MYGRATIONS - Follows a Human Herd Across Serengeti

Every spring, over 1.3 million wildebeest rapidly travel hundreds of miles across the Serengeti. Starting out from the dry southern Serengeti plains, they have one goal in mind, and that is to reach the lush, thick grasses of the Maasai Mara in Kenya. This is no easy feat for the animals, and literally tens of thousands of the wildebeest will never make it as they journey through some of the most dangerous environments imaginable.

Besides dodging several apex predators such as lions, leopards, hyenas, and crocodiles, the terrain alone is enough to stop many. Mountains, deep ravines, impassable bogs, scorching plains, and raging rivers also stand in their way. Through sheer drive and determination, the wildebeests do somehow manage every season to make it to their destination. So how will a team, or herd, of 20 men and women fare as they attempt to complete the same journey on Mygrations?

This human Mygrations “herd” will set out on foot and will be unarmed. 

On Mygrations, their daunting goal is to reach the Mara River in Tanzania, and it will take the Mygrations team approximately six long and perilous weeks. According to Real Screen, this Mygrations group will not have navigation tools like a map or compass to help keep them on track. Like the wildebeest, the Mygrations team must travel the well-worn path that has been stamped into the ground by billions of hooves over several centuries.

Pop Tower shared that for this intriguing series, the Mygrations herd is made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. The Mygrations team is comprised of ex-special operations forces, survivalists, athletes, farmers, and others. Being prepared is key to completing the journey, and the Mygrations participants will load their packs with as much food and water as they can carry. The Mygrations group will also seek advice and guidance from a native tribe before starting out on their dangerous Mygrations trek.

From the very first episode, which is aptly titled “Into the Unknown,” the Mygrations participants will be dealing with thirst, predators, and each other. Early on, it becomes very clear that not everyone on this Mygrations journey can endure the hardships. With a Mygrations group this large, there are also bound to be several arguments and disagreements. A leader and pecking order of sorts will be imperative for this Mygrations herd if they are to be successful.

No matter how prepared the Mygrations herd may be, their numbers will dwindle as individuals begin to tap out due to exhaustion, hunger, injuries, illness, and extreme fatigue. Each loss is a blow to the Mygations team, but eventually, an elite group will emerge that is willing to push past the many difficulties and dangers they must endure on Mygrations.

The remaining Mygrations herd will be forced to face a wide range of dangers such as crossing hippo and croc-infested waters, scaling sheer cliffs, or figuring out how to get past a soaring waterfall. Throw in an unexpected threat from poachers and it all adds up, making a grueling journey for the Mygrations group even worse.

Can this Mygrations team make it to the end without cracking under the strain? They will certainly test the very limits and capability of what the human spirit and sheer strength of will can overcome and accomplish. This is definitely no walk in the park for these Mygrations individuals, as they must come together as a true “herd” in order to complete their journey across the wilds of the Serengeti.

Mygrations is produced by October Films for the National Geographic Channel. Executive producers for Mygrations are Jos Cushing, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, and Doug McCallie for October Films. For the National Geographic Channel, Matt Renner is vice president of production for Mygrations, and Tim Pastore is global president of original programming and production.

Will you be watching Mygrations? Do you have what it takes to complete such a hazardous journey? There will be six hour-long episodes, and the series premiere of Mygrations airs on Monday, May 23 at 9 p.m. ET on the National Geographic Channel.

Giving Back to Brooklyn

Thanks to Urban Outfitters, BreakThruTV's Chelsea White got to take a paddle with Jens Rasmussen, founding member of the North Brooklyn Boat Club, and learn about their programs.

Watch the video below for a quick and humorous peek into to this surprising and scrappy community organization, dedicated to getting people on the NYC waterways and protecting those waters.



To see more about Jens' outdoor adventures in NYC and beyond check out the videos and links on this page.

CBS NEWS - City Survival

As CBS 2′s Kristine Johnson reported, in a most unlikely environment — underneath the Pulaski Bridge in Greenpoint — students are learning skills that can save their lives.

“You wouldn’t expect anything like this to be in Brooklyn,” one woman said.

“Normally, you would take a survival class out in the woods somewhere,” said another student, Cynthia.

Instead, students gathered on the bank of Newtown Creek to learn basic survival skills set in an urban environment.

With only basic tools, Jens Rasmussen, an experienced survivalist, teaches some of the skills that could mean the difference between life and death.

