The John Muir shows performed by Lee Stetson are presented in Yosemite National Park from May through October, and tour around the country during the "off-season", roughly October 1 through the end of April. If your organization, community or school would like to sponsor one of these productions, please review the "production notes" below and contact Lee Stetson at:
Lee Stetson
Box 93
Midpines, CA 95345
Telephone: (209) 742-7838
email: leestetson@sierratel.com
Website: Lee Stetson's John Muir Live
Feb 8, 2000 American Stage Tours Yosemite, CA
April 27, 2000 Miner's Foundry Nevada City, CA
April 28, 2000 Sierra College Rocklin, CA
July 17, 2000 Hetch Hetchy Trek Tuolumne Meadows, CA
July 29, 2000 Dendrology Society Mariposa Big Trees, CA
Sept. 22, 2000 Sierra Club Redding, CA
Sept. 23, 2000 Natl. Trails Conference Redding, CA
Sept. 24, 2000 College of the Siskiyous Weed, CA
Oct. 8, 2000 Izembek Wildlife Refuge Cold Bay, Alaska
Dec. 30, 2000 Los Angeles Sierra Club Yosemite, CA
Mar. 30 and 31, 2001 Ojai Land Conservancy Ojai, CA
July 30 - Aug, 6, 2001 Camp Denali Denali Nat. Park, Alaska
Thank you for your interest in Wild Productions. We have now dedicated more than a decade to successfully presenting hundreds of these entertaining and educational shows based on the writings of John Muir to many thousands of people nationwide -- at national and state parks, universities, elementary schools, museums, wilderness and environmental organizations, corporate board rooms, zoos, cruise ships, conventions, and campfires. We are delighted at the prospect of performing in your community, and will do all possible to make it an easy and rewarding experience.
Booking dates are still available for each of the following one-person presentations.
Conversation With A Tramp; An Evening With John Muir. This show has within it the essence of Muir's biography, a number of adventure stories, is quite humorous in spots, and has as it's essential theme the value of the land ethic, centered around the loss of Hetch Hetchy Valley, Muir's last great environmental battle. Of all the Muir shows, it is probably the best introduction to both Muir the man, and to his thinking.
Stickeen and Other Fellow Mortals. This is a series of Muir's encounters with the animal kingdom - snakes, bears, wild and (hilarious) domestic sheep, the passenger pigeon etc., as well the adventure story of Stickeen, a little dog with whom Muir gets lost in a storm on an Alaskan glacier. The basic themes revolve around animal rights and the problem of extinction. The Story of Stickeen, about an hour long, is often done as single piece, particularly for schools.
The Spirit of John Muir. This show is a series of some of the grand, thrilling adventures Muir had in and around the Yosemite Valley, Alaska and Mt. Shasta, salted liberally with his wilderness philosophy, and it's theme revolves around the health and invigoration one acquires when one fully engages wildness. All of the Muir shows are performed by actor Lee Stetson.
The Tramp and the Roughrider: Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir
Duog Brennan as Teddy Roosevelt and Lee Stetson as John Muir
In May of 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt, planning a tour of the western forests, invited the naturalist John Muir to a four day camping trip in the Yosemite wilderness. The Tramp and the Roughrider illuminates this extraordinary encounter, with the action unfolding at sunset on Glacier Point, overlooking the magnificent Yosemite Valley. At the time of this historic meeting, many millions of acres of our western forest, with little or no governmental supervision, were being exploited and abused by hunting, lumber, stock and mining interests. The federal government had established only five national parks (and was without a Park Service), and exactly one small wildlife preserve, Pelican Island, defended by one lone volunteer against poachers. The Yosemite Valley, though surrounded by a national park, was controlled by the state of California, and was frowsy and neglected. Both of these characters were feisty and opinionated, with sharp disagreements on issues like hunting, animal rights, and forest management. Muirís poetic and evangelistic temperament, clashing with Rooseveltís political enthusiasms, spawned both tension and humor. Both skillful storytellers, it seems natural that both would seek to top one another by relating some of their many adventures in the wilderness of early America - Roosevelt bringing a ruffian to justice on the frontier, for example, or Muir telling of his hair-raising ìinterviewî with a Yosemite bear. But around the campfire, in sifting through their histories and their hopes, these very different men surely discovered how the other had been shaped by their very unique experiences in the wilderness they loved, opening up some rich possibilities of ìdoing some forest goodî. For by the end of Rooseveltís presidency, America could boast of an additional 200 million acres of forest wilderness, five more national parks, several new monuments (including the Grand Canyon) and 65 wildlife preserves.
