Richard Thomas Brings Mark Twain and Mastery to CMU’s Theatre Majors
Renowned actor Richard Thomas brought Mark Twain Tonight! to the Asteria Theatre at CMU in February, giving audiences a chance to experience the celebrated one-man show that brings the words and wit of Mark Twain to life. With a long career in television, film and theatre, Thomas is perhaps best known for his early role as John Boy Walton in the 1970s television show The Waltons. He is the first actor to take on the iconic Hal Holbrook creation that is Mark Twain Tonight!
While on campus, Thomas reflected on the importance of keeping Twain’s words alive and his hopes that the show inspires audiences to reacquaint themselves with works they may not have read since their school days.
“[Twain’s] voice is still salient in many ways,” said Thomas. “So much of who he was as an American, we still are, for better or worse. He embodies all of the American contradictions. Like [Walt] Whitman, he contains us.”
Thomas played to a full house two nights in a row, February 4 and 5, and praised the Asteria as a wonderfully intimate theatre to perform this show in.
“This is a great house, a beautiful theatre,” said Thomas. “It is the right size to do this intimate event. One of the things I love about it is it’s configured in such a way that, from the stage, I feel very much a part of the auditorium.”
Thomas also sat down for an informal Q & A with CMU theatre majors, moderated by Assistant Professor of Theatre Margaret Knapp. The session gave students a behind-the-scenes look at the craft required to sustain a career in theatre. Thomas shared stories from his upbringing as the child of professional dancers and covered topics as wide ranging as technical differences between acting for the camera and for the stage and his experiences acting in films from the 1990 mini-series It to the 1979 film All Quiet on the Western Front.
For students, the opportunity to learn from an actor with decades of stage and screen experience was both inspiring and educational.
“He emphasized that you have to find what works for you to find longevity in this field,” said junior theatre acting/directing and design/technology double major Emma Gregory. “He pointed out that he had actor friends who transitioned into technical elements. It was really encouraging to hear that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing in theatre. You can do whatever you want, wherever you want, in the industry, as long as it keeps your love for the art alive.”
Knapp also highlighted the value of giving students access to professional artists through the Asteria Theatre presented season.
“Richard Thomas has been a working actor since he was eight years old and is a cultural icon because of his role as John Boy Walton,” said Knapp. “He is uniquely qualified to discuss the life of a full time, lifelong actor. Especially in a rural place like Grand Junction where students do not have regular access to professional theatre, bringing in guest artists allows students to gain access to discussions about industry standards and practices that they normally would not.”
Thanks to the sponsorship of REMAX 4000, students were also able to attend the performance of Mark Twain Tonight!
"There was something so mesmerizing about a performance whose spectacle lives in the text of the show,” said senior theatre design/technology and business management double major BonBon Bonjour. “Richard Thomas made me think about how language from stories told years ago can still impact our daily lives."
As an actor who has played in mediums from television to film to stage, Thomas expressed his personal preference for live theatre and why it matters.
“Theatre is primal,” he said. “It’s primal because it is a part of the continuity which begins with ritual and religion in a communal, public space. Nowadays, with everyone looking at their screens, the experience of being in the room with a performance being given just to you — nobody else gets this — that’s categorically different from the way most people are experiencing their lives on a day-to-day basis.”
He went on to explain that venues like the Asteria Theatre are essential to serving a community by bringing citizens together to have a collective experience.
“The experience of touring across the country makes you realize that theatre is everywhere,” Thomas said. “It’s essential to have a constellation of theatres like this one across the country that are a network of communal experiences. And a theatre like this in the context of an educational institution that also serves the community — it’s doubly blessed.”
