in my work.

Sincerely,
Billy Hipkins