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Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News

Media Credit: foxtalesint.com

On Monday, April 20 at 2:00 p.m. Charles Darwin made an appearance at Lewis University to commemorate his 200th birthday, which had passed in February.

Of course, that person was not actually Charles Darwin, but was instead full-time storyteller Brian "Fox" Ellis of Fox Tales International. He has been storytelling for 30 years and dresses up as various scientific and literary figures including Gregor Mendel, John James Audubon, Louis from Louis and Clark and Walt Whitman. Ellis has also authored 12 books, and his Darwin show has been adapted for print and is also available as an audio book.

During Monday's story telling session, Ellis outlined many of Darwin's findings and adventures, from the Galapogos Islands to the rainforests of Brazil. His hour-long storytelling session was interactive, and he reacted to the audiences' questions and asked them to ask their fellow audience members questions a few times. With much gusto, he recalled events as if her were Darwin himself, down to the accent, clothing and fake mustache and beard.

Lewis Freshman, Chris Selefski, said that he walked away from the presentation knowing much more about Darwin from before, and found himself entertained. Selefski said, "The fact that he represented himself as Darwin was better than him standing there preaching about it."

Ellis encouraged participation. He demonstrated the force of two tectonic plates rubbing up against each other by having each audience member place one hand on top of the other, and trying to push them towards one another. Ellis also had a Q & A session at the end of his presentation, and, in a humorous manner, switched character back and forth between himself and Darwin depending on who would be better suited to answer the question.

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