JASNA'S Happy Hour With Jane Austen:
Portland Center Stage Armory
by Vonnie Alto, Secretary
Kate Hamill’s Sense And Sensibility began its run in January 2019 at the Portland Center Stage at the Armory. We were all abuzz with her rollicking adaptation of it. Our members attended various showings which included Happy Hour events such as “How to Write Like Jane Austen” presented by Willamette Writers (see previous post) and “Advance Gender Equity in the Arts” presented by the cast.
Of course, our region participated in our own pre-show Happy Hour in the Alan J. Beard Mezzanine prior to the Sunday matinee showing of Sense and Sensibility on February 3, 2019. Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann attired in Regency dress gave a delightful presentation titled, “Hooked on Jane Austen? Let’s Talk!”
Margaret provided a brief biography of Jane Austen’s life, her writings including Sense and Sensibility, and Jane’s love of the theater. She attended performances whenever she was in London or Bath.
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in the village of Steventon In Hampshire. She was one of eight children. Her father was a clergyman.
Jane lived at home her entire life and helped run the family home. Jane’s parents encouraged Jane and her siblings to read and write plays. Jane’s early works or Juvenilia included three plays: “The Visit,” “The Mystery,” and “The First Act of a Comedy.”
The Austen family also performed comic theatricals in their home. Later as an adult, Jane took part in unrehearsed performances and readings at home with her family.
While growing up, Jane also wrote several stories and read them aloud to her family for feedback and critique. At the age of 12, Jane wrote her first novel titled, The Beautiful Cassandra. She wrote Love and Friendship, an epistolary novel when she was about 15 years old. During this time, Jane also wrote The History of England in which she mocked the portrayal of English monarchs in school textbooks by writing her own mischievous history of them.
In her twenties, Jane wrote three novels: Northanger Abbey (1798-1799), Sense And Sensibility (1798), and Pride and Prejudice (1796-1797). In her later years, Jane wrote Mansfield Park (1813), Emma (1814-1815), and Persuasion (1816).
Jane Austen also wrote Lady Susan, an epistolary novel in 1794 and continued to revise it throughout her life, carrying it with her wherever she lived. Eventually, it was published in 1871.
Jane Austen stopped writing her final novel, Sandition, in 1817 which remains a fragment of eleven chapters. It was later published in 1925.
Only four of Jane Austen’s novels were published in her lifetime and all anonymously: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815).
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1817, six months after Jane Austen's death.
Jane Austen also left behind her letters, but many were burned by her sister, Cassandra after her death and later family members destroyed other letters.
Later, a nephew wrote A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869, which was published that year.
Jane loved the theater and attended performances in both London and Bath. Jane also played the piano. She loved to dance and was an accomplished dancer at assemblies.
Jane died at the age of 41 on July 18, 1817 from a lingering illness. Experts have debated the cause as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an adrenal disorder called Adddison’s Disease, and even the possibility of death by poisoning. She was buried in Westminster Cathedral.
In the early 1900s, scholars started studying her works.
Thanks to the actor, Colin Firth and his 1995 portray of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen is more popular than any time in history and has never lost popularity. Her fame has gradually increased over the years and decades.
Sense and Sensibility was originally written as an epistolary novel or series of letters titled. Elinor and Marianne. It was a difficult book to write because the characters were not in the same location as Jane had her characters write back and forth to each other. Later, Jane revised it into a novel form which was published in 1811 anonymously “By A Lady.” She paid to get it published into three volumes. It earned 140 pounds and sold out in 2 yrs.
Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann also provided an introduction to the Oregon and SW Washington Region and how to join our local group and the national JASNA. Our local JASNA group gets together regularly to talk about Jane Austen, her books, her life, and the events and people important in her time.
In 2010, we hosted the national meeting, a conference of workshops with both informal and scholarly talks. It was titled, “Jane Austen and the Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland.” Here’s the website link: http://www.jasna.org/agms/portland/index.html.
We welcomed new members, those reading their first Jane Austen novel and those who have re-read her books many times. Margaret insightfully said, “You don’t need to be an Austen expert to feel at home in JASNA although you may become one as you attend our meetings. “
Afterwards, our members adjourned to the theater where we sat together for a riveting showing of Sense and Sensibility.
