Ben Franklin is paying a visit to Oak Harbor.
Yes, technically, he’d be rather elderly today at 310 years old. But his humor, wit and wisdom is carried on by a modern man who appreciates Franklin’s legacy.
The Oak Harbor Garden Club is hosting a performance of an actor playing the part of Ben Franklin called “Taking Root — Founding Gardeners and Their Gardens.” Everyone is invited to attend the free performance scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 12 at the First Methodist Church, 1050 S.E. Ireland St.
The actor is GregRobin Smith, a man who carries on the tradition of “Chautauqua,” an educational tradition started in 1878 in New York that uses performers, dressed in character, to bring personalities and history to life.
Smith, who lives in Everett, earned a bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Eastern Washington University. He’s worked as a history scholar, author, actor and teacher. He helped start The Interactive History Company, which brings this style of performance to schools and other public and private venues. He recently traveled to the George H.W. Bush Presidential library.
Smith doesn’t just play Ben Franklin, he is Ben Franklin. It’s as if the Renaissance Man were transported to 2015. He’ll answer questions on contemporary topics and those of his time — and not just about gardening.
He’s played Ben Franklin for going on 15 years. It’s more than mastering Franklin’s mannerisms and speech. Smith is a serious student of the founding father.
He knows his likes, dislikes, friends, enemies and habits.
One surprising fact — Franklin learned to swim when most people couldn’t, not even sailors.
“It’s really a great tool for drama people,” he said. “You can add onto it throughout your life and expand on your understanding.”
He needs to be on his toes because kids especially ask the darndest questions.
Ben Franklin was something of a lady’s man, well past the point when he would be considered conventionally attractive by a lady. A teenage boy called him out on that once at a performance. Why, with his portly belly and scraggly hair, did the ladies love him?
“It’s because I listened to them,” explained Franklin.
That answer got a quick “yeah” from the boy’s girlfriend and a punch in the arm.
Sometimes he has to answer tougher question, more serious questions — why did he own slaves in his youth and why did he leave his wife to travel abroad so often? A teacher asked him thoughts on fully funded public schools.
Smith does his best to give an authentic, historically accurate answer, even if unpopular now.
Playing Franklin isn’t Smith’s day job. He works at the University of Washington.
He is donating a portion of what he earns as Franklin to the Washington Shakespeare Festival Endowed Fund in Drama at the University of Washington, which provides support for the study of Shakespeare in the School of Drama.
