Enchanted Circle Theater

 

Event guests were greeted at the main entrance of the hospital and warmly welcomed by Miss Eva Castle (Cate Damon) who was the First Matron of the hospital at its opening in 1886. Just down the hallway, they met the good Deacon Hubbard (Steve Angel) who shared his story of how the hospital was founded. Further along the hallway, and decades ahead in time (1915), Superintendent Alice Clelland (Becca Greene-Van Horn) recruited nurses to the CDH Nurses Training School.

 

A historic photo gallery lined the walls with images of the hospital and its staff and patients through the years. The final stop was the Dakin Conference room where Florence Bates (Cate Damon), a graduate of the 1917 School of Nursing, shared her early memories of life at Cooley Dickinson. Following remarks from hospital administrators and volunteers, a champagne toast and cutting of the CDH birthday cake, guests were treated to ECT's final performance of a live photo tableau of stories of CDH's most generous and passionate benefactors over the years.
 
“For our 125th Anniversary event, we wanted to do something different; something that would engage our guests and donors right from the start and bring our rich and interesting history to life.  Enchanted Circle Theater created several entertaining vignettes featuring key characters from our past that were the highlight of the event.  Afterwards, we received many wonderful comments from our guests – it was 'fantastic', 'unique', 'the best they had attended',” said Diane Dukette, Vice President, Development at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
 
ECT's site-based history plays are a unique and exciting way to bring the history of any location to life. For more information, contact Rachel.
 
Photo courtesy of Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Photo credit: Janine Norton.