Portland Center Stage Armory
by Vonnie Alto, Secretary
Kate Hamill’s Sense And Sensibility began its run in January 2019 at the Portland Center Stage at the Armory. We were all abuzz with her rollicking adaptation of it. Our members attended various showings which included Happy Hour events such as “How to Write Like Jane Austen” presented by Willamette Writers (see previous post) and “Advance Gender Equity in the Arts” presented by the cast.
Of course, our region participated in our own pre-show Happy Hour in the Alan J. Beard Mezzanine prior to the Sunday matinee showing of Sense and Sensibility on February 3, 2019. Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann attired in Regency dress gave a delightful presentation titled, “Hooked on Jane Austen? Let’s Talk!”
Margaret provided a brief biography of Jane Austen’s life, her writings including Sense and Sensibility, and Jane’s love of the theater. She attended performances whenever she was in London or Bath.
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in the village of Steventon In Hampshire. She was one of eight children. Her father was a clergyman.
Jane lived at home her entire life and helped run the family home. Jane’s parents encouraged Jane and her siblings to read and write plays. Jane’s early works or Juvenilia included three plays: “The Visit,” “The Mystery,” and “The First Act of a Comedy.”
The Austen family also performed comic theatricals in their home. Later as an adult, Jane took part in unrehearsed performances and readings at home with her family.
While growing up, Jane also wrote several stories and read them aloud to her family for feedback and critique. At the age of 12, Jane wrote her first novel titled, The Beautiful Cassandra. She wrote Love and Friendship, an epistolary novel when she was about 15 years old. During this time, Jane also wrote The History of England in which she mocked the portrayal of English monarchs in school textbooks by writing her own mischievous history of them.
In her twenties, Jane wrote three novels: Northanger Abbey (1798-1799), Sense And Sensibility (1798), and Pride and Prejudice (1796-1797). In her later years, Jane wrote Mansfield Park (1813), Emma (1814-1815), and Persuasion (1816).
Jane Austen also wrote Lady Susan, an epistolary novel in 1794 and continued to revise it throughout her life, carrying it with her wherever she lived. Eventually, it was published in 1871.
Jane Austen stopped writing her final novel, Sandition, in 1817 which remains a fragment of eleven chapters. It was later published in 1925.
Only four of Jane Austen’s novels were published in her lifetime and all anonymously: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815).
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1817, six months after Jane Austen's death.
Jane Austen also left behind her letters, but many were burned by her sister, Cassandra after her death and later family members destroyed other letters.
Later, a nephew wrote A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869, which was published that year.
Jane loved the theater and attended performances in both London and Bath. Jane also played the piano. She loved to dance and was an accomplished dancer at assemblies.
Jane died at the age of 41 on July 18, 1817 from a lingering illness. Experts have debated the cause as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an adrenal disorder called Adddison’s Disease, and even the possibility of death by poisoning. She was buried in Westminster Cathedral.
In the early 1900s, scholars started studying her works.
Thanks to the actor, Colin Firth and his 1995 portray of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen is more popular than any time in history and has never lost popularity. Her fame has gradually increased over the years and decades.
Sense and Sensibility was originally written as an epistolary novel or series of letters titled. Elinor and Marianne. It was a difficult book to write because the characters were not in the same location as Jane had her characters write back and forth to each other. Later, Jane revised it into a novel form which was published in 1811 anonymously “By A Lady.” She paid to get it published into three volumes. It earned 140 pounds and sold out in 2 yrs.
Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann also provided an introduction to the Oregon and SW Washington Region and how to join our local group and the national JASNA. Our local JASNA group gets together regularly to talk about Jane Austen, her books, her life, and the events and people important in her time.
In 2010, we hosted the national meeting, a conference of workshops with both informal and scholarly talks. It was titled, “Jane Austen and the Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland.” Here’s the website link: http://www.jasna.org/agms/portland/index.html.
We welcomed new members, those reading their first Jane Austen novel and those who have re-read her books many times. Margaret insightfully said, “You don’t need to be an Austen expert to feel at home in JASNA although you may become one as you attend our meetings. “
Afterwards, our members adjourned to the theater where we sat together for a riveting showing of Sense and Sensibility.