James B. Douglas performance 9/25

SUNSHINE AND SHADOWS: AN AFTERNOON WITH STEPHEN LEACOCK

Performed by James B. DouglasTUESDAY, SEPT. 25th, 4:00 PMMann Auditorium, Trinity Campus, University of Vermont

“the most vivid recreation of Stephen Leacock we have seen… hilariously funny… captures the essence of Leacock’s razor sharp wit”

The renowned Canadian actor James B. Douglas will be coming to the University of Vermont to perform an abbreviated version of his one-man play based on the life and work of the Canadian writer Stephen Leacock (1869-1944). Douglas has performed Sunshine and Shadows to rave reviews in Canada earlier this fall and takes the production to England in October. In his play we see the many sides of Stephen Leacock, who remains one of Canada’s best-known writers and humorists. Following the one-hour performance, Mr. Douglas will be answering questions about his play and his own thoughts on Leacock and his work.

During Stephen Leacock’s lifetime, works like Literary Lapses (1910), Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912), and Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich (1914) were international bestsellers and remain in print to this day. A famed and much-loved professor of Political Economy at McGill University, Leacock wrote over 50 books, including many collections of humorous stories, biographies of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, treatises on Canadian history and politics, and several textbooks on economics. Since 1947, The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humor (which also includes a $10 000 prize) has been awarded annually to the best Canadian literary work of humor.

A veteran of stage, screen and television, James B. Douglas has played over 150 major roles in Britain, Canada and the United States. Highlights include Bitos in POOR BITOS (Center Theater Group, Los Angeles), Sir Toby Belch in TWELFTH NIGHT (Old Globe Theater, San Diego), Paris in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (Stratford Festival), Polo in A HATFUL OF RAIN (Princes Theatre, London) and especially the role of Pvt. Bamforth in THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL (Montreal, Toronto and New York). He has also played roles in many television series and movies, including THE PSI-FACTOR, SOUL FOOD, ROAD TO AVONLEA (opposite Faye Dunaway), THE ASSOCIATES, DOC, THE HAIR CUT, CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE, MILLION DOLLAR BABIES, A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF CANADA and M.A.S.H. He has received Juno and Dora nominations and starred in the Oscar nominated film AFTER THE AXE. James is also a director/producer and dramaturge. He is the former Artistic Director of The Gryphon Theatre where he premiered WAR BRIDES – THE MUSICAL and directed his own adaptation of W.O. Mitchell’s JAKE AND THE KID.

Sponsored by the James and Mary Brigham Buckham Scholarship Fund, the Dept. of English, and the UVM Canadian Studies Program
For more info on the location of the Mann Auditorium, read the full entry below:

Mann Auditorium is in Mann Hall on UVM’s Trinity Campus.

Here’s a map of the location (Mann Hall is the building with the yellow dot), followed by pictures of Mann Hall and the Mann Auditorium.