“There’s a really deep sense of satisfaction that I see people get from connecting with these, what you might call, primitive skills,” Rasmussen said.

No matter what you call them, they are the same skills needed to survive in natural or manmade disasters.

The focus is also on what Rasmussen calls the most basic skills of all — making a fire without matches.

“The words ‘fire-making class’ kind of sparked the imagination,” one of the students told Johnson.

By the end of the class, all of the students were able to make a flame.

“You never know when knowledge is going to be of handy in any given situation,” Cynthia said.

New York Times Feature

Photo by Julie Glassberg for The New York Times

Teaching City Dwellers How to Make It in the Wilderness

Jens Rasmussen is an actor who is equally adept on the Shakespearean stage and in the great outdoors.

So on the side, instead of waiting tables, he teaches backwoods skills, including lessons on how to start your own campfire from flint and steel. Put away those matches, city slicker, and learn to cook outside on the open flame, right in the middle of the city.

Mr. Rasmussen, who grew up in Wisconsin, does this on the waterfront across the East River from Midtown Manhattan, in a narrow lot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at the edge of Newtown Creek, under the Pulaski Bridge.

It is the home of the North Brooklyn Boat Club, of which Mr. Rasmussen is a founding member. Last Sunday, he pointed to an assemblage of tan bricks at the water’s edge and said, “This is our hearth.”

His students — Victor Calvo and Amreen Quadir, both internists at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn — sat on a thick wooden plank between a chain-link fence topped with razor wire and a concrete wall covered with colorful graffiti tags.

The doctors, who are engaged, told Mr. Rasmussen they had booked the lesson partly to learn some skills “in case, in the future, we do Doctors Without Borders-type work and the bus breaks down — that kind of thing.”

Dr. Quadir saw Mr. Rasmussen’s Groupon listing offering a workshop (at $100 per person) for “Fire Crafting on a Wilderness Adventure” teaching “how to build fires in the wilderness before you cook a delicious campsite dinner.”

That is how they wound up spending a frigid Sunday afternoon cutting vegetables with woodsman’s knives, and then whittling curly shavings from wood slats for fire-starting. They were instructed by the theatrical Mr. Rasmussen, who seemed impervious to the cold, as he doffed his tan rancher’s jacket and tended the camp, wearing a smart outfit of heavy woolen Army-surplus garments.

“Now, if the chips were down, and you really needed to start a fire,” he said, and he went about demonstrating how to elicit a spark, briskly swiping a stone against a piece of iron.

Soon, Dr. Calvo was coaxing sparks from his stone, and had his flammable char cloth smoldering. He then pushed this into a ball of shredded newspaper and blew sharply upon it. When it blossomed into flame, Dr. Calvo dropped the fiery handful into the fire pit and heaped those wood shavings atop.

Mr. Rasmussen fed the crackling fire from a big pile of urban-foraged kindling — old packing crates and castoff scraps from local businesses — and he put a blackened coffeepot on the grill over the leaping flames.

He stoked the fire and the conversation, poured the pair a cup of tea, and began readying the meal on a rough-hewed wooden plank that served as his outdoor kitchen counter. He put a pan on the grill and heated some olive oil and spices, then some vegetables and finally some rice and beans. Then he whipped up a batter of sourdough and cornmeal to deep-fry some hush puppies in a Dutch oven full of hot oil.

Self-reliance is the theme here. Mr. Rasmussen wore around his neck a woodsman’s knife from Sweden in a leather sheath with copper rivets he tooled himself. He cooked with wooden utensils he carved himself, and pulled materials from a woodsman’s basket that he made by felling a black ash tree in Maine. And that ax, he made the handle. And that wanigan wooden box he kept opening for supplies? Made that, too.

Mr. Rasmussen, who is married and lives nearby in Greenpoint, said he grew up partly on a farm near Oshkosh, in a “back-to-the-land kind of family.”

“We have a nature deficiency here in New York City, and so there’s a real profound connection when we participate in these elemental experiences,” said Mr. Rasmussen, who has spent weeks at a time sleeping in the woods, survivalist-style. “With this, we’re tapping into something that goes back millennia and connects us with our ancestors.”

The doctors cut some apple slices, which Mr. Rasmussen dipped into flour and batter to make apple fritters in the hissing and spitting pot of boiling oil.

