In The Misunderstood Badger, Noted biologist Dr. Harold Burrows returns to civilization to narrate his own personal history as a biologist, researching the lives of Taxidea taxus, the North American Badger. His long obsession with these shy, mysterious and sometimes fierce creatures has inspired him to undertake an unprecedented investigation into their daily lives, spending a full year tracking them in the wilderness. During this year he lived where badgers live, ate what badgers eat, and learns more than any human before him about what badgers think and feel… or so he believes. And he has returned to deliver the results of his research in this lecture, the crowning achievement of his academic career. David Ferney stars in this original one-man show, directed and co-written by Nick Trotter, in a wild comic performance that will leave you searching for your own beast within!

David Ferney has been seen on Humboldt stages for some 20 years now.  From being in 15 different  Dell’Arte productions to one of his most memorable roles as Guapo in Los Payasos, Ferney has charmed local audiences from 8-80. As a traveling performer he has worked in 20 different countries, on four continents and on both hemispheres.  He now runs the Arcata Playhouse with partner Jackie Dandeneau where he produces and presents theatre and music.    Nick Trotter is a recent graduate of Dell'Arte's MFA program in Ensemble-based Physical Theatre, specializing in Clown, Bouffon, Commedia, and maskmaking. With the theatre/music group Bonejesters, he co-created Bonejesters at LaMama ETC in New York, and later that year appeared in an original adaptation of Gogol’s The Nose at HERE Arts Center, and performed recently with Jerry Lee Wallace in Third Base! at the Arcata Playhouse. He has also worked extensively with David Ferney and Jackie Dandeneau on their outdoor spectacle Elemental, and teaches acting and comedy for youth at Ferndale Repertory Theatre and the Dell'Arte Youth Academy.  

The Misunderstood Badger will be seen for one performance only at the Arcata Playhouse in Arcata on Thurday, July 9 at 8 pm.  Tickets are $7.  At the Arcata Playhouse, 1251 9th St. in Arcata, in the old Creamery building. For more information, call 822-1575 or go to www.arcataplayhouse.org