Everything Nac

The 2016 SummerStage Festival at Stephen F. Austin State University is set to open Friday, June 24, with an afternoon performance of “A Year With Frog and Toad,” a musical based on the children’s stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.

Written by brothers Robert Reale (music) and Willie Reale (book and lyrics), “A Year With Frog and Toad” follows the woodland adventures of two beloved suburban amphibians who leap to tuneful life. The irresistibly upbeat Frog lifts the spirits of his worrywart neighbor Toad, according to Angela Bacarisse, professor of theatre at SFA and director of the show. Music director is Tod Fish.

“A Year With Frog and Toad” provides valuable lessons regarding