Performance Complimentary and Open to the Public on November 1

(Columbia, Tenn. - October 19, 2010) - - - Columbia State Community College's Lyceum Committee will host Will Stutts performing his one-man show "Clarence Darrow - Scopes Trial Lawyer" on Monday, November 1 at 9:30 a.m. in the Cherry Theater located in the Waymon L. Hickman building on the Columbia Campus. This production marks the 85th anniversary of the famous 'Scopes Trial' in Dayton, Tennessee. Lawyer Clarence Darrow defended the Tennessee biology teacher John Thomas Scopes, arrested and tried for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Stutts will present a solo theatrical production, portraying the controversial Darrow. The event is free and open to the public.

Stutts' impressive career includes many professional theater productions in New York as well as productions in many regional theatres. For more than 40 years, Stutts has been involved with acting, directing, producing and playwriting. He excels in solo theatrical presentations, specifically the 'one person play' genre, having portrayed such intriguing historical characters as Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Tallulah Bankhead, John Wilkes Booth, Frank Lloyd Wright, Tennessee Williams and Clarence Darrow. His plays have won him critical acclaim throughout the country in community theaters and college campuses.

"We are looking forward to Will's character portrayal of Clarence Darrow," says Emily Gaskill, Assistant Professor of Music and Chair of the Lyceum Committee at Columbia State. "What a wonderful way to study a historical event, and one that particularly hits close to home. This production will be enlightening as well as entertaining."

For more information, contact the Lyceum Committee by e-mailing lyceum@columbiastate.edu.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.