MARK TWAIN TALKS: Newsletter/Blog

The full two-act show (including Twain's announcement of his candidacy for President) will be presented Feb. 17 and 18 at 8pm and Feb 19 at 2:30pm at Your Theatre, Inc. in New Bedford, MA. Tickets are $12/10 seniors, students, etc. Link to info is http://www.yourtheatre.org/yti/index.php?page=evshowpage&evtid=111

Well, it's finally happening. Nov. 4-13 at the Park Theatre, Cranston, RI (www.parktheatreri.com 401-467-7275). The full show "Mark Twain Talks", 2 acts with intermission. Tickets are $25 - $20 for seniors/students.

I'll be wearing full dress (white tie and tails) for the evening shows, so if you haven't experienced that sight, come take a look!

“how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”.......... John Kerry 1971

What happened to John Kerry? What happens to a man as he grows older and is no longer directly involved in the fighting of wars, but only supporting them through funding them?

Kerry is six years older than me, but I remember the passion of the Vietnam Veterans against the War. I remember how angry we all were that the United States was involved in a war of aggression against people half a world away. I remember the shame that, because of inequity of the draft laws, mostly disadvantaged youth were being sacrificed so that our country would not “lose face”.

We are now engaged in two “wars” half a world a way which Kerry supports. We no longer have a military draft so there is far less anger about the lives lost. Still, we send the National Guard to these wars while the professional standing army “trains” at Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, et.al.

Our journalists are now “embedded” with the troops, so we don't get the kind of brave reporting we got from Vietnam, where it was those brave enough to show us the true face of the war who were largely responsible for ending it.

I used to be angry, now I'm just sad.

“The church is always trying to get other people to reform – it might not be a bad idea to reform itself a little by way of example.” Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad

The same could be said for The United States. We are losing our moral authority and influence (other than military) in the world. We have stopped trying to convince others that our system of representative democracy is the best available form of government. Instead we have adopted a policy of demanding that others do as we say, not as we do.
Take Egypt............please. We supported Mubarak, knowing his was a corrupt government. We pretended that it was founded on democratic principles – right up to the time when the people took to the streets. As soon as a mob appeared we sided with them and demanded a change in government without regard to the rule of law, which we insist is the most important principle in this country. If mobs appeared in the streets of Detroit or Newark or Los Angeles would our government head resign? History says no.
If we wish to be a guiding light in the world, we need to let other countries resolve their own problems, bring our troops home, and work on the many problems we have here in this country.

“The pitifulest thing out is a mob.” Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

As some may know, I had a run-in with cancer last year and was on an enforced hiatus due to my loss of hair to chemotherapy. This is the drawback of appearing as Twain "au naturel" without wig or false mustache.
I am happy to report my full recovery and I am now accepting bookings for this summer season, when I expect to be fully hirsute again.
I am working in less demanding roles -- currently as Chief Justice Job Durfee in "The Murder Trial of John Gordon" in Cranston, R.I.

I've had this website for over 5 years. Cruising along at 100 to 200 hits a day. Not very exciting but a pace I feel comfortable with. Then Thursday I did a performance at Furnace Brook Middle School in Marshfield, MA. This morning I have over 7,000 hits and several comments to my Guestbook. I think they liked it.

A kind friend pointed out that I have neglected this newsletter for the last year. I confess to having "Mark Twain Talks" slip a bit while I finished the work on our new cottage and tried to stay solvent during the recession. As some may know my "day job" is as an investor and keeping ahead of the market the last year has required an attention and dedication that was not heretofor necessary.

Things are back on a predictable track now and I am back to work. I just returned from a very successful performance in Middletown, NY and have had several inquiries for next year.

Onward and Upward!

There was a discussion recently among the SoloTogether group about what label we put on what we do.

Whether we call ourself a Historical Impersonator (I understand the late Bill Meikle insisted he was a "personator", not an "im-personator"), Stand-up Historian, Living History Performer, Historical Role Player, Historical Presenter, Historical Interpreter, Living Historian, or just Solo Performer of a One Man Show, what we ultimately attempt to do is bring the past alive. In my case I try to show people that nothing much has changed in the nature and actions of the Human Race even if the times in which we live are markedly different from those of 1894.

