Join me as I portray our Hoosier Poet, the famous James Whitcomb Riley, just as he was entering the world of entertainment as part of a traveling medicine show.  Be on your guard as he attempts to sell his patented snake oil!  Then, learn about his colorful struggles to find fame before becoming one of America's most popular writers.  Engaging, fast-paced and humorous, I intersperse true moments from Riley's life with some of his best-loved poems, including "Little Orphant Annie," "The Raggedy Man," "When the Frost Is on the Punkin" and many others.

I am a proud lifetime member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters, and our 16th President is arguably our greatest and most influential leader, as well as a fascinating and seminal figure in early Indiana and American history.  His enduring appeal is evident in this portrayal which covers all notable aspects of his life, from his Hoosier boyhood years (age 7-21) to his extraordinary accomplishments in the White House.  Alternately hilarious and poignant, my performance concludes with stirring renditions of the Gettysburg Address and portions of Lincoln's Second Inaugural.