Culver said from 1894 to 1905, Talladega was the headquarters of the Alabama Chautauqua, which made the town one of the Southeast's most important and active centers of cultural arts during this period.

 "I am convinced Talladega's century-old Alabama Chautauqua period is one of the city's most powerful historic taproots which needs to be revitalized in an exciting way as an heritage tourism attraction." he said.

 Culver visited several old theaters in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizone and Texas including Colorado's historical Central City Opera, the recently renovated and open-air Santa Fe Opera and Galveston's opulently restored 1894 Opera House.

 In Austin, Texas, Culver met with Mary Martin, board chairman of the Texas Museum of Natural History. Martin is also the well-known playwright who Culver commissioned in 1983 to write "I Don't Want To Be Zelda Anymore," a play about the tragic life of Zelda Zayer Fitzgerald, the Montgomery native and wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the original roaring 20's flapper.

 

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Starring the well-known Birmingham acctress Margie Bolding, Culver produced the play's successful off-Broadway run in New York in 1985, which received wide critical acclaim including a rave New York Times revue.

 Culver says that an exciting possible outcome from his Austin visit was the fact that Martin showed interest in bringing some of the rare, world-class collections of the Texas Museum of Natural History to Talladega for a prestigious reginal exhibit.
 "This would draw thousands of visitors from accross the Southeast." Culver said.

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