He sat the couple near the fire to “discuss the priorities of survival” should the city one day descend into chaos. Building a fire could help provide drinkable water, a safe sleeping spot, heat and food, he said, pulling out a pocket survival pack that included a sewing kit and dental floss for stitching wounds.

By dusk, the spot had become a chuck wagon scene. The falling snow hissed as it hit the fire.

After eating, the doctors headed back to civilization, and our urban pioneer poured out his cowboy coffeepot into the campfire, dousing the flames till next time.

By Corey Kilgannon

See the Original New York Times piece here.

Rasmussen: Comic Good Sense & Sizzle...

Jens Rasmussen in Conference of the Birds

In the 13th century the Catholic Church, an opponent of drama and its lusty spectacles since the days of the 3rd century theologian Tertullian (whose near Ayatollah-like rants against public amusement will surely earn him a spot on a future Homer Simpson episode), broke its theatrical prohibition and allowed Franciscan and Dominican missionaries to spread the gospel through storytelling. The leap from storytelling to theatre is but a hop and a skip, and theatre’s revival throughout Europe began, albeit didactically.

Although theatre in the Muslim world was not prohibited, Islamic strictures against representation, and hence spectacle, generated similar tensions. As a result, poetry, which is focused on the word and not the body, spread rapidly, and with music, became the Muslim world’s most popular artistic medium.

The Folger Theatre’s Washington area premiere of Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière’s stage-adaptation of Farid Uddi Attar’s master poem, The Conference of the Birds, captures that sense of the sublime. Without being overly didactic or dogmatic, its theatrical story offers its audience the unique opportunity to go on a spiritual adventure.

Yes, The Conference of the Birds is an unabashedly sacred tale with no mythical land of Narnia or magical sovereigns like the Wizard of Oz or Voldemort to distract our focus. Rather, these birds and their oh so human foibles begin their journey with clear intent: to find their one true king, Simorgh, and in so doing overcome the discord of the world. Their king, they learn, lives somewhere beyond the seven valleys and, unlike more earthly kings, Simorgh won’t cut off a subject’s head for answering a question incorrectly.

And then there was music. Even before the play began, composer Tom Teasley enchanted us with an wondrous array of percussion instruments and original compositions that skillfully blended the intonations of the ancient with the rhythms of the modern. His music transported us to the poetic shores of Persia without being solemnized by the exoticism of it. We were restrained.

Helping hold us in check was the scenic design by Meghan Raham. On the one hand mirrored surfaces reflected back at us images of ourselves. On the other, large burlap sculptural banners hung from the mirrored columns. These expressionistic designs defied representation, being textured landscapes invoking geography and poverty more than symbol.

When the birds finally assembled on stage we were once again struck by the restraint—but not in the casting. A visually dynamic cast of birds had assembled: this was indeed a conference of the world’s birds, and they were indeed fed up with its condition. No, we saw the restraint in their visualization.

To be sure, birds offer a costumer’s imagination a vast palette of possibilities, particularly when you have such a wide variety of species to choose from: falcon, sparrow, owl, peacock, partridge, nightingale, duck, parrot, hoopoe, dove, magpie, heron. For some reason, however, these feathered creatures were muted and toned down, almost as if—following the warning of the church fathers—someone feared that audiences might be bedazzled by the spectacle of it all and miss the message.

Indeed, because of this visual restraint, the challenge of this production lay entirely on the shoulders of the production’s performers, as narrators, actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and movers. Their job, it seems, was not so much to entertain us but, as the hoopoe did them, guide us through the spiritual terrain of the play. They would be aided by designer Jennifer Schriever’s lights, which not only cast many of the ensemble’s more dynamic tableaus in a memorable light, but also by the sudden transitions those lights provided. For the most part, however, with no grand spectacle to assist them, the ensemble would have to rely on the details of character and performance to carry us through to the play’s conclusion.

For the most part, this flock of strange fowl put in a strong performance, engaging us in splendid details, from the shimmering of duck’s feathers (played by Katie deBuys) to the immaculate head movements of falcon (played by Jay Dunn). Tara Giordano’s partridge seized our imaginations each time she waddled across the stage, and the adorable jitters of Britt Duff’s sparrow, plus her stunningly simple rendition of love, held our attention each time she wanted to take flight. And I have to mention the mesmerizing presence of Tiffany Rachelle Stewart’s heron; indeed, when Stewart portrays the princess in love with the slave, played with comic good sense by Jens Rasmussen, the two quickly and effectively shift the play into a sizzle of romantic images.

