Speaking of Art with Drew Barker: Graves & Ghosts: the Dramaturgy of Civil War History

After years of researching American Civil War history, Drew Barker (Performing Arts Librarian) realized that there are plenty of dramatic stories at historical sites that are not generally well-known enough. Relatedly, if the Confederacy still haunts us, why and how? The violence, upheaval, and death created by the war made the mid-Atlantic region a dangerous place. Arlington, for example, saw a plantation transformed into a cemetery where some freedom seekers sought a new life. So, here's a question hoped to be at least partially answered with this talk: What about this history makes for compelling storytelling, especially for theatre?

Drew Barker is the Performing Arts Librarian at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park, where he also earned master's degrees in Theatre and Performance Studies, and Library Science. As a dramaturg, he has worked at UMD’s Fearless New Play Festivals, Triad Stage (NC), Round House Theatre (MD), Center Stage (MD), and Theatre J (DC). Most recently, he was the curator for the exhibits Photography by Max Waldman (2024-25), The Art & Craft of Puppetry (2022), Remembrance & Resilience (2021) and The Triumph of Isabella: Exploring Performance Through Art (2018-19) at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. He also created & collaborated with a choreographer on a dance piece based on racial railroad history, which was performed at the Black Mountain College + Arts Center {RE}Happening (2023). His research and creative projects include information literacy, playwriting, theatre/dance dramaturgy, the U.S. Civil War, and the working relationship between playwright Naomi Wallace and historian Marcus Rediker.

This event is a part of the Library of the Macabre programming for Fall 2026's Scholarship as Conversation series.