Tales for taphophiles of permanent residents of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia and West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cywnyd, Pennsylvania. Often educational, always entertaining.
All content for All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories is the property of Joe Lex and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Tales for taphophiles of permanent residents of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia and West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cywnyd, Pennsylvania. Often educational, always entertaining.
Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #051, Part 1
Human performance has ancient roots in ritual, storytelling, music, and dance, evolving from prehistoric communal activities to formalized theater in ancient civilizations.
Mumming originated in pre-Christian seasonal rites involving masked performances symbolizing death and rebirth, later becoming popular folk dramas in medieval Europe with themes of good vs. evil and resurrection. Minstrels were traveling musicians and storytellers who entertained courts and villages, distinct from troubadours who focused on courtly love poetry.
In the 19th century, minstrel shows featured white performers in blackface who caricatured African Americans through music and comedy, and popularized certain instruments and songs but perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Minstrelsy influenced American entertainment forms but reinforced racist myths, using exaggerated dialects, stereotypical characters, and appropriated dances, with complex legacies acknowledged by modern scholarship.
All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories
Tales for taphophiles of permanent residents of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia and West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cywnyd, Pennsylvania. Often educational, always entertaining.
