Page Four—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, September 29, 1971
'Mark Twain Tonight'
Slated for Thursday
Chappell
To Perform
South Hall Residents
Help Foreign Student
On Thursday, September 30,
the clock will roll back some sixty
years for the audience at Me
Dowell Columns Auditorium,
when the Events Committee
presents JOHN CHAPPELL in
his amazing recreation of
America’s funniest observer,
Mark Twain.
The program is appropriately
called “Mark Twain Tonight!”,
for it is more than an evening of
Samuel Clemens’ biting wit and
thought provoking comments. It
is, first and last, incredibly ef
fective theatre; a three-act en
counter with the man who once
said “The rumors of my death
have been greatly exaggerated.”
Those who have seen it come
away with the uncanny feeling
that they have seen, not JOHN
CHAPPELL but Mark Twain
himself.
Every moment is carefully
planned to create that effect. The
stage looks much as a lecture hall
platform of 1910 might have
looked: arm chair, library table,
an ornate reading stand. One sees
some well worn books, a crystal
pitcher of ice water and a goblet.
The lighting evokes thoughts of
gaslamps.
The make-up, carefully created
from rare, actual photographs of
Samuel Clemens takes three
hours or more to apply. Mr.
Chappell’s white suit is a copy of
one Mark Twain wore in his
lifetime.
The result is that rare event in
the theatre: a complete illusion of
reality. From the moment the
seventy-year old Twain shuffles
on stage, audiences laugh at his
tall stories and wry gulps, are
moved by his humanity, oc
casionally squirm at his savage
irony — and above all, thrill to
the presence of the man himself.
In look and voice and in ap
pearance and gesture, the
creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck
Finn lives again.
“Mark Twain Tonight!”, an
actor’s portrait of Samuel
Clemens, will be presented at the
Me Dowell Columns Auditorium
on September 30. Admission U_by
ID card. The program will serve
as one of the optional chapel-
assembly features for the
semester.
John Chappell
A Word About Chappell
JOHN CHAPPELL comes most
recently from Atlanta’s
Memorial Arts Center, where his
cameo appearance in LIGHT UP
THE SKY won applause from
audiences and plaudits from
critics. Last season, he created
the role of Harold P. Brown in the
world premier of D. Mehnouth’s
THE GREAT AMERICAN
LIGHT WAR. He was seen as De
Sade in Peter Weiss’ famed
Marat-Sade, and has toured in
two productions of WAITING
FOR GODOT, one of which he
directed. Noted Broadway
director Joe Layton chose him for
the principal role of Governor
John White in his production of
America’s longest-running
outdoor drama, THE LOST
COLONY, a part he was asked to
repeat on film. Mr. Chappell was
heard nationally on “The
Reviewing Stand”, a program
about theological dimensions in
contemporary theatre, which he
produced for The Protestant
Council over WOR in New York.
He is the author of one published
play, THE MURDER OF JAMES
CROW, and is currently at work
on another, a dramatization
based on the Boston Massacre.
Recently, he has undertaken a
further adventure: the creation
of a new solo performance, a
theatrical encounter with the
famed defense attorney Clarence
Darrow.
Mr. Chappell began work on his
characterization of Mark Twain
in 1968, when he secured the
approval of Hal Holbrook, ac
claimed creator of “Mark iSvain
Tonight!”, for his bringing the
Missouri sage to life in those
towns and colleges unlikely to see
Mr. Holbrook himself. He made
his first appearance that July
after months of work, which
included painstaking study of the
life and character of Samuel
Clemens. Rare actual
photographs of “Mark Twain”,
on loan to Mr. Chappell from the
Special Projects Division of NBC
Television provide an accurate
guide for the creation and make
up as well as detailed studies of
the humorist’s characteristic
ways of sitting, standing,
smoking, etc. The result is a
complete illusion of reality:
audiences seem to recognize, and
fall in love with Mark Twain
himself. Critics have compared
Chappell’s performance to that of
Holbrook, with acclaim for both.
At present there is about twelve
hours of authentic Twain
material on hand, most of it from
Mr. Holbrook’s rare, personal
collection, though there is also
much new material, assembled
by Mr. Chappell. No two per
formances are ever the same,
since Mr. Chappell does not
program an evening in advance,
but chooses his material as he
goes along. Some selections like
the “Water Closet” story are
whole pieces of material lifted
from source (in this case a letter
in Mark Twain’s Notebook) and
then additional lines from other
sources are sewn into the fabric
of the piece to sharpen its
dramatic or humorous
possibilities. Other selections,
such as the routine on “Lying” or
on “The Damned Human Race”,
begin with an idea of some topical
value, which is then researched
and certain comments and
anecdotes about it are then
wrought together to form a satire
on the subject. The material is all
ninety-nine per cent pure Twain.
John Chappell is originally
from North Carolina. He made
his professional acting debut in
1957 at a summer stock playhouse
in Dorset, Vermont, and has
appeared in various professional
stock and road companies, while
continuing his education. Mr.
Chappell received his Bachelor of
Science degree in the teaching of
mathematics and physics from
Wake Forest in 1961, and has
since received two graduate
degrees: a Bachelor of Divinity,
and, from New York’s
prestigious Union Theological
Seminary, a Master of Sacred
"Dieology in religion and drama;
he has recently spent some time
working on his PhD. in his field at
Emory University’s Graduate
Institute of the Liberal Arts. He is
married, with no children, and
his wife Laura accompanies him
on tour when pausible.