The most difficult role in The Conference of the Birds is that of the hoopoe, however, played by Patty Gallagher. Like Virgil in Dante’s Comedy, she has to guide her spiritual yearners, being optimistic when necessary yet clear and stern when needed. She more than any character also has to act as liaison between the audience with its modern sensibility and this 12th century Sufi poem that speaks of a transcendental reality which most westerners might know only if they’ve spent years exploring Jungian psychology. Ms. Gallagher does well embodying the encouraging mother figure to this tribe of feathers; but when this chick or that hen struggles too vociferously against the way, she resorts too frequently to the choices of a harried schoolteacher.

A part of her struggle seemed to be with the text itself, which came across as too flat in places. The first act is particularly difficult as it focuses on the birds’ fears and their resulting loss of faith in the journey. Director Aaron Posner’s sense of the pictorial is strong, but he needed to find more variety in the birds’ choices when it came to their resistance to the trek and to the hoopoe’s way of rallying them.

These first act missteps do not take the vitality away from the splendor of this epic journey of enlightenment, however; and Peter Brook’s work in the modern theatre is well represented here. We cannot be reminded too often of the fact that if theatre cannot achieve a purpose greater than entertainment, then it will not long serve any purpose at all, other than as an amusement for today’s equivalent to the kings and queens of yesterday. Brook has spent a good portion of his theatrical life seeking to lend theatre that larger function, as an organizer of community across regional and national boundaries.The Conference of the Birds is a fantastic vehicle for this type of cross-border work, and the Folger’s production is well worth the enlightenment.

by Robert Michael Oliver

Talented Cast is Always in Motion

Best known for fresh takes on Shakespeare, director Aaron Posner has expanded his repertoire. For his current offering at the Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill, he’s taken on “The Conference of the Birds,” an ensemble piece based on the 12th century Persian fable by Sufi poet Farid Uddi Attar. Told from the point of view of anthropomorphized feathered friends, it’s a compelling exploration of humanity’s quest for meaning.

At the urging of an unrelenting hoopoe, a varied flock of 10 birds are convinced to undertake an arduous journey to meet their ruler, the Simorgh. Understandably, they’re not all so eager to fly the coop: the parrot is content to remain in his gilded cage; the duck doesn’t want to leave water and the sparrow thinks she’s too weak for such a flight. But the hoopoe, played with wide-eyed intensity by Patty Gallagher, is very persuasive and off they all go.

The bird’s pilgrimage is long and hazardous: After crossing the desert (the anteroom of their trip), they must fly through seven valleys each of which offers its own lesson in love, understanding, annihilation, etc. Not all of the flock makes it to the Simorgh, but those who do are rewarded with an ample serving of universal truth.

Using words, music and movement, “Conference” takes its audience on a theatrical adventure. Posner’s inventive directing along with choreographer Erika Chong Shuch’s quirky, spasmodic moves brings the wordy work alive in exciting and unexpected ways. The talented 11-person cast (which includes Tara Giordano, Britt Duff and Jens Rasmussen who double duties as dance captain) is always in motion, transforming from birds to kings, slaves and hermits. Without ever leaving the stage floor, the actors subtly morph into a v-formation flock flying high overhead, seemingly covering great stretches of terrain on their winged journey.

Perched high atop the Folger’s stage, composer/musician Tom Teasley performs original music throughout the two-hour play using instruments from around the world. His exhilarating score — drawn from an eclectic variety of sound, rhythm and melody — adds significantly to the production.

The remainder of the design team is equally top notch. Meghan Raham’s timeless set of hanging burlap panels and twinkly amber lights is backed meaningfully by a wall of mirrors. And whether it’s the blinding light found in the valley of amazement or the darkness and fire in the telling of the moth to flame story, Jennifer Schriever’s lighting design is consistently clever and evocative.

While the cast mimics bird movements here and there, costume designer Olivera Gajic smartly resists the temptation to go avian. Instead, she outfits the birds in comfortable tops and drapey pants (and one or two skirts) in muted tones. Even the glorious peacock’s multi-colored wings are much quieter than what you’d expect from that feathered diva (memorably played by Jessica Frances Dukes).

Adapted for the stage by famed British director Peter Brooks and screenwriter/actor Jean-Claude Carriére, “Conference” premiered in 1971, touring Saharan African before playing to Western audiences. Its wisdom and beauty stimulates self-exploration. The work is “The Wizard of Oz”-ish in its suggestion that the search for fulfillment begins and ends within ourselves.