My new Talk, "Notes on the Damned Human Race", which premiered in England this summer is an attempt to show this. The review from Buxton is on the Review page.

Over the course of the summer we have moved to a lovely little cottage on the banks of the Sippican River in West Wareham, MA. A great deal of work was required before we could move in and that is my excuse for being relatively out of touch.
We did spend 2 delightful weeks in England, and a day in Holland with friends, in the middle of July. Then it was back to work on the house and we moved in in September. Same phone, same e-mail, only the address has changed.

I sometimes think I am the laziest man on earth, a phrase my father used to use to describe me. I just noticed I haven't posted here for almost 6 months!

My first year doing shows in Vermont for the Vermont Humanities Council was great fun. Two of the shows were to overflow crowds which was great for my ego, if not my voice. I have already done one show this year, have two more definites and more in the works.

For those who have been asking about local Massachusetts shows, I will be at the West Bridgewater Library on April 1 and home in Marshfield at Ventress library for Twain's birthday in November.

Finally, we are returning to Buxton, England this summer to premiere the new "Notes on the Damned Human Race" at the Fringe Festival where we won an award for "Hannibal Years" in 2006.

I've set up a blog! Notes on the Damned Human Race It's mostly my thoughts on current events, but will contain relevant Twain thoughts and comments when appropriate. Please visit it and let me know what you think.

As most of us know, the new year really starts in September, when the cool weather sets in and school starts. I've been very remiss about updating this part of the website, but my New Year's resolution is to be better about that.

I've got shows coming up in Vermont this fall (see the Calendar for details) and I must say my first year working with the Vermont Humanities Council has been a delight!

I'm also gearing up for a major outreach to Libraries and Senior Citizen organizations closer to home, so if you have any suggestions or contacts please let me know.

We didn't make it back to England this year - partially because of the fall in the dollar's value - but next year is a must! I've been working on revising the new "talk" - Notes on the Damned Human Race.

February News -

Since my last posting was in November of last year I feel it is time again to update you on my doings.

I have been working diligently (and some times desperately) on the new Twain talk "Notes on the Damned Human Race". It will debut in all its glory next Wednesday 2/7 at the Amazing Things Art Center in Natick/Saxonville, Mass. Details and directions are available at www.amazingthings.org . The talk is a bit darker than some of the others, but still humorous and entertaining.

I keep taking other acting gigs. Opening a show at The Vine wine bar in Plymouth this weekend - "How Gertrude Stormed the Philosophers' Club", very silly. Info at www.thevineplymouth.com . I'm also doing a reading of "In White America" for the Trotter Institute at UMass Boston on 2/6 at noon in the library - free and open to the public.

"Patience of Nantucket", in which I have the role of the very evil Capt. Nathaniel Fitzgerald, is going to be presented on Nantucket Island in July. Unfortunately this precludes going to Buxton this year, but I am already thinking about 2008!

Finally, I am directing a wonderful play by A.R. Gurney, "Later Life", for the Bay Players. It will be presented one weekend only - April 27-29.

November News -

I have just been invited to join the roster of the Vermont Humanities Council Speaker’s Bureau. This is a fairly big deal and only a handful of the many who audition are added each year. It means they will pay my fee if I can convince nonprofits to hire me, which should make that task much more enjoyable for all involved.

The Illinois College gig last month was a huge success. I met some wonderful people, saw Lincoln’s house in Springfield (which is not as old as the one I live in), met some wonderful people - including Ken Bradbury, the author of “Homerville”, a very famous novel of small-town midwest life, who said some very nice things about the performance. His review is posted on my website.

I’m doing a private party performance this month in a living room. I really enjoy these intimate settings - 10 to 20 people comfortably settled in are much more fun than the same number on folding chairs in a library room designed for 60. Opportunities to see me in a more public setting are -

Sunday, Nov. 19 2pm Needham Public Library - The full show with intermission
and
Thursday, Nov. 30 2pm Boston Public Library - “The Morals Lecture”

I’ve begun work on a new “talk”, tentatively titled “Notes on the Damned Human Race” which is promised for February, but may be incomplete by then. Details to follow.

Greetings,

Here it is October, already.

"OCTOBER: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February."

I’m headed out to Illinois College this weekend to do "Advice to Youth" for the College Convocation on Monday morning. A kind neighbor and alumnus of IC is providing escort and protection.

