Ferrum, VA, March 24, 2023 — More than $4,000 was raised for Ferrum College Theatre Arts during last week’s “An Evening of Dinner and Theatre With Mark Twain” event—written by and starring award-winning playwright and Professor Emeritus R. Rex Stephenson. It was held March 15 on campus to coincide with the Smith Mountain Lake Gives day of community fundraising for local nonprofit agencies.
The evening started with a dinner in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room, where cast members served the audience. Each table was formally set and patrons could see a beautiful view of Adams Lake as they enjoyed their meal. The event was organized in the tradition of the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, which Stephenson founded in 1979 at Ferrum College and directed as a summer theatre until his retirement in 2012.
Dinner was followed by the performance, which featured a mix of stories from Twain’s life and humorous sketches from some of his writings. Held in Sale Theatre in Schoolfield Hall, the show also included a variety of music from Twain’s time period performed by the cast of students, staff and community members. The program was a variation on many Mark Twain shows performed by Stephenson since his first one in the 1970s, when a Ferrum College student persuaded him to appear in a variety show.
Ferrum College Theatre Arts next takes the stage April 20-23 with Stephenson’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, which will be directed by Emily Blankenship-Tucker and feature a new musical score that she wrote. A reception on the afternoon of April 22 will unveil archival theatre displays in the newly renovated flexible theatre in Schoolfield Hall. For tickets and more information, click here.
Click here for article in The Iron Blade about Stephenson’s return to campus and the Mark Twain show.
