Tenth Annual Lincoln Oratory Festival

More than 300 local elementary and middle-school students will perform a selection of President Abraham Lincoln’s speeches on the Ford’s Theatre stage on the mornings of February 6 and 7, 2018. The program features students who have worked with Ford’s Theatre Teaching Artists during their school year to bring Lincoln’s speeches to life. As part of the program, Ford’s Theatre Teaching Artists work with students in the classroom to expand vocabulary, develop students’ confidence and public-speaking skills and build a comprehensive understanding of the oration of Abraham Lincoln.

The February 6 performance at 10:45 a.m. features third-through fifth-grade students from Brent, Horace Mann, Hyde-Addison and Dorothy L. Height Elementary Schools in D.C.; from Thomas Pullen Creative and Performing Arts Academy and Port Towns Elementary School in Maryland; and from Arlington Science Focus and Taylor Elementary Schools in Virginia. Students will perform speeches including Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, his address to the 166th Ohio Regiment and the Gettysburg Address.

The February 7 performance at 10:45 a.m. includes sixth through eighth grade students from Carole Highlands Elementary and St. Martin of Tours Schools in Maryland; and Jefferson Houston PreK-8, George Washington Middle, Mosby Elementary and Fairhill Elementary Schools in Virginia. Students will perform speeches including Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, his 1863 Response to a Serenade and his speech at Independence Hall.