Mark Twain Himself - Actor Biography

Quoting Twain:
Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.
- Life on the Mississippi

I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.
- Watermelon speech, 1907

...genius itself succeeds only by arduous self-training...to play on the fiddle it is not merely necessary to take a bow and fiddle with it
- "Contributors Club," Atlantic, 1/1877

Only he who has seen better days and lives to see better days again knows their full value.
- Notebook, 1902

Mr. Richard Garey combines his passion as an actor, his skill as a storyteller, and his expertise as a writer to bring the role of Mark Twain Himself to life. A talented and experienced actor with acting credits in over 40 states and Canada in a twenty year stage career, Garey explores many dimensions of the characters he creates on stage. Mark Twain Himself includes comedy, satire, and drama as you would expect from Mr. Twain. Garey is also the playwright who collected and assembled this one-man play from the writings of Samuel L. Clemens.

In additions to an acting career that spans over two decades, Garey has also taught acting in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Maine. He has formed three successful dramatic companies and has been a director and producer. Other Garey signature one-man roles include President John F. Kennedy in a play called JFK, the prolific William Shakespeare in Shakespeare, a 19th century new England sea captain in Captain Bates, a stage performance of the gospel story call The Gospel According to Mark and his newest show, Dr. David Paulson Live.

Mr. Garey also has a video and three DVDs available. The Mark Twain Himself DVD is a part of of the Discoveries ... America series. His Dr. David Paulson DVD is a Commemorative Edition made possible by Hinsdale Hospital in Chicago. A Homecoming is currently in production and will be released in 2005. to Mark Twain's Hannibal, a Discoveries. . . America series, is now available on DVD.

Mr. Garey holds a Masters degree from James Madison University. He is also a poet and a playwright. In 2004-2005 Garey will be performing theatre shows, gala performance fundraisers, artist-in-residence programs for colleges and universities, and print and television advertisements as scheduling permits.