“Conference” is definitely a bold theatrical choice and Posner pulls it off with great imagination and style.

By Patrick Folliard for the Washington Blade

Folger Theatre soars with adaptation of Persian poem ‘Conference of the Birds’

Proving that Folger Theatre offers more than Shakespeare, “The Conference of the Birds” lights up the stage with its adaptation of the 12th century Persian poem by Farid ud-Din Attar.

The play is an epic adventure, following a flock of birds on their quest to find the Simorgh, a legendary bird that represents enlightenment. Each bird embodies a human flaw that hinders them in their journey. The birds are led by the Hoopoe (“wisest bird”) played by Patty Gallagher, who leads the cast admirably, giving just the right amount of wisdom and strength to her character.

Before the show begins, the sound of a pulsating drum rhythm is heard, creating a tribal atmosphere that is present throughout the play. The play progresses through a series of stories told by the Hoopoe and acted by the birds, who portray different characters for each story.

The first half of the play is each bird giving the Hoopoe a different reason why they cannot make the journey to see the Simorgh, and the Hoopoe responding with a story to convince them to come. After some of the flock has left, the remaining birds begin the flight. The second half of the play is comprised of the actual journey that spans decades and numerous trials, during which many of the birds do not survive.

“The Conference of the Birds” incorporates song and dance into the production seamlessly. Each song has a different flavor to it, ranging from an acoustic guitar indie number by the Sparrow (Britt Duff) to something reminiscent of 1960s soul sung by the Dove (Celeste Jones). Every actor possesses an impressive physicality, portraying the various types of birds with fluidity.

The set, designed by AU Assistant Professor Meghan Raham, is very elemental with hanging moss curtains and mirrored glass structures throughout the stage used to represent the numerous locations of the play.

Lighting designer Jennifer Schriever made an innovative use of the unique space of Folger Theatre by putting hanging lights over the audience that resemble a star lit night sky.

The costumes all had an earth-tone theme, along with layers that masked the human form and allowed the actors to portray bird like movements with seeming ease.

Though this play originates from 12th century Iran, modern audiences will still connect with its gorgeous visuals and classic story of a journey to self-discovery.

The Eagle Online

Springer ‘cuts loose’ with No Shame Theater debut

No Shame Columbus - founded by Jens Rasmussen

Magic, music, dance and drama, even stand-up comedy or acrobatics - you might see all this and more in one night of No Shame Theater, said Jens Rasmussen, director of No Shame Theater, which debuts in Columbus Friday at the Springer Opera House.

"You don't know what you're going to get," he said. "It has this stability and this complete wild card kind of feel."

Created in 1986 and now a nationwide movement, No Shame gives a twist to the traditional talent show or open mic night.

For the artists, it's first come, first served, and the pieces, which must be original and no longer than five minutes, are not censored or reviewed in advance, Rasmussen said. That leaves audience members with the chance of seeing everything from performance poetry to juggling.

"I was just blown away by it," Rasmussen said. "It was so exciting and such a broad range of people came in. When you go to No Shame, you're going to see something that no one has ever seen before. It's shameless; it's risk taking. Even if the art is not polished, the spirit of it is just so engaging. That's really at the core what No Shame is."

Ashley Laughter, campaign coordinator for the Springer, said she is excited about opening night.

"It's like an adventure," she said. "Come with an open mind. Come prepared to be shocked - but in a good way."

Laughter said the unique form of entertainment will help the Springer cater to a younger audience and will be particularly good for Soldiers, since it's a weekly event with no sign-up necessary.

"We always try to get Soldiers involved here at the Springer, but it's hard for a Soldier to make a commitment to a show because it can be time-consuming," said Laughter, wife of a Sand Hill drill sergeant. "But this is ‘bring what you got and do it one night.' I think No Shame is going to offer the Columbus area something brand new. All the works are original, which is something you just don't get to see as often as people should."

Laughter said she plans to perform with a burlesque dance group - "kind of reminiscent of the vaudeville era."

She will be joined by other local talent, including Becky Macy, an actor in the Springer's current production of Footloose and wife of an Infantry Mortar Leader Course instructor on post.

Macy said participating in No Shame will appeal to people of diverse backgrounds.

