CHAUTAUQUA SOUTH
Celebrating the Harvest of the Mind, Body & Spirit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE: JANUARY 28, 2010
CONTACT: PUBLIC RELATIONS 772/221-1403
WHO: Sponsored by The Friends of the Elisabeth Lahti Library of Indiantown, Florida, and the Library Foundation of Martin County, in support of the Martin County Library System
WHAT: Chautauqua South: Lifelong Learning and The Big Read
Mark Twain: A Literary Autobiography
Presented by George Frein, Ph.D.
Veteran Chautauqua performer and scholar George Frein, Ph.D., will portray author Mark Twain at three Martin County libraries February 10, 11 and 12 as part of the library system’s Chautauqua South arts and education series and The Big Read. Copies of the Big Read book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, will be given away at each program while supplies last.
Appearing in costume and in character as Mark Twain, Dr. Frein will present a 40-minute monologue in which he will help audience members see The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in the context of the rest of Twain’s major works. Following the monologue, which is faithful to Twain’s published and unpublished works, will be two 15-minute Q&A sessions based on the best available Twain scholarship: an in-character question period in which “Mark Twain” entertains questions from the audience, giving answers based on what Twain has said and written; and an out-of-character discussion about Twain’s life and work. Sometimes the audience learns about the lies Twain may have told earlier in the program.
George Frein is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota and Adjunct Professor of Religion at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Frein portrayed Mark Twain for the Great Plains Chautauqua Society from 1994-1997, performing every summer in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. He has also presented Mark Twain around the country from the state of Washington to Florida for humanities councils, colleges, schools and libraries. He is currently the director of the
National Chautauqua Tour, a group of humanities scholars making Chautauqua available nationwide.
He is also the Greenville Chautauqua Society’s Artistic Director. In addition to Mark Twain Dr. Frein has portrayed Herman Melville, Henry Adams, John James Audubon, Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Seuss. George lives in Greenville with his wife Shelly Matthews, a professor at Furman University, and their two children.
WHEN and WHERE:
Wednesday, February 10, 4:00 p.m., Elisabeth Lahti Library, Community Room, 15200 SW Adams Avenue, Indiantown (funding by The Friends of the Elisabeth Lahti Library of Indiantown, Florida)
Thursday, February 11, 2:00 p.m., Hobe Sound Public Library, Community Room, 10595 SE Federal Highway, Hobe Sound (funding by the Library Foundation of Martin County)
Friday, February 12, 4:00 p.m., Cummings Library, Donahue Room, 2551 SW Matheson Ave., Palm City (funding by the Library Foundation of Martin County)
HOW: Free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations required.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of
American culture. For more information about The Big Read please visit www.neabigread.org. To learn about
other Big Read events planned in Martin County visit www.bigreadmartin.org.
Complete Chautauqua schedules are available at all Martin County libraries. For details or to learn more about the Martin County Library System call 772/221-1403, pick up a Library Connection at any branch library or visit the library Web site, www.library.martin.fl.us.
END
