Bloomsday // A Theatrical Interpretation

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Charleston Library Society

Event Image Sizing for Web - Bloomsday - june 16

Bloomsday at the Charleston Library Society

In partnership with Historic Performance Events and inspired by our most recent Fellows Gala, we are pleased to introduce a special new series that brings literary characters into our present. The first, inspired by James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, comes alive appropriately on Bloomsday for a mix of Irish music, narration, and episodes of live theater. This day gets its namesake from the character Leopold Bloom, whose wife Molly will take the stage for personal excerpts interspersed with narration by Charleston’s very own culture journalist and owner of the CultureSouth, Maura Hogan, to guide you through several excerpts of this masterpiece that is considered one of the most important works of the genre and a classic of the period.

Please note, we’ve updated our ticketing system—purchases now go through Neon Events for a smoother registration experience. For any issues, please call our Front Desk at 843-723-9912.

About Christy Pleasant

Christy began performing professionally on stage and screen in her teens in Charlotte, NC. She portrayed her first Revolutionary “daughter” in a documentary film with WTVI, Quilts & Sabers, at age 16, portraying Suzannah Barnet at ages 15,19, and 90. She performed all over Charlotte, and her love of the theater led her to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she met her husband, Henry Cabaniss, a Charlestonian. After a classical actor’s conservatory education, and before marriage and family, Henry and Christy worked in regional theater and lived in NYC. While in NY and Connecticut, Christy expanded her collaborations to include Rob Faust’s Mask Works and ISO Dance company, whose innovative storytelling expanded her art. Once married, Christy worked in Charleston with performances in Spoleto USA, Piccolo Spoleto, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Midtown Productions while also teaching at Charleston Stage. Over the years, as she and Henry raised two sons, she began a full-length play, set in Charleston, called Seeking Trespass, which has recently been submitted to new play competitions. She worked in Charlotte with Charlotte Repertory Theater and guest-starred in OMIMEO’s shows Black Light Magic and Vaude Visual. Her innovative puppetry designs and humanettes were used in these popular running shows for over 10 years at Imaginon’s Children’s Theater of Charlotte and the Levine Center for the Arts. Her collaborations with Grey Seal Puppets led to the 50th Anniversary production of Bambi: A Life in the Woods with the Charlotte Children’s Theater and over 15 years of puppetry with Charlotte’s Singing Christmas Tree. Her passion for helping younger actors brought many teaching opportunities in Charlotte and Charleston, including a workshop she taught at Queens University of Charlotte’s theater department in 2009. In that workshop, she first brought to life Queen Charlotte, utilizing a whole new performance style where history and literature intersect, in an interactive “living history.”

About Historical Performance Events

Many influences contributed to Christy’s productions with Historic Performance Events. Her education at the University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts provided a full immersion into the different ages and styles of theater. It became necessary to understand the language and culture of the literature, in addition to the textual analysis and performance. Her collaboration with educators, linguists, historians, costumers, and other performers gave birth to a connection with audiences that can be very personal. Christy enjoys the freedom in writing her own style of performance that is not dependent on an outside “theater agent,” and her successes prove that there is a need for storytelling that is missed by the entertainment industry. Her career has been unconventional, but it has allowed her artistic voice to mature. As James Joyce said, “It’s not important what you write, but how you write.” Christy is fascinated with unique ways to immerse her audiences in the culture, language, and lives of historic and literary characters while bringing these custom theater experiences to unconventional places. After establishing her brand, Christy launched HPE in 2019 and has been bringing audiences in contact with the famous and infamous in North and South Carolina and internationally as well. HPE has played with time and space to curious audiences all over, in televised PSA’s, fundraising campaigns, corporate and private conventions, and with private museums and festivals. HPE creates work that we would like to see and has found that we have connected with eager audiences everywhere.