"It's less pressure. You don't have to audition. It's an outlet for your own creativity," she said. "I just think it can be inspiring … everybody has something to put out there."

To "cast themselves," people 18 and older should show up at 10 p.m. at the Springer, Rasmussen said. The first 15 in line get to perform.

The show starts at 10:30 p.m., lasts roughly 90 minutes and costs $5 per person, performers and attendees alike.

"It's a small investment, and it's going to be a really welcoming, laid back, enjoyable group … a great place to meet people, to make new friends, to talk about new ideas," Rasmussen said. "It's about fearlessness; it's about putting yourself out there and not censoring. It's about cutting loose — individual expression. There's no limits."

The Springer saloon will be open during the show. For more information, call the Springer at 706-324-5714. For more about No Shame Theatre, visit www.noshame.org.

By Cheryl Rodewig / The Bayonet

'Big River' sets adventures of Huck Finn to music at Springer

Jens Rasmussen as the Duke in Big River

Springer Opera House Artistic Director Paul Pierce is well aware of the controversy around Mark Twain’s classic tales of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. And so are cast members of the musical “Big River” which is based on Twain’s book “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The production comes to the Springer stage tonight.

Much of the controversy surrounds the use of derogatory and offensive terms used to refer to Jim, the slave that Huck befriends. Jim is a runaway slave who joins Huck on his adventures.

“You have to remember this is not Mark Twain talking,” Pierce said about the language.

“This is Huckleberry Finn. Twain takes an ignorant child and plops him on a raft with a runaway slave.”

Jens Rasmussen, who plays several roles in the musical, admits some of the language is “a little rough.” But he hopes the audience takes the derogatory terms in the context in which they were written.

And 20 years ago, when Pierce was entering his first full season at the Springer, “Big River” was the season opener. Pierce had already faced controversy when he consolidated various boards of directors and hired professional actors.

When the late Madison Rivers Jackson, who was hired to play the role of Jim, arrived in Columbus, he was met with picketers in front of the theater.

Eventually, the protesters came around, many of them reappearing on the Springer stage. Pierce became a fixture in Columbus theater. And Jackson went from being a pariah to a well-loved regular on the stage before his death in 1996.

It’s different this time

Pierce is 20 years older, and he’s viewing the work differently now than he did that first year.

“It’s almost like I’m looking at it for the first time,” he said.

“Jens and I have been reading ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ during rehearsal. Some of the stuff we’re struck with is how faithful it is to the book. And how Roger Miller’s music amplifies the script.

“I’m in awe of the script. Day after day, I see multiple layers,” Pierce said. “That’s what I don’t remember. I see it very differently this time. What’s become clear to me is how enduring this literature is.”

In the end, Pierce says “Big River” is a boy’s adventure.

He’s also struck by how “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” has become an allegory for America, including the “horror of our history and all of the wonder and the beauty of our history.”

The audience will learn about the Civil War, the relationship between a young boy and girl, a slave and a boy, water and land, right and wrong, light and dark and society vs. individualism.

A new Jim ... and Huck

Keith Patrick McCoy, originally from Portsmouth, Va., met with Pierce and associate artistic director Ron Anderson at a national theater audition in Memphis.

He’s done the role of Jim twice before. In fact, he loves the part so much that he actually seeks out the role.

“I always approach it differently,” McCoy said.

The first time, in 2003, he played Jim as a victim. In 2007, he played him as a rebel. This time, he blends the two approaches.

And he says there’s always a different director and a different Huck.

He really likes the chemistry between his character and Mike Morin’s Huck.

Morin, from Marietta, graduated last year from Shorter College in Rome. He met the Springer staff at the Southeastern Theater Conference auditions in Charlotte last year.

It was his first big audition and it was the final one of the day.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better ending,” he said.

“I saw three Hucks that day,” Pierce said. “It was clear Mike was Huck.”

The Duke and the King

One of the characters Rasmussen plays is the Duke, a conman.

“It’s great fun,” he said. “The Duke and the King (played by Brian Pecci) are the most fascinating characters. It’s so interesting that you never find out about their pasts. You only know what Huck knows.”

But he said what people do know is that Missouri was part of the Western Territories and a lot of people moved west to reinvent themselves.

“It’s a great American story,” he said.

Rasmussen slyly said many people may recognize the Duke and the King from the movie, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

“These guys are the original dirty rotten scoundrels.”

By Sandra Okamoto - sokamoto@ledger-enquirer.com --