Ferrum College Drama Professor, prolific actor, and playwright, Dr. R. Rex Stephenson stars in An Evening with Mark Twain and Friends at Ferrum College's Sale Theatre, Schoolfield Hall, on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m.
The first act of the play, written by Stephenson, begins with a recreation of Twain's 1908 lecture tour, recounting his life including his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri, his experiences as a prospector in California, his time on the Mississippi as a riverboat pilot, his skirmishes as an author and playwright, and his encounters as a world traveler.
Twain's infamous and humorous observations of society are weaved into the biographical information, the result of over thirty years of research and perfecting by Stephenson, of Twain's life.
Act Two, written by William Dean Howells, is a hilarious battle of the sexes between Mr. Willis Campbell and Mrs. Amy Somers, a couple modeled on Twain and his beloved wife, Olivia.
The antics of the pair in their dispute over suffrage are portrayed in the energetic and caring manner of two old friends. Those two friends are Stephenson and Dr. Jody D. Brown.
While Stephenson writes, directs, and teaches at the College, Brown produces the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, is the chair of the Performing and Visual Arts Division, and is a professor of English at Ferrum. Brown is an accomplished actor in her own right. Her acting credits include leading roles in several American classical comedies, such as Life with Father and Harvey.
The event is free and open to the public. The play is sponsored by the Franklin Guild and the History and Political Science Division at the College. For more information, contact Dr. Jody Brown at (540) 365-4354.
Ferrum College is a four-year, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor's degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. To learn more about the College, call
1-800-868-9797 or visit www.ferrum.edu. # # #