Mr. Farris recently retired from Denison University, where he held the Reynolds Distinguished Chair in Theatre and served as Chair of the Department of Theatre from 1981 until 2003. At Denison he directed 30 productions and performed in several others. As a professional actor, Mr. Farris has performed leading roles at major regional theatres across the country, including the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, the Champlain Shakespeare Festival, the Cleveland Play House, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and the Indiana Repertory Theatre, where he appeared last winter in the title role of Tuesdays with Morrie. Closer to home, Mr. Farris has performed often in Columbus at the Contemporary American Theatre. His roles at CATCO include Wilhelm Furtwangler in Taking Sides, Richard Nixon in Nixon’s Nixon, Andrew Wythe in Sleuth, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, and eleven different characters in Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas. Mr. Farris spent the spring in England performing the leading role in the world premiere of Donald Freed’s Patient No. 1 at the York Theatre Royal. This summer, at the Pittsburgh Irish and Classic Theatre, he performed leading roles in two plays in PICT’s festival of the plays of J. M. Synge.
Mr. Farris holds a B.A. degree from Harding College, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. from Tufts University. Prior to Denison, he taught at Indiana University, Case Western Reserve, and the University of Massachusetts.