Rose Buckner will present a Performed Reading of her solo play, The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region. Inspired by her grandmother’s life, Belle is the true story of a Kentucky woman who defied social expectations (and risked death threats) to marry a Japanese man in 1903. Artist and Medical Ethicist Dr. Kevin Reid described Belle as “a theatrical featherbed to fall on as people of all ages…..negotiate personal and socially relevant existential challenges.” Theater Director Luigi Salerni called Buckner a “consummate actress.” Chicago Actor and DIrector Kurt Naebig wrote, “Belle is terrific. It deals with so many issues that are apropos now. I was captivated throughout and moved by the story.”

Rose Buckner is an Actress, Playwright, Oral Historian and Teacher. A Kentucky native now based in Chicago, Buckner has worked professionally in the theater for 40 years.

She has conducted hundreds of oral history interviews, created and performed solo shows based on historical figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt and poet Sara Teasdale, taught arts and humanities to incarcerated young people, and presented to audiences from all backgrounds and of all ages. She has performed her solo comedy show, Save the Ducks and other Stories of Courage, Dignity, Embarrassment and Total Cowardice at venues in Chicago and Illinois. Buckner is the recipient of the Peter Lisagor Award for Journalism, Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for Public Humanities in the Community, and Lawrence W. Towner Award for Best Humanities Project.