Colonial Impersonator

They have to be good talkers and like interacting with lots of people. They don't have to have a history background, although some do.

Why are they called interpreters?

It's like a translator; you're in between that person in the 17th century and the people here in the modern world.

How do you know if the portrayals are accurate?

The major [historical] source is William Bradford's history of Plimoth Plantation. Bradford made a list of the Mayflower passengers, and shortly before he died, he made a second list of those people, and he wrote down everything he knew that had happened to them. For some people, we know more than is known about William Shakespeare, who was a contemporary of some people [who came] here.

Which Pilgrim are you?

A man named Stephen Hopkins, but over the years I've played a bunch of people, including the son and the father in the same family.

What's interesting about Hopkins?

He was the only colonist who had been to the New World before. He'd been to Virginia and was in a famous shipwreck. He was also something of a troublemaker. In the 1620s, he was probably trying hard to get along, but by the 1630s, he pops up in the court records continually. He was selling drinks on Sundays and cheating his customers.

Do 21st-century events ever intrude on the 17th-century setting?

They affect the kinds of questions the public asks. This summer there was a big pirate movie out, so we're getting questions about pirates. Also, with 9/11 and the nation being at war, people ask about defense.

How about religious tolerance?

There's a tradition in history that the Pilgrims were more tolerant than other early colonists, and we're a little troubled by that. The Pilgrims never killed Quakers or put any witches to death; however, when the Puritans put Quakers to death in Boston, the people here pretty much said, "Well done."

How far from reality is the version of Thanksgiving that portrays Pilgrims and Native Americans feasting together?

That's based on the 1621 harvest celebration, not a thanksgiving. From the colonists' point of view, a thanksgiving was a religious observance, and they never would have had native people there.

The Pilgrims' existence seemed fairly bleak. Did they have any fun?

Pastimes, entertainment, and games were not forbidden, but the place for them was sharply limited. Idleness and irreverence were dangerous things.