Wit, Wisdom, and Musery from America's Greatest Humorist - MARK TWAIN TALKS - Newsletter/Blog

Massive hits

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

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.

Where does the time go?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

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!

NAMES

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

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.

New Address

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

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.

Lethargy

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

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.

My New Blog

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

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.

Happy New Year!

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

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

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

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

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800

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.

OCTOBER NEWS

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700

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.