Tom Plott, left, portrays George Washington's farm manager at Mount Vernon. Plott is also director of character interpretation at the site. (The first president brought a camel to Mount Vernon for a party in 1787, and each year a camel returns at Christmastime.) Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

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In an hour, Janis Harless steps back to 1773 — donning stays, silk stockings and a wide-brimmed hat to become Nancy Mason of Gunston Hall, the eldest daughter of Founding Father George Mason. For the retired history teacher, it’s a way to keep the past alive. Photo courtesy of Janis Harless

Historian Lynne Garvey-Hodge of Clifton, Virginia, regularly portrays suffragist Amelia Himes Walker, above, and other historical figures. “I love re-enacting — especially the research and prep, attention to details, ways to engage the audience and a like passion for my character’s passion,” she said. Photo courtesy of Lynne Garvey-Hodge

Fairfax County resident Lynne Garvey-Hodge says she has learned to sit and get up from a chair like a Victorian lady, but the feisty characters she portrays likely did not live up to the stereotypical Victorian feminine ideal.

Garvey-Hodge has portrayed Amelia Himes Walker, a 20th -century American suffragist, more than 100 times, wearing a white Edwardian dress and purple sash, like the suffragists did.

Walker was a Silent Sentinel — one of the women who picketed on the White House sidewalk in 1917 for the right to vote, and was arrested and sentenced to 60 days in prison in the Lorton Workhouse in Northern Virginia.

She also portrays Angelina Grimké Weld, whose father in the 1830s was a Charleston, South Carolina judge and slaveholder. Angelina opposed slavery on religious grounds and tried to desegregate churches.

Garvey-Hodge has a third character she slips into from time to time: Boston’s Susanna Wheatley, who in the 1700s enslaved Phillis Wheatley, a kidnapped African girl. Susanna eventually adopted Phillis, who became a poet and the first African-American woman to publish her writings.

For these roles, Garvey-Hodge, a volunteer, does exhaustive research.

“I have to learn their daily life, the food they ate, their vocabulary, the politics of the day, even their bed attire,” she said. “I read, read, read and read.”

Heritage interpreters don’t just tell stories. They take people back in time and help them appreciate our country’s cultural, historical and natural resources. It’s not a job; it’s a calling.

A unique form of acting

What is historic character interpretation? Well, the National Association of Interpretation defines it as “a purposeful approach to communication that facilitates meaningful, relevant and inclusive experiences that deepen understanding, broaden perspectives, and inspire engagement with the world around us.”

That means heritage interpreters are not just actors who memorize lines. While interpretation is a form of acting, the goal is to recreate a time and place and generate excitement about history. Unlike theater actors, character interpreters usually have to field questions, be natural and friendly, and not seem rehearsed.

Some historic interpreters have degrees in drama or history; some don’t. Others get a certification in historic interpretation, but many are self-taught. The National Association of Interpretation offers a professional certification which requires 8,000 on-the-job hours (plus a test, essays and other qualifications).

To accurately portray someone from the past, historic interpreters pore over original documents, like letters and journals, to understand their character’s deportment, habits, quirks and dreams. They also learn the diction and common expressions of the era they are depicting.

Mount Vernon’s Scottish voice

Another character interpreter, Tom Plott, has mastered a Scottish brogue to play James Anderson, caretaker at Mount Vernon. Anderson emigrated from Scotland in the 1790s and managed George Washington’s five farms and whisky distillery at his 8,000-acre plantation.

“I’ve learned the mannerisms, how to hold myself and the proper Colonial stance,” Plott said, demonstrating with one foot turned outward at an angle.

Plott cuts a dapper profile, wearing what he calls “a gentleman’s three-piece suit” consisting of breeches, a waistcoat (vest), coat, riding boots, cravat and tam o’shanter — a flat, round, wool cap topped by a pom-pom.

To represent Anderson, Plott delved into Mount Vernon’s library and studied Washington’s letters. He’s lucky: Washington was a meticulous documenter.

“He even recorded the weather,” noted Plott, who is manager of character interpretation at Mount Vernon.

Plott’s tour narratives are not scripted, but they are historically accurate, he said. “We can’t say it unless it is documented. I can’t just make it up.”

On tours, Plott tells visitors about growing corn and wheat at Mount Vernon and raising horses, cows, Ossabaw Island hogs, Hog Island sheep, red Devon cattle, chickens and turkeys.

Occasionally visitors try to correct him. “I can’t get offended,” he said, so he just keeps talking. “I love to talk.”

Gussied up at Gunston Hall

It takes about an hour for Janis Harless to transform herself into a woman from 1773. To portray Nancy Mason, the daughter of wealthy plantation owner George Mason IV, she dons a gown, chemise, petticoat, stays, woolen cape, silk stockings, gloves, pearls, wig, broad-brimmed hat and a pillow-like “bum roll” around her waist.

“Gentry-level women wanted a conical look. It was stylish to have wide hips, and it was important to be stylish — even if you had to suffer,” Harless explained.

For 20 years, Harless has played the part of Nancy Mason at Gunston Hall, a historic mansion near Harless’ home on Fairfax County’s Mason Neck. She also has appeared as Nancy at the family’s namesake school, George Mason University, during student orientation and homecoming.

Harless, a grandmother of three, was a longtime high school history teacher.

“I’ve always loved history,” she said. “Doing this in my retirement years has the same excitement as teaching. It gets people interested.”

As Harless put it, “I try to bring history to life.”