Ferrum, VA, April 25, 2023 — Ferrum College Theatre Arts held a theatre archive gallery reveal and surprise ribbon-cutting for the newly named Rex Stephenson Theatre—dedicated in honor of Professor Emeritus Rex Stephenson, who created the drama major after he began teaching at the College in 1973. The ceremony on Saturday, April 22, 2023 was followed by an evening performance of the spring musical, Treasure Island. Dozens of students, alumni, faculty, staff and other community members attended the event, which included much storytelling, laughter, and singing as the audience celebrated Stephenson’s many contributions to theatre arts at the College and the greater community.
Located in Schoolfield Hall on campus, the new theatre archive gallery features photographs, news clippings, posters, theatre programs, many of Stephenson’s published scripts, and other memorabilia illustrating 50 years of theatre history at Ferrum College, including the Jack Tale Players, Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, student productions, and more. The displays line the hall and staircase, and continue into the newly renovated Rex Stephenson Theatre.
Using archive materials collected by Professor of English Tina Hanlon and organized by Instructor of Performing Arts Emily Blankenship-Tucker, Mary Turner of Indigo Signs & Graphics created murals lining the stairway and designed a Rex Stephenson Theatre logo for the wall behind the new box office. On the opposite wall of the lobby, she and Rachel Blankenship-Tucker painted the logo of the Jack Tale Players—the cover illustration from Richard Chase’s book The Jack Tales, first published in 1943. The widow of the illustrator Berkeley Williams, Jr. gave Stephenson the illustration after he began dramatizing Appalachian folktales in the 1970s.
Theatre Arts Program Coordinator Rebecca Crocker ’02 said naming the flexible black box theatre in honor of Stephenson and the creation of the archive gallery were major milestones for their program and she was happy so many were in attendance. “Rex is a powerhouse in our industry and for him to be honored in this way is incredibly moving, and a long time coming. I can only imagine as an incoming student walking through and seeing the gallery and the history and background it provides—what kind of impact that will have,” she said.
Through months of careful planning and the efforts of Crocker and her colleagues, Stephenson also returned to the campus to teach part-time this year, a decade after retiring in 2012, as well as performing a Mark Twain show and directing. He said at the time of the ceremony that the downstairs of the theatre, with spaces that had been used for storage now open for public display, was “cleaner than it’s been since I first came here in 1973.” He was surprised about the naming of the theatre in his honor only because the wall displaying the name was decorated at dawn on the day of the dedication and then covered with layers of banners. Theatre students and faculty kept their new Rex Stephenson Theatre t-shirts hidden under jackets until the name was revealed.
TJ Baker, a Ferrum College junior from Australia who spoke at the event, said Stephenson deserves all of the recognition. “Seeing months of secretive planning come together was so fulfilling. So much work went in from so many people, and I’m glad to see my small contributions to this momentous day helped where they needed to,” she said. Crocker, Blankenship-Tucker, and Joe Stanley ’93 also spoke about their years working with Stephenson. President Mirta Martin offered congratulations on behalf of the College, Vice-President for Academic Affairs Kevin Reilly spoke about “Impact of the Performing Arts,” and greetings from several other supporters of Stephenson’s work who could not attend were read during the ceremony.
The gallery reveal and theatre naming event were planned to coincide with the theatre department’s spring production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved children’s story, Treasure Island, which Stephenson first adapted for the stage in 1994 and directed for this production. Inspired by his favorite childhood book—the only book he ever received from his father, Stephenson always valued “the interplay between faculty and students” that he could develop onstage at Ferrum, outside the classroom, as well as casting children in some plays. His most recent adaptation of Treasure Island features over a dozen new songs that were written by Stephenson and scored by Emily Blankenship-Tucker, who provided piano accompaniment throughout the play.
Ferrum College senior Sarah Laliberte has enjoyed being part of varied theatre arts productions throughout her four years at the College and she wanted to go out with a bang. “When I heard we were taking Rex’s Treasure Island and turning it into a musical, I knew it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To be part of an original cast? How amazing is that!” said Laliberte. In the tradition of Stephenson’s Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, the cast and crew of this first performance in The Rex Stephenson Theatre included community members of all ages as well as current students and faculty.
Gallery Archive Dedication Photos
Iron Blade Article “From Flex to Rex”
Cast of Treasure Island. Photo courtesy of Bob Pohlad
