It was a genuine, honest question following a guided tour.
The gent had no idea why half the tour group were trying not to laugh. If you've worked as, known, or met people who play costumed characters helping to interpret historical sites for visitors, then you'll have encountered some laugh out loud tales of the thoughtless or heartless questions asked. So imagine the questions which were asked of Azie Mira Dungey, when she played various black characters from history, in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. Yup, because she was a black actress, Azie, in her own words "must have played every black woman of note that ever lived... I liked to call myself the time-traveling black girl. " You don't have to imagine what Azie was asked, as she's turned her experiences into a comedy series, currently two episodes in. In character as Lizzie Mae the slave, she fronts it as if on a talk show, where she gives funny and thought provoking answers to some occasionally dumb, and sometimes outright painful questions. And she's darned funny, giving a unique voice to a much misunderstood group from the past, as well as challenging some of our assumptions about the era's attitudes and America's founding fathers. Find out more, and go to her site to watch the rest of the show! This is from a few years back, and is a reduced version of a much, much longer conversion, where I discovered how many ways there are to phrase "They are real" and also found that pointing out the labels is no help "Of course it says they're that old, but perhaps it's just explaining the era of the style?"
Some sites do make use of replica items, so they can show a full object alongside a fragment, something in it's original colours, showcase an item from the area but currently displayed elsewhere etc. But showing a full room of reproductions would be a little cheeky perhaps! A customer phones up:
Customer: How do we get to you? Staff: Where are you to start with? In the city centre? Customer: Pretty much, we're still at the hotel and we're staying at Liverpool Street Travelodge. Staff: Uhm, bear with me while I work out where... ah, is that actually in Nottingham? Customer: No, London. Staff: Ok, so you'll need the train to get to us then, and your best route will be to talk to the hotel concierge about times and prices, they may be able to book it for you. It usually takes about two hours on the train, it's not a bad journey. Customer: TWO HOURS? Where are you? Staff: Nottingham, north of London, in the midlands area. Customer: What?! Why aren't you in London? Why wouldn't your visitor centre be where the visitors are? I have spent my lunch on the amazing and terrifying "Not Always Right" website, where customer facing staff share the things that their customers do and say which amuse, delight or disturb them. I can't recommend their museum section enough. The vast majority of museum visitors are polite, open minded, intelligent and fun. That small section who are rude, ignorant and just plain dumb generate some great stories though. And then there's the children... A tale that made me laugh is below, and you can (and should) read more here: http://notalwaysright.com/tag/museum (I work in a museum in Scotland, where I do activity sessions for young children. I am showing them some artifacts that were originally brought to Scotland by the Romans.) Me: “These were brought to Scotland around 2000 years ago by an invading army. Who do you think this could’ve been?” Child: “Hitler!” Me: “Well, it was a bit early for Hitler.” Child: “Robert Burns!” |
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February 2023
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