Libba Beaucham has had a lifelong love for history and education. She was born and raised in Newnan, Georgia, a city rich with historical architecture, by two teacher parents. Her mother, a drama teacher, also inspired in her a love for theater. She attended Converse University’s Petrie School of Music on a scholarship to study clarinet, later transferring to Columbus State University, where she earned a degree in theater with a minor in creative writing. After graduation, she found her way into museum work, working at the Northeast Georgia History Center and falling in love with living history interpretation, a form of historical education that brings the past to life through period dress and reenactment.
Today, Libba works full-time at the Historic Athens Welcome Center as Guest Services Specialist. The Historic Athens Welcome Center serves as a regional visitor information center, historic house museum, and tourism destination. Libba is also the Arts & Culture Coordinator for Flagpole Magazine covering local art exhibitions, performing arts, comedy, and more.
During the pandemic, she began performing music under the name Libbaloops, a project that she continues today. She also performs improv with Flying Squid Comedy. Last year, she performed at Athens’s Got Talent and Historic Athens Porchfest.
Libba is also an active member of the Classic City Rotary Club, which she appreciates for its emphasis on creative arts and music—along with its affordable membership option for artists and opportunities to volunteer in the community. Libba is part of the committee for the annual Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Awards, and serves on the board of the Ashton Hope Keegan Foundation, which honors the late Ashton Hope Keegan by providing scholarships to women in financial need in Athens. She is also part of a Girl Scouts Alumni group, where she portrays Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, in historical reenactments.
Libba lives in Normaltown with her partners, Matt and Victor, and their animals – two kittens, a big cat, and a dog.
What is your favorite aspect of the work you do?
I’ll speak to the history education first. I love that with living history, you get to really have a tangible experience with the past. I love connecting kids, especially, through history. I unfortunately had the experience of having history teachers that weren’t necessarily passionate or academically trained for that. It was often the football coach or the basketball coach, you know, getting out a textbook. And so I really want to help kids become curious about the past so that they can compare and contrast and be as interested and fascinated with the development of human history, like I am. For them to really engage with it when they’re smelling the fresh herbs and spices that they used to use, or when they’re going through the 10 steps of laundry, instead of like, the three we have today. They’re playing with toys and games that don’t require electricity or are made of wood instead of plastic, you know. And I just love that I can tell that they’re having so much fun with it, and it’s something very different. That is, I think it is really vital for kids today to have as much play and have time together in groups in person, outside, away from a screen. I’m really glad that I get to be a part of that in children’s lives.
With music and whatnot, I love collaborating with an audience and just being goofy and playful. I think what I really love about looping and being an entertainer is what you can offer the audience. No matter what kind of day they’ve had, no matter how serious of a person they may be or silly of a person, I think everybody needs an opportunity to be silly and play and have that kind of childlike silliness, especially when you’re in a time of any kind of anxiety or stress or uncertainty. Everybody can come together for good-hearted fun. And so I hope that that’s what I offer people.
When I’m doing looping, my favorite part is also the audience. It’s always inspiring. They’re always directly participating with me in creating the silly song.
When you’re not working or volunteering, what kinds of things do you like to do in and around Athens?
I really love to just go to a coffee shop. I’ll take my scribble pad – it’s almost like a safety notebook. I may not actually use it, but if it’s there, if I have an idea, I want to jot down. But it’s really just an excuse to go somewhere and relax where I will likely see someone that I know, catch up with them, and just enjoy something that Athens has to offer. I love Hendershot’s, and I love Buvez. I love The Old Pal when I want a great cocktail. I love going to the Athens Farmer’s Market. There’s always something new every time I go there. And again, I get to see people that I know. The improv shows at Flying Squid, if I’m not in them, I love to watch them and just participate and see my friends.
And then, you know, just walking around downtown when it’s not a home game is really nice. Especially in fall weather. Especially with my sense of history. I love just trying to notice little architectural details or wondering what did that used to be? It’s just nice to explore Athens. I want to get to the point where I’m ready to bike around Athens. That’s a big goal of mine. So hopefully I’ll be, you know, going outside of the [Oconee Rivers] Greenway and starting to bike around and just getting to know Athens from that point of view. I also love going to see the art exhibitions in town, too. Even a little bit outside of Athens, like the Winterville Cultural Center is excellent. I’ve been really impressed with the art I’ve seen there. The Lyndon House, ATHICA. There’s just always something going on in Athens that sometimes it’s hard to choose.
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
This comes back to my big history nerdiness. Now, it’s actually not even outside of the country, but I am absolutely fascinated with the Lewis and Clark expedition. I could go on and on and on about that, but it’s a big bucket list item of mine is to go to the key locations along their route. One place that I really want to go to is referred to as Pompeys Pillar. It’s a rock face that is the only evidence of where they actually literally were, because William Clark engraved his name into the rock face so you can still see it to this day. And it’s called that because Sacagawea’s baby that she carried along this entire journey was nicknamed Pompey. William Clark actually ended up adopting her son later, which is just fascinating itself. And it’s right here in the United States. So I need to make a point to do that.
