Interview with Henriëtte Brouwers, March 29, 2016

Interview Summary

Henriëtte Brouwers, associate director of the Robert F. Kennedy Performance Project and the Los Angeles Poverty Department, discusses her childhood in the Netherlands, her theater education, and coming to America. She talks about discovering Kentucky and falling in love with the mountains, but also being astounded by the extreme poverty and drug abuse in the region. She also discusses the "RFK in EKY" project, which is a project created by the Robert F. Kennedy Performance Project to bring Eastern Kentucky communities together, and the impact it had, as well as Appalshop, Inc.'s role in helping to document performances. She mentions that when it comes to Appalshop, Inc. people not from the region often feel like outsiders and it makes productivity difficult, but that once the people in the organization accept you, lasting friendships are formed. Brouwers also sings a few lines from "Oxy Girl", a play created to generate conversation about the drug problem in Eastern Kentucky.

Interview Keyword

Los Angeles Poverty Department Oxy Girl (play) RFK in EKY The Robert F. Kennedy Performance Project War on Poverty

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region--Social conditions Appalshop, Inc. Politics and government Theater. Families

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.