Imagination Intro

Hello, I am a nightwatchman, and if you've been listening to my adventures over the past several months—especially during December of last year—you may remember that I was working as the night watchman at a toy museum. In fact, you might enjoy going back and listening to Episodes 526 through 557, where the toys came to life after dark.

This is the introduction to a new podcast series where the night watchmen works at a wax museum in Chicago where the figures come to life - and the past is never quite as silent as it seems!

Transcript

CELEBRATE CREATIVITY

This podcast blends history and imagination. Real historical figures appear alongside fictional situations and imagined conversations. While based on historical research, portions of the program are dramatized for storytelling purposes.

Opening Music

Welcome to the hall of Imagination, where the figures of history have stories to tell.Hello, I am a nightwatchman, and if you've been listening to my adventures over the past several months—especially during December of last year—you may remember that I was working as the night watchman at a toy museum. In fact, you might enjoy going back and listening to Episodes 526 through 557, where the toys came to life after dark.

Now, before we go any further, I suppose I should make a confession.

When I first took the job at the toy museum, I wasn't looking for adventure. I wasn't looking for talking toys. I wasn't looking for mysteries. And I certainly wasn't looking for the sort of things that happen after midnight in museums. Truth be told, I was hoping to become an actor. After a good many auditions, disappointments, and enough rejection letters to paper a wall, something remarkable finally happened I got a part.

Not a large part.

Not the leading role.

But a real role in a real touring theatrical production.

Granted, my performances would only be on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday matinees, but that hardly mattered.

I was finally in the show, and the production was headed to Chicago, Illinois for several months.

Unfortunately, the schedule of the play and the schedule of the toy museum  where I worked simply would not work together—not to mention the fact that they were hundreds of miles apart.

So one afternoon I found myself standing outside the office of my employer.

Knock.

BOSS:

Come right in and have a seat.

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

Hello, Boss.

BOSS:

Well, what can I do for you?

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

I have good news and bad news.

BOSS:

Proceed.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: The good news is that I've been cast in a touring production that will be performing in Chicago.

The bad news is that I'll have to leave my position here at the museum.

BOSS: You're leaving us?

NIGHT WATCHMAN: I'm afraid so.

BOSS:

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You always did have your eye on the stage.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: I hate to leave.

BOSS: Nonsense. A fellow ought to follow his dream. Besides, I may have a proposition for you.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: A proposition?

BOSS  A friend of mine has just opened a new museum in Chicago. They've been looking for a reliable night watchman without much success.

Someone who understands museums.Someone who can keep a cool head when unusual things happen.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: What kind of museum?

BOSS: A wax museum.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: Wax figures?

BOSS:

That's right.

Hundreds of them.

Scientists.

Writers.

Inventors.

Presidents.

Artists.

The whole lot.

Some of the most influential people who ever lived.

And, knowing the curator's sense of humor, a few influential people who never lived at all.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: What do you mean?

BOSS:Characters from literature and legend.

Romeo and Juliet.

King Lear

Figures from Greek and Roman mythology.

Ebenezer Scrooge will make his annual appearance every Christmas.  And for Halloween they'll feature Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.  That ought to draw quite a crowd. From what I hear, they're still adding new figures every month.

NIGHT WATCHMAN: Well, I suppose watching silent wax figures would be easier than watching moving toys.

BOSS: 

I wouldn't count on that if I were you.

You never know what's going to happen.

But you've certainly had experience with unusual events.

We'll be sorry to see you go.

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

And thank you for helping me find a new job.

BOSS: 

And thank you for your service here at the toy museum.

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

And thank you - it has been a wonderful experience.

Well, I'd better get back to work.

Well, I suppose I'd better say goodbye to the toys.  Clear throat

I have an announcement to make, so gather around.

I guess the best way to put it is that I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that I've been cast in a professional theatrical production that will perform every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon.  And Barbie, you look like you have something to say.

BARBIE:

Speaking for the rest of us, let me offer our congratulations.

This has been your dream all along.

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

Yes, Barbie.

It certainly has.

But the bad news is that the production is in Chicago, and I'll have to leave all of you behind

BARBIE: We'll miss you very much.

But dreams are meant to be followed.

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

I'm glad you understand.

Farewell, my friends.

