[080] Getting In Step With A 'Literary Soldier'

GETTING IN STEP WITH A ‘LITERARY SOLIDER’
Sept. 14 Performance Delves Into Life of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ Author

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 10, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Gina E. Fann, gfann@mtsu.edu or 615-898-5385;
Connie Huddleston, chudd@mtsu.edu or 615-494-7628.

(MURFREESBORO)— Join actress Elizabeth Davidson as she brings "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author and activist Harriet Beecher Stowe to life Tuesday, Sept. 14, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre.

Free public performances of the one-woman play, “Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Literary Soldier,” are set for 9:40 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Stowe’s novel, written in 1853, helped galvanize a nation against the evils of slavery. Davidson, a Nashville-based performer, researched Stowe’s life and legacy to write the one-hour play, which features a fictionalized account of a meeting between the author and one of her detractors.

Because of the nature of the subject matter, “A Literary Soldier” is recommended for teens and adults only.

The MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund is sponsoring the performances.

“She has finally agreed to meet with him on her terms, without lawyers and witnesses,” Davidson says of Stowe’s imagined discussion with the Rev. Joel Parker, who has accused her of character defamation by representing him as pro-slavery in her book.

“It is her determination to explain to him how she came to write her book, how she interpreted his statement on the slavery issue and why she would not retract her position.”

Davidson says that she believes her mission, as an actress, “is to use artistic expression as a vital tool for peace and social change I want to instill in my audience just some of the passion that I feel when performing, whether it is pleasant or painful, a learning experience or purely an entertaining one. “

Student and community groups are invited to attend the performances; a study guide for the play is available on the Department of Speech and Theatre’s website via http://bit.ly/BeecherStowe.

For more information about Davidson’s show, please call the College of Liberal Arts at MTSU at 615-494-7628.
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IN BRIEF: Actress Elizabeth Davidson brings "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author and activist Harriet Beecher Stowe to life Tuesday, Sept. 14, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre in two free public performances. The one-woman play, “Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Literary Soldier,” is set for 9:40 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and is recommended for teenagers and adults only. For more information about the performance, please visit http://bit.ly/BeecherStowe or call 615-494-7628.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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NOTE: Media needing a color JPEG of Davidson, in street clothing or in character, should contact the Office of News and Public Affairs before 3 p.m. via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385. Thanks!