K. Ken Johnston

K. Ken Johnston - SAG-AFTRA Member - Interpretive Historian and Performer/Producer - Film, Television, New Media, Museum Theatre. Mr. Johnston graduated from LaGrange College, with a major in Speech Communications & Theatre and a minor in English. While attending LaGrange College he received the Ingrid Bergman Scholarship (for which he wrote an essay promulgating history based environmental theatre), the 1985 Irene Arnett Drama Award, and was inducted into the LaGrange College Psychology Honor Society. Mr. Johnston also has Certification in Historical Interpretation by the nationally acclaimed training program at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Among other things, Ken has appeared playing George Washington in "The Real George Washington" on the National Geographic Channel, Admiral Lord Howe and Scottish Indentured Servant James Selkrig in, respectively, Colonial Williamsburg's Emmy winning productions "Founders or Traitors?" and "Freedom Bound" which aired on PBS, and Whiskey Distiller Peter Bingle for the Food Network and the History Channel, "The Secret of Spirits" and "Modern Marvels - Whiskey/Modern Marvels Essentials - Distilleries" respectively. Additionally, he served as Executive Producer for the National Civil War Naval Museum on the partner production of "Civil War Ironclads" with Colonial Williamsburg and is interviewed as himself in the capacity of Interpretive Historian for the Travel Channel's "Mysteries at the Museum" segment on former slave and Civil War naval hero Robert Smalls. In the inaugural year of Colonial Williamsburg's Revolutionary City program he performed portraying General Benedict Arnold and Royal Attorney General John Randolph. At Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens he was Managing Director of First Person Interpretation and Programming with duties of researching, writing, directing and performing for the "Engaging Encounters" and "Washington's World" programs, both of which he created and which served over 250,000 visitors per year. Mr. Johnston has done living history work in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and the United Kingdom/England. At the Smithsonian, Mr. Johnston has done work with the National Archives, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History. Ken has also performed in Shakespearean theatre, children's theatre, improvisational comedy, full contact jousting, TV commercials on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, low budget science fiction/horror movies and toured with a rock band in North America and Europe. In 2016 Mr. Johnston is setting up a digital production studio for the Northeast Georgia History Center and will be producing and directing historic and first person narrative programming for distribution across New Media platforms.