Bully!!!
Doug Brennan - as President Theodore RooseveltDoug Brennan has a background in academic and professional theater stretching over twenty-five years. A graduate of the University of the Pacific, he stayed on as a staff member and designer before moving on to co-found Sierra Repertory Theatre where he has acted, directed, or designed over 100 shows. His directing work includes such diverse fare as Anne of the Thousand Days, Bedroom Farce, and the Seven-Year Itch. Among his design credits are On Golden Pond, Whoís Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and the world premiere of The Gift Giver. Doug is most active as an actor and some of his most notable roles are Oscar in The Odd Couple, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, and Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace, which led to his interest and work as Theodore Roosevelt. Doug resides in Sonora, CA where is a permanent member of the Sierra Rep Acting Company.
Additional Offerings. Occasionally, in addition to the performance, the actor can offer one of several workshop/lecture sessions, including Acting For The Stage, The Creation of a One-Person Stage Show, and Story-telling. Lee Stetson also offers a popular lecture on Arts And the Environment. Lee also pulls material from the various productions to present the character of Muir as he would view the current day or to emphasize a particular theme.
Technical Needs. All technical needs for the various productions have been deliberately simplified, and in many cases nothing is required save that the performer be seen and heard. The requirements for full technical productions are fully described on the Technical Data Sheet enclosed.
Fee. The basic fee for all shows is $1,500 per performance, plus travel expenses and accommodations. The basic fee is negotiable in some limited situations. A reduction in the per performance fee for any booking of two or more shows is often possible. A 10% deposit is required to secure a confirmed engagement, along with a letter of confirmation citing time, place, and fee agreement. The remainder fee is due immediately after performance.
Travel Expenses. These expenses are usually calculated from Yosemite, CA, and the nearest airport is Fresno, CA. Touring expenses can sometimes be significantly reduced by sharing the costs with a number of host organizations.
Accommodations. A motel or hotel as close to the performance as possible is generally preferred.
Conversation With A Tramp and Stickeen and Other Fellow Mortals. A fireplace with mantle (preferred) or a wood stove, a rocking chair and low footstool for it, a large desk and a chair to match, a coat rack, a wastebasket, and two dozen or so old books. If a wood stove is provided instead of a fireplace, another small table would be needed. Not necessary, but helpful in dressing the set, would be plants, large and small, a large throw rug, an old typewriter, and such things as a naturalist would have in his study - pine cones, fossils, rocks, etc. The Spirit of John Muir can use the identical set above, but only a stool (chair high) is absolutely necessary.
Each performance requires at least one competent technician, familiar with the auditorium's sound and lighting facilities, to help set up, run the lights, and strike the set. All of the technical needs should be in place before the performer arrives, and at least two hours before curtain, the performer and the technician will set sound and light levels. All of the furniture should be in the center of the playing area when the performer arrives for sound and light check. That's it.
Photographs of the performer, for publicity purposes.
Other publicity material, quotes, reviews, articles, all of which can be freely adapted to suit your needs.
Current Touring Schedule, which may make it easier to reduce travel expenses.
Order Form for audio and video tapes.
Please write or call Lee Stetson, 209-742-7838, (after 10:00 a.m. and before 6:00 p.m., Pacific Coast Time) for information or for setting a date for a presentation. Again, we truly appreciate your interest and hope to bring one of our productions to your community or organization one day soon.