www.wellsreserve.org/news/2003-06-25_carson.htm

A SENSE OF WONDER, RACHEL CARSON PORTRAYAL

( Joint release with USFWS Rachel Carson NWR )

On Saturday, July 12, acclaimed actress Kaiulani Lee portrays Rachel Carson, one of the most influential women of all time. Lee's inspiring one-woman play, "A Sense of Wonder," will be presented at 7 pm in the Kennebunk High School auditorium. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased in the Wells Reserve visitor center at Laudholm Farm. For more information, please call 207 646-9226.

"A Sense of Wonder" is presented by the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve during the centennial celebration of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964), a writer, editor, biologist, and ecologist, was a great force behind the modern environmental movement. The 1962 publication of her book "Silent Spring" brought the dangers of chemical pesticides to public consciousness. Time Magazine named Rachel Carson one of the 100 Most Influential People of the Century. "A Sense of Wonder" offers an opportunity to find out why.

The play's first act takes place in the peace and quiet of Carson's beloved summer cottage on the Maine coast. In failing health, Carson is reluctantly packing to return to Maryland where she will face the storm of controversy surrounding the newly published Silent Spring. Act Two begins two months later in Carson's Maryland home. Here, she reflects upon the process of writing her landmark book, the professional and personal criticism she suffered, and the beauty of the living world she was trying to save.

Kaiulani Lee has more than twenty years of experience in the theater. She has starred in more than a dozen plays on and off-Broadway and won the OBIE Award for outstanding achievement off-Broadway. Lee has guest-starred in television series including Law & Order, Tales from the Dark Side, and The Waltons. Her film credits include The Seduction of Joe Tynan, The Fan, Garp, Cujo, and Compromising Positions.

A student of Lee Strasberg, Sandy Meisner, Jerzy Grotowski and Uta Hagen, Kaiulani Lee earned her BA from American University. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts from Bowdoin College. Ms. Lee has devoted years of her life to bringing quality theater to communities across the country.

The Rachel Carson Refuge, headquartered in Wells, was dedicated in 1970 to the memory of Rachel Carson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, author, and environmental advocate. The refuge was established to preserve ten important estuaries that are key points along migration routes of waterfowl and other migratory birds.

The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve encompasses portions of the Upper and Lower Wells divisions of the Rachel Carson refuge. Together, the reserve and refuge function to further the knowledge and understanding of estuaries throughout southern Maine.

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