October 28th is "Daniel Webster Day" at Ventress Library in Marshfield, MA and I’ll be there teasing Daniel about his last words and telling about a frog of that name out in California.

November 19th I’ll be at Needham Public Library at 2 pm doing the full "Mark Twain Talks" show. I’ve never done the exact same show twice, so even if you’ve seen it, come see it again. It’s free.

November 30th, Twain’s birthday, I’ll be doing the "Morals Lecture" in the Rabb Lecture Hall at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square at 2 pm.

I’ve also started work on a new "talk" using some of the anti-imperialist material that came out of Twain’s disappointment about the motives of the Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion in China. It is remarkably relevant to today’s world and I hope to have it ready for next spring and summer.

For most of us, the new year starts now, with Labor Day, the end of summer, and the return to schools. Our thoughts turn away from the beach and towards the warming fireside.

I am currently in rehearsal for a stage play, Patience of Nantucket, which runs 9/7 to 9/23 at the Boston Center for the Arts. If you come see it, be sure to say hello afterwards.

There is a new VIDEO sampler of the shows on my audio/video page. I have taken off the audio only clips that were there, but I can still provide them to anyone who needs them.

Next Twain shows are -
Illinois College Oct. 9
Ventress Library, Marshfield Oct. 28
Needham Library, Nov. 19
and I'm looking for a place to celebrate Twain's birthday on Nov. 30 or Dec. 1 as a benefit for a local charity. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

We got back yesterday from 10 days at the Buxton Fringe Festival in Buxton, England. I won a "Best of Fest" award for 'Hannibal Years', and everybody enjoyed 'The Morals Lecture' too.

The weather was a bit unusual. We left here in 90 degree, humid weather - looking forward to the cool and dry air of England. Unfortunately, England was just starting its record-setting heat wave! Doing 2 shows a day in a stuffy black box theater presented some challenges, but all-in-all it was a great success.

We did a lot of walking, which was good for us, saw some very interesting theater, visited with our friend Marianne Terborg, who came over from Holland to see us, and will probably do it again next year.

Next show here is 8/16 in Enfield, CT.

I should perhaps be better at this journal thing, but I keep making the mistake of taking on new projects.

I just finished up playing Buford Bullough in a very strange but wonderful play titled "F.M." by Romulus Linney.

Buxton is on! Flying over with Betsy on July 14 and returning July 24. I'll be doing "Hannibal Years" on Sunday July 16, then that and "The Morals Lecture" every day but Tuesday. A minimum of 9 shows in 7 days will be a challenge, but we're really looking forward to it. If you happen to be in England then, give us a shout.

I just picked up a gig doing the full show at the library in Enfield, CT on August 16. That's a little closer to home for most of you and I'd love to see anyone who can make it.

I’m just back from the Albany area where we did a very successful launch of the new middle-school show. The kids were very receptive, understood most of it, and especially enjoyed the “watermelon” section.

It was a beautiful drive out and the road through the Berkshires was wonderful. The way water seeps through the rock faces and freezes into brilliant blue, green, and white waterfalls is spectacular.

We’re still working out the details of trying to get to the Buxton Fringe Festival in July, but it looks very promising. I’m working with one of the venue operators over there to handle most of the arrangements, publicity, ticket sales, etc.

In the fall the plan is to head to the midwest and build a mini-tour around a performance at Illinois College.

IT"S OFFICIAL! The release party for my new CD - "MARK TWAIN TALKS - Favorite Stories Volume 1" will be Sunday, March 5 at the Ventress Library in Marshfield, MA from 1-4 pm and we have some wonderful things planned.

There will be free wooden nickels for everyone attending plus "steamboat" cookies and punch.

At 2pm I will be doing a free dress rehearsal for the new "talk" - "Hannibal Years", which is an introduction to Twain's boyhood and tells about the real people who were the models for the characters in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". This talks is designed for 6-8 grades but there is plenty in there to entertain adults as well.

At 3pm there will be a formal presentation of a copy of the CD for inclusion in the library's collection.

And, of course, there will be buttons, bumper stickers, and CDs for sale - with $5 from the sale of each CD going to the "Friends" organization of the library.

Hope you can come!