I'll never forget you.The night watchman packed his suitcase and boarded a bus bound for Chicago.

The bus rolled steadily eastward through the darkness. Sometime before dawn he awoke and pressed his forehead against the window.Far away, scattered lights glittered on the horizon.

Chicago–The Windy City-and the city so much larger than he imagined.For years he had dreamed of becoming an actor. Now, for the first time in his life, he was traveling to Chicago as part of a professional touring company.

As the bus moved through downtown, he noticed the energy of the city beginning to awaken.

Delivery trucks were making early morning stops.Office workers hurried toward buildings carrying coffee cups and briefcases.

Tourists were already gathering with cameras around their necks. Everyone seemed to be going somewhere important. Everyone seemed to have a purpose.

The theater district was unlike anything he had ever experienced outside of New York city.

Colorful posters filled display windows.

Marquees stretched over sidewalks.

Names of famous actors appeared in lights.

Workers were unloading scenery through stage doors.

Technicians carried lighting equipment.

Costumers hurried between buildings with garment bags draped over their shoulders.

The entire neighborhood seemed to hum with creativity.

For the first time, the night watchman felt as though he had stepped into the world he had always imagined from the audience.

No longer was he watching actors from a seat in the darkness.

Now he would be one of them.

That realization was both exciting and terrifying.

What if he forgot his lines?

What if the audience laughed at the wrong places?

What if he wasn't good enough?

Then again, what if everything went right?

What if this was the beginning of something wonderful?

He smiled.

The future suddenly seemed filled with possibilities.

As the bus turned a corner, another building came into view.

Across the street from the hotel where the cast would be staying stood the newly constructed museum where he would soon begin his second job.

Its stone facade gleamed in the morning sun

Large banners fluttered near the entrance.

Even from a distance there was something impressive about it.

First he realized how close the hotel was to the museum. It would be no problem at all to just simply cross the street, and he would be at work.

Then he felt something mysterious.

Something inviting.

The night watchman stared at the museum for several moments.

He could not have explained why, but he felt strangely drawn toward the building.

Perhaps it was simply curiosity.

Perhaps it was anticipation.

Or perhaps, though he did not yet know it, the museum was waiting for him.

And before long he would discover that some museums become far more interesting after midnight.

He checked into the hotel with the cast and attended his first rehearsal. And he realized, that after all these years of preparation, he had finally become part of a professional production. After years of preparation, he was beginning a new chapter in his life.

Finally he crossed the street to see the newly opened wax museum where he met the executive manager. 

I understand that you come highly recommended for the position of night watchman.  As I understand it, during the daytime, you will be appearing in a musical in the theater district, and staying in a hotel across the street. You are certainly accessible, and come highly recommended, so let us take a brief tour of the wax museum

After climbing a row of steps, they entered the building that was home to what seemed like countless wax figures.

Here rows of silent historical figures stood in the shadows.

Naturally, the first wax figure he saw at the entrance was a figure of the French wax sculptor Madame Tussaud.

Then he saw a figure of Benjamin Franklin.

Then a lifelike figure of George Washington.

Next to George Washington was a figure of William Shakespeare.

Then Marie Curie.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Abraham Lincoln.

And dozens more.

The manager locked the door, and the night watchman spoke–

Funny.

I thought this would feel less strange than the toy museum.

Maybe it's because these figures look so real.

Almost as if—

(A faint sound.)

What was that?

Perhaps nothing.

Just a building settling.

(He walks farther.)

Another sound.

A cough.

Then a voice.

VOICE:

Good evening. 

NIGHT WATCHMAN:

Who's there?

VOICE:

Over here.

The night watchman slowly turned, and standing before him was a wax figure who began talking.

"Mr. Watchman?"

I stopped in my tracks.

"Yes?""You seem surprised that the figures in this museum can speak.”"Well... yes, ma'am. Most people would be."I glanced around the gallery, but I couldn't tell where the voice was coming from."There is something I would like to tell you about my life in Chicago... After all, you might say I am one of its most influential residents.”"Who are you?" I asked.

There was a pause.

Then the voice replied:"My name is Jane Addams."

Join celebrate creativity for our next episode, where the night watchmen has a fascinating conversation with the wax figure of the first woman to ever receive the Nobel prize, Chicago's own Jane Adams.