HOW TO
DESIGNATE YOUR GIFT
to the
James G. Severns Theatre...
You can make a gift to the James G.
Severns Theatre fund via our
online contribution form.
To
designate your gift, write in James G. Severns Fund where it
says "Other" in the Gift Amount Information section at the top
of the form.
You
can also print and mail the
contribution form
if you prefer to pay by check.
James G. Severns Theatre
This
special initiative, guided by the James G. Severns Theatre Committee, embarked
upon a $300,000 campaign to name the performance theatre in the Ophelia
Parrish/Fine Arts Center in honor of Dr. Severns. Gifts made to the James G.
Severns Theatre Fund will be channeled into an endowment, and annual earnings
will be used for equipment, technology enhancement, refurbishment, ongoing
maintenance of the theatre.
The James G. Severns Theatre, newly constructed in 2000 when a new wing was added to the Ophelia Parrish Building, features a maximum seating of 243 seats and is host to numerous plays and performances. The facility includes 132 permanent seats on the main level, 46 permanent seats on the balcony level, and 65 flexible seats.
Truman's theatre program is the ultimate liberal arts active learning experience. Theatre embraces every major system of thought and humanist concern, both as theory and in practice. Truman's faculty strongly believe that theatre is best engaged as a whole and living art, immediate and vital to the spirit of liberal arts education and the realities of a fluid, changeable world.
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Severns retired from the University in 1991 at which time he was granted the title of professor emeritus of dramatics. He returned to his home town of Chicago after retirement, where he has continued teaching and working in the theatre. He has been involved in acting with the Equity Library Theatre Chicago Company and is on the Joseph Jefferson ("Jeff Awards") Awards Committee. He is a member of the Actors Equity and several academic theatre associations. He and his wife, Patricia (Harris) Severns, a 1966 Truman alumna, are the parents of three grown children, Frances, David and John. |
Dr.
James G. Severns has dedicated his life to the teaching and
performance of theatre. A native of Bourbon, Ind., Severns began
his career at Truman in 1959. He served as professor of
dramatics, director of the College Players (later known as the
University Players), and chairperson of the Theatre Department
for 32 years. He directed and produced two to three plays a year
with University students and worked with the Traveler's
Community Theatre in Kirksville. Severns also co-founded and
served as general manager of The Ice House Theater in Hannibal,
Mo. While at Truman, Severns received a Fulbright Award to study
in the People's Republic of China.
For more information contact:
Office of Advancement, McClain Hall 100,
100 E. Normal St., Kirksville, Mo. 63501-4221; Telephone: (800) 452-6678
or (660) 785-4133; Fax (660) 785-7519.