Alan K - Mark Twain Impersonator

 

 

 

 

The first novel Alan ever read was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Tom and Huck showed him that a boy who was willing to risk it could invent a better world, and then get to live in it. He ran away from home within the first week after reading that book. He was eight years old, and thankfully didn’t get past the front porch.

 

 

Alan didn’t like the system -- quietly bucking authority while avoiding confrontation because he felt he had to live within its boundaries until he figured out how to survive and yet follow his passion. That passion was acting, and it was shared by a half million other young actors who were auditioning for the same ten paying jobs. So he resolved to outlast the competition, if necessary, doing whatever was necessary until they quit or died off.

 

 

He found his voice in Mark Twain for the first time about thirty years ago. He read and saw everything that was written or read by, about and because of Twain; reviewed the history of the times to immerse himself in a historical perspective – even studied Missouri dialects, combining them with mannerisms gathered from personal experiences living in various states, as Twain must have done.

 

 

Alan ended up with what amounts to an evening of political humor, in Twain’s style, that resonates with modern audiences. He began writing in 2006 and touring in 2007. Using his own writing, Alan applies Twain’s political sensibilities to the present century. The current show is a political humorist’s statement about the human condition. When asked to compare it with Holbrook’s work, Director Charles Messina (“Cirque Jacqueline,” “Mercury”) called it “Bolder.”

 

Twain said that man’s nature can’t be changed; therefore things we experience repeatedly can’t change. At the same time, he challenges the individual to question accepted values and norms so that we can achieve a greater control over our fate. Alan wrote this show as a contribution to the political discussion, as a way of doing more than complaining and in turn challenging the audience. He could not think of a better way to state that challenge than through the mask used by Sam Clemens himself.

 

 

 

 

The show has already been presented to around 4,500 people of all ages. The results so far suggest a hit in the making. Alan couldn’t be happier with the results to date. And so far, audiences seem to share the enthusiasm. With numerous invitations for return engagements, Alan looks forward to the next set of opportunities.

 

 

“Last Stand” has been playing in libraries and theatrical houses along the East Coast and in the Midwest - and the West Coast is about to be added to the schedule. It makes sense. The 100th anniversary of Twain's death (2010), and the present economic crisis provide the perfect conditions for Twain's timeless humor. And who couldn’t use a few laughs.