Presentation: Louisa May Alcott will be portrayed by author and actor Joan Leotta 

Joan Leotta is an award-winning writer, story performer, and author of eleven books (historical fiction series, four children's books, a collection of short stories, and two books of poetry). Her writings and performances are often food or history-inspired. 

In addition to folklore presentations, her costumed character performances of Colonial and Civil-War era women (Belle Boyd's Aunt, a Civil War Nurse, and of the original owner of Ellanor C Lawrence Park, Fairfax County, VA) have taken her to audiences up and down the East Coast.  A lifelong fan of Louisa May Alcott, Joan Leotta decided to take up the challenge of presenting her to modern audiences when she realized how few people knew about Alcott's work as a Civil War nurse and how that experience helped shape her writing and changed the trajectory of her work as…