The lights dim low. A man walks on stage. The man is a spitting image of Thomas Jefferson, costume and all. The man begins speaking with a voice just like him. That man is renowned actor, scholar and author Clay Jenkinson who also is the leading performer of the Chautauqua form.
The Tukwila Rotary Club will present Jenkinson at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Auburn Performing Arts Center.
Jenkinson performs many historical characters in the Chautauqua format, a first person characterization of historical figures that involves teaching the audience. Jenkinson will be performing as the Dueling Debater featuring Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt in Auburn.
His presentations of Thomas Jefferson have become the national model for scholars interpreting historical figures in the Chautauqua format. He appeared as Thomas Jefferson in the White House for President Clinton and guests on the 250th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth in April 1994. This was the first public program in the humanities that has been featured in a White House event.
Jenkinson has been heard throughout the nation as Jefferson on the weekly Thomas Jefferson Hour®. The first character he presented was Jefferson and now he visits with audiences as a public scholar of Jefferson’s ideas and views in thousands of programs throughout the United States.
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ON STAGE
• Show:
• Time: 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23
• Venue: Auburn Performing Arts Center, 700 E. Main St.
• Tickets, info: Available at www.brownpapertickets.org for $15 for students, $35 for general admission, and $55 for premium tickets. For more information about these events please call 206-674-4673 or 1-800-441-8601 or e-mail ClayJenkinson@TukwilaRotary.org
Those who purchase a premium ticket will get to meet and enjoy a dinner with Clay Jenkinson before the show starting at 6 p.m. Premium ticket holders also will receive preferred seating. Proceeds will support community service projects sponsored by the Tukwila Rotary.
