An upcoming performance at the Dayton Woman’s Club, a few miles from Kettering, will bring an important historical figure to light.
Jessica Michna will portray Katharine Wright, the Wright brothers’ sister. She was a Suffragette and instrumental in their success, as she helped run the brothers’ bicycle shop, packed the supplies they needed for their experiments, and handled their press relations as well as their personal correspondence. As the brothers traveled to market their airplane, they went first to Washington, D.C., and then to Europe. During their absence, Katherine was responsible for keeping the operation going at home.
Jessica Michna is a Pennsylvania native who fell in love with history when she was a child and visited historic sites with her family. She also appeared in plays in school, designed costumes, and built sets, and was so talented she was offered several scholarships in theater arts. However, she opted instead to pursue a degree in psychology, but never forgot her first loves.
She was able to combine her love of theater and history into her company “First Impressions,” which she founded in 2000. She uses period costumes and props to bring remarkable women to life, and now has more than 20 historic figures in her repertoire, ranging from Dolly Madison to Eleanor Roosevelt to Helen Keller.
Michna will present “Katherine Wright: Those Flyboys from Dayton,” on April 22. Organizers of events of this type could use brochure printing to create programs that describe the character and the presenter.
