Bringing Daniel Boone to Life

Each year, the Kentucky Humanities Council treats the public to some Kentucky history brought to life by first-person interpretive performances of characters central to the story of the Commonwealth. 

Theater artist Kevin Hardesty portrays Kentucky’s most famous character in “Daniel Boone: The First Kentuckian.” 

“Now in my fourth year. I do about 100 performances annually as Daniel Boone, one of the Chautauqua characters. And I get to share all this exciting history while pretending to be that celebrated hero. I walk into a room already famous and well thought of. Who wouldn’t love to do that? 

“I am an actor—a theater artist—with a passion for education. I love bringing Boone’s story to new generations, so I speak at lots of schools, most often to elementary grades. In fact, we crafted this presentation to support teachers and their Kentucky history curricula. 

“I show up in my frontier garb but carrying a book rather than a flintlock rifle, and I invite those students to step with me back into the 18th century. In my hour with the students and in the character of Boone, I tell the students about some adventures in ‘my’ life—trailblazing into Kentucky, the kidnapping of Jemima, ‘my’ own capture by the Shawnee, the great siege at Fort Boonesborough, and several other exciting episodes of ‘my’ life in Kentucky. And they learn about ‘me,’ too, about Boone’s humanity, his personality, his compassion and suffering, his character. 

“The students ask some great questions at the end, and those I answer as Kevin Hardesty, actor. I want them to learn a little something about theater arts, too; and, separating the character from the actor is a lesson in itself. Some of these kids have never seen a live performance like this, so the Chautauqua program is helping the students learn on two levels.

“It is an honor to portray Daniel Boone and I get to speak at libraries, state parks, and historical societies, too. Through my sharing all these exciting moments from Boone’s life, I convey to the audiences about the challenges of living on the frontier and the real hardships which families faced together. They hear about Boone’s relationships with the Shawnee and Blackfish and the fierce independence of frontier women. Sharing all these stories adds to our collective understanding of the history of Kentucky, its people, its places, and—just as it was 250 years ago—its promise. In fact, my big message as Daniel Boone for these students is this: ‘You are what’s next in the life of Kentucky.’ 

You can learn about opportunities to attend a public performance of Kevin Hardesty as “Daniel Boone: The First Kentuckian” by visiting kyhumanities.org and clicking on “Chautauqua” and then “Calendar of Presentations.”