The Clayton State Theater will be visiting Tuna, Texas, for the opening of its 1998-99 season.

While Tuna admittedly does not appear in the Rand McNally Atlas, the "third-smallest town in Texas" is going to be created on stage by Clayton College & State University students Todd Thaxton and Aaron McKennon from Nov. 6 to Nov. 14 in the Arts & Sciences Theater on the CCSU campus.

Under the direction of noted Atlanta actor/director Harold Leaver (one of the founders of Actors Express), Thaxton and McKennon will together play all 23 residents of the fictional Tuna, Texas, in the Clayton State Theater season-opener, "Greater Tuna."

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Nov. 8. Admission to all performances in the Arts & Sciences Theater, located in room 132 of the CCSU Arts & Sciences Building, is free.

Greater Tuna opened off-Broadway some 10 years ago, explained Clayton State Theater director Dr. Larry Corse. Over the years, the play has built up quite a cult following, to the point where it even has its own website, http://greatertuna.com, and has spawned two additional plays, "A Tuna Christmas" and "Red, White and Tuna."

Bringing the 23 residents of Greater Tuna to life are two CCSU music majors. Thaxton, a resident of Fayetteville, is majoring in composition while McKennon, a Union City native, is a voice major.

Thaxton's and McKennon's academic pursuits to the contrary, the play is not a musical, although it does promise to stretch their acting abilities with numerous costume changes that will include portraying a Tuna dog.

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