"MY SWEET LORD"
IS YEAR'S BEST
LONDON (AP)—A poU by the
music publication Melody Maker
has picked Beatle George
Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” as
the best single record of the year,
in both the international and
British sections.
Miss Sue Thompson, a teacher
and student worker stationed in
Minna, Nigeria, will be guest
speaker at the regular weekly
meeting of the Baptist Student
Union Campus Christian
Fellowship on Monday,October
11 at 7:00 p.m. The meeeting is
scheduled for the lounge of the
Askew Student Union, with all
students invited to attend.
A native of Warrensburg,
Missouri, Miss Thompson
received her baachelor of science
in education degree from Central
Missouri State Colllege, and the
master of religious education
degree from the Southern Baptist
■nieological Seminary. Betweeen
college and seminary years she
taught English in Kansas City,
Missouri, Mgh school. She also
worked for three summers in the
summer missions program of the
By TERRY SHOULDERS
The students of South Hall have
helped considerably to further
the education of a foreign
student, now studying at Chowan
College. The new dormitory
residents contributed $93.50 from
their treasury to be applied to the
tuition costs of Anthony (Tony)
Ehidiame Obion-Esene, from
Lagos, Nigeria. The money is
that portion of funds left fron last
year.
Carlton Crooks, Associate
Head Resident of South Hall,
suggested that the treasury
residue be expended in this
SGA
Minutes
On Monday, September 13,
there was a meeting of the S.G.A.
officers in the cafeteria. All
members were present and
accounted for. Mr. Wooten at
tended along with a guest, Barry
Bradbury. Barry, a freshman, is
the newly proposed male social
co-chairman.
First of all, representation in
the Student Legislature was
discussed. It was decided to
attempt to ratify a bill to the
S.G.A. Constitution giving the
Student Legislature represen
tation by dormitory floors. The
present method is that of free
election, but it was believed in all
fairness, this would be the better
way.
A vote was taken by the S.G.A.
officers concerning whether to
sponsor a dance or a concert on
Friday night, October 29. A tie
followed and it was then decided
to postpone the issue until the
next meeting.
A decision was made to charge
students at the next S.G.A.
concert on September 28. The
amount of two dollars per person
was agreed upon. It was felt that
since the S.G.A. movies shown
recently have had unusually high
attendance, the remainder of the
films throughout the year would
be free-of-charge. Thus it would
be imperative to set a price for
the cconcert admission.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Joel W. Rose
HAT DANCE—The Spanish Club will be guests for the
Mildred Alexander Show on October 5 from 1-1:30 p. m.
on WTAR-TV, Channel 3. Following a Mexican custom,
Martha Lynch, sophomore from Virginia Beach and
Wayne Ferguson, sophomore from Newport News, Va„
are featured performing the Mexican Hat Dance.
BSD To Hear Missionary
manner, and according to Crooks,
“we are all pleased that we can
help this young man further his
education.”
Tony received the Competitive
Honor Scholarship sometime
ago, but found that this was not
enough to cover his expenses
while a student here. He is
almost self-supporting since his
father was killed in 1966 while
fighting in the Biafra war.
The Nigerian native is a
Baptist by faith, and is studying
toward a degree in accounting.
He is quick to tesitfy that “a high
school education is not enough in
Nigeria, and therefore it is very
important to me that I complete
my education.”
Tony is one of several foreign
students on the Chowan campus
who are learning the ways of
American way of life, and en
joying a wide friendship among
fellow students and faculty
members.
HELPING FOREIGN STUDENT—Dean B. Franklin
Lowe, seated, presents a check to Tony Ehidiame Odion-
Esene, as a gift from the residents of South Hall dor
mitory. The money will be used to assist Tony in his
efforts to gain a college education. Looking on, left, is
Norman Eddleton, a representative of South Hall.
SPANISH CLUB OFFICERS—The
Spanish Club again is very active at
Chowan. The officers for this year are:
Danny Holton, President; Doris Smith,
Vice-President; Jane Paul, Secretary;
Eddie Lineberry, Treasurer; Martha
Lynch and Wayne Ferguson, Social Co-
Chairmen; Richard Jackson and Cathy
Ritko, Program Chairmen. Dr. Morris
Carson is sponsor for the group.
Home Mission Board, serving in
Louisiana, Missouri, and
Oklahoma.
Although the Foreign
Mission Board has never had a
policy excluding Negroes from
service with that agency. Miss
Thompsson was the first Black to
be appointed a regular
missionary of the Board in 84
years at the time of her ap
pointment in 1967. The con
stitution of the Southern Baptist
Convention does reguire that all
missionary personnel be
members of ^uthern Baptist
churches. Therre have been few
Black members of such churches
since the days of Reconstruction.
The nation’s smallest coin, the
half-cent piece, was first issued
in 1793 and last struck in 1857.
Ccnvfcition
Chowon College
ADMINISTRATIVE
PAHERN
Faculty Committees
EDITOR'S NOTE; The Chowan CoUege
Administrative Pattern and Chart of Faculty
Committees are printed here for the interest
and use of Chowan College students. The
committee chart should be of particular in
terest since almost every committee has
students as members.
Chapel-
Assembly
Houstng
Clothing and
Etiquette
Scholarship
Judiciary
Hospitality
Library
Faculty-Student
CwncU
AfMn
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f Mrd ff Atfvisart
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