Hello all listmembers... First a thank you: I am a San Francisco actor who was recently cast as the young Sam Clemens in an original play called THE GOLDEN ERA. Based on the San Francisco newspaper of the same name, and strongly influenced by Franklin Walker's SAN FRANCISCO'S LITERARY FRONTIER, it chronicles Clemens, Bret Harte, Ambrose Bierce, Ina Coolbrith, and a few others. The author, Gary Graves, PhD., is a stickler for research, and had done a massive amount when we were presented the draft with which we began rehearsals. However, independent research was necessary. Daunted by the sheer scope of the subject, I immediately turned to the 'net, and found the Forum. I have not posted questions, but have truly enjoyed and benifited from the discussions on this list, including the list archives. Especially useful have been the discussions on his relationship with Bierce, and the discussions of Twain's speech and dialect. Now, an invitation to any of you in the San Francisco Bay Area. The role I have been researching since April now goes before the public, and I would invite all who enjoy Twain or the literature of the period to see THE GOLDEN ERA. I don't want to fill up the list with an ad, so I'll just invite you to our website <http://www.sirius.com/~fossen/centralworks.html>. Again, thank you... Mark A. Fossen