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Faculty and Staff Actors Shine at Mississippi College


Dr. Beth Stapleton

Audiences will see there’s no cure for the Midwinter acting bug gripping three talented Mississippi College educators.

Coming to a stage on the Clinton campus in mid-February, Tommy Leavelle and Terry Dent will join the student cast for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Written in 1595-96, the play remains one of William Shakespeare’s most popular works. This hysterical comedy is a crowd pleaser in the 21st Century.

Dent portrays the character Starveling the tailor. The play features fairies, epic poetry plus leading characters like the Duke of Athens and the Amazon Queen.

“Working with students in a play is a great experience,” says Dent, director of the Office of Student Success. “They bring so much energy to the stage. There is lots of laughter as everyone discovers their characters and roles.”

The Clintonian can’t wait for the curtains to rise on opening night, February 16. The show at Swor Auditorium will run through February 19.

“This production will have the audience in stitches,” Dent says. He’s no novice on stage. Growing up, he’s played roles in high school productions like “Ten Little Indians” and appeared in numerous church dramas. Terry wowed theatre critics in his first MC acting gig as the priest in the production of “Les Miserables.”

Despite his growing star power, Dent will keep his day job at the Baptist-affiliated university.

Part of MC’s 39th annual Shakespeare Festival, the play is directed by communication professor Phyllis Seawright.

Seawright lauds the skills that Leavelle, an award-winning math professor, and Dent bring to the stage.

“Tommy and Terry show the undergraduates a level of dedication and intuitive reading essential to their characters,” Seawright says. “Their chemistry is as funny and natural as anything the Marx Brothers ever came up with.”

Seawright is pretty familiar with this Shakespearean play. The MC graduate performed in the show as an undergraduate.

Leavelle is getting to know almost every line in the play, too, as he portrays Snout the tinker.

The Clinton resident seems to be a natural. He got to see Shakespeare plays performed live when he served as MC’s London Semester professor. The Mississippian also enjoyed being in the audience for Kabuki theater when he traveled to Japan with other MC professors more than a decade ago.

Following his successful “Midsummer Night’s Dream” audition, Leavelle is delighted to be rehearsing. “It has been a wonderful chance to interact with a group of students outside the classroom. I am looking forward to the production.”

The Shakespeare Festival was created at the Christian university thanks to the support of the late MC English Department Chairman George Pittman, and his wife, Alicia. Both are MC graduates.

Another star is born in the new year. The chair of the MC Modern Languages Department, Beth Stapleton is thrilled to be part of the American musical “Show Boat.”

The MC graduate is getting rave reviews before “Show Boat” docks on the Clinton campus February 23-26. “I love getting into the Parthy character, although many may think it isn’t a stretch for me,” Stapleton says.

She’s singing the praises of her fellow actors. “The entire cast is supportive and full of energy. I encourage everyone to come support the show.”

With music by Jerome Kern, and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, “Show Boat” made its debut in New York City in 1927. The MC Music Theatre production is one that audiences in Central Mississippi shouldn’t miss.

Stapleton is no acting newcomer. Beth played a minor role in the movie “Strange Weather” that was filmed at Mississippi College and other locations in the region last year. The movie starring Holly Hunter will be showcased in mid-February at the Oxford Film Festival.