The Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre at Ferrum College

2009 Season

BRDT on Tour

BRDT Touring Productions

Written by Joe Stanley
Thursday, 08 March 2007
Jack Tale Players Jack Tales, as dramatized by R. Rex Stephenson, are stories of the Blue Ridge Mountains that particularly appeal to fun-loving audiences of all ages because of their fast-paced action, energetic actors, innovative staging, and foot-stomping music. Which of us doesn’t have an unkind brother, unreasonable boss, or fiendish neighbor who makes our lives difficult? Who isn’t curious about the outside world? What youth doesn’t want prosperity? Jack, the Appalachian folk hero, faces such problems and has these longings. R. Rex Stephenson has been dramatizing stories from this folk cycle since 1975 and combining the timeless Jack Tales with lively music to create performances for youth and adults. The Jack Tales can play indoors or outside, in church fellowship halls, school auditoriums, or on stages. Stephenson can adapt a performance for festivals, church services, educational situations, as well as typical performance conditions. Click here for more information about the Jack Tales . An Evening with Mark Twain An Evening with Mark Twain features Mark Twain as a lecturer in a recreation of Twain’s 1908 lecture tour, recounting his life including his boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri, his experiences as a prospector in California, his time on the Mississippi as a riverboat pilot, his skirmishes as an author and playwright, and his encounters as a world traveler. Twain is never predictable in the topics he chooses to discuss with any particular group and may turn his particular humorous observations on subjects ranging from golf, to retirement, religion, the French, newspaper reporters, and doctors. He shares not only his humorous observations about society but also reveals his abiding love for his wife, Olivia, about whom he observed, “Wherever she was, there was Eden.” R. Rex Stephenson plays Twain throughout the evening and often includes cameo appearances from other performers in the performance. Stephenson the artistic director of the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre and professor of theatre arts at Ferrum College has been creating the character of Mark Twain for over thirty years. An Evening with Mark Twain is a happy look at one of the great creative geniuses of American culture and the wit that marked the best of 19th C writing. The performance plays best to teenagers and adult audiences and can work in most performance situations. Anne Recalls William Shakespeare Set on April 28, 1616, three days after Shakespeare’s death, Anne Recalls William Shakespeare features Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife, as she reflects on Shakespeare’s career and speculates on his reputation. The play reveals the human concerns of a wife who loved her husband, the practical nature of a woman who has managerial responsibility for significant property, and the individual reactions of a proud woman impatient with the petty views of her nosy neighbors. Jody D. Brown, who portrays Anne, wrote the script drawing extensively from Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Brown, who is well-known to Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre audiences, has significant experience in teaching, performing, lecturing, and writing about Shakespeare’s works, influence, and life. Stephenson joins her in this touring production as an invented servant from the Shakespeare household and as the voice of Shakespeare. The production plays best to older teenagers and adults. Because it uses authentic Elizabethan costumes, the performers need a changing area in addition to the performance requirements.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 November 2007 )

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The Jack Tale Players

Workshops

Drama is a great tool to explore people’s ability to imagine, to examine issues, to develop writing and speaking skills, and to develop dramatic skills. The BRDT company can provide drama workshops on a variety of topics for groups of all ages.

Whether you are interested in turning stories into plays, developing cooperation and group cohesiveness, or fostering the self-confidence of members of your group, we can design a workshop or series of activities to help you achieve your goals.

We do workshops in your space or in ours.

Booking and Costs

Standard Fees for all BRDT Touring Productions Single performance--$400 plus mileage charge.

Two performances in one location in one day--$700 plus mileage charge.

Workshop—call for quote, the cost varies with the length and purposes of each workshop.

Performance Requirements

Minimum of 10 x 10 clear space
One standard electrical outlet
Access to the performance space 30 minutes prior to and 20 minutes after the performance.

Contact Jody D. Brown, Executive Director, (phone: 540-365-4335, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) about a booking for your group.

Reservations

We recommend reservations to insure your best theatre seating. Patrons planning to dine with us must make reservations 36 hours ahead. Click here to make yours today!