I would love to go to visit India. I would love to go to Japan. I’d love to go to France. But if I only had one to pick from, I would choose that, Pompeys Pillar.
If you could put any message on a billboard, what short and sweet message would you want to get out there?
Okay, it’s going to take a little bit of explaining, but I would say the short, sweet phrase is “Zoom out.” And what I mean by that is that, we can get so zoomed in to our tiny problems and our everyday stresses. But if we allow ourselves to zoom out and see the tiny little dot that we live on, you know, like that famous Carl Sagan reference of the pale blue dot of Earth from so, so far away. To just put things in perspective, that we all share the same home. We all are human. We have this unifying factor that I feel like we lose sight of so often because we’re so close to our problems or our differences. If we could just zoom out, I feel like it gives you a bit more objectivity. To have a better understanding of each other and find more unity amongst each other.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Oh, yes, I do. And it’s kind of a strange one, but I know a lot of people have seen it. It’s David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. And the first time I saw that movie, I knew that I would want to watch it again, but I wasn’t sure if I actually liked it or not, because I was like, what just happened? But the more that I watched it, I loved it. In David Lynch movies, there’s so many dreamlike qualities to his stories that it really does leave it up to the interpretation of the viewer. And David Lynch himself, in his interviews and whatnot, he never told you what the story is about. He really found it meaningful that the viewer is going to interpret it for themselves.
With that particular movie, I see something new every time I watch it. It shows this nightmarish scenario, how horror can almost be a warning for us about something. You know, with Mulholland Drive, the protagonist is very much fueled by this jealousy, and that’s such a human trait that we all experience. But to see the effects of that jealousy unfold in such a nightmarish scenario, I think it’s fascinating. It’s also just beautifully shot. And it leaves you with just enough mystery that you want to contemplate it over and over again. That’s what I really love about it.
What about a favorite book?
You know, Orwell’s 1984 is the book that I return to over and over again. And I know it’s very popular for a reason. And again, speaking to that kind of nightmarish quality, to me it’s a warning. It is a warning itself of what could be should we lose freedom, should we lose our liberty. And there’re so many places in the world where people do not get to experience the liberties and freedoms that we have in a democracy and in a republic. When I read 1984, it allows me to zoom out a little bit and to appreciate that. But also I think that the warning that it offers is really relevant right now. To have someone like Orwell who puts that world into a book that allows you to experience it in a safe way is one of the most essential things that literature can do, to help us grow and think and develop and contemplate and reflect.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
You know, I would say just… Be yourself. I think a lot of kids when they’re growing up, they tend to want to fit into a certain mold. I’m really happy to see that a lot of kids these days are more comfortable with expressing their individuality, and that’s really awesome. But I think, as a kid, when you’re faced with a challenge— especially if someone is making fun of you or any kind of bullying scenario— If I could go back and kind of talk to myself and tell them that it’s really not about you at all when that person is treating you in a mean way. It says way more about them. And to have empathy for that person, but also to feel strong in being who you are and that they can’t just bring you down. I’m fortunate to not have experienced extreme bullying or anything, but I will say that growing up, I had this constant pattern of kids asking me, are you a boy or a girl? Because I loved having short hair. You know, I was a tomboy and everything. And I feel like that wouldn’t really be questioned all that much today. It was like, oh, a girl with short hair, whatever, you know? Looking back, I would just want to tell myself, you know what? Be yourself. Keep rocking it. You’re good.
If you could see any band, musician, or show, anywhere at any time, who would it be, and where?
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve seen some of my favorite performers, like Reggie Watts, Mark Rebillet, Tracy Chapman, who has a very nostalgic connection for me. But if I could go back in time and see anything… I’d love to go back and see a historical symphony. Like Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. It’s just such a powerful piece. Especially with the instruments of that time, which differ slightly. And there goes my history nerdiness. But that would be amazing.
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and where?
Oh, man, it would have to be Juliette Gordon Low. She is the founder of the Girl Scouts. Like I mentioned before, I portray her, and so I know her life, her biography, very well. And she’s such a fascinating woman that just being in her presence and to meet her and get to know her through her personality (which was quite eccentric). She always saw the potential in people. And she was such a great recruiter and an energizer of the Girl Scouts movement because she believed in you and she believed that you could do it. We’d have to eat somewhere in Savannah, of course. I imagine we would likely have tea at her house, the Low House. And it would likely include some shortbread cookies, I’m sure. So some tea and biscuits, so to speak, with Juliette Low, would be delightful.
What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?
Comfort, safety, and warmth. That’s what I really feel at home. I think that’s what our homes should feel like. I try my best, although I’m not a very organized person, to keep it that way, even with the tiny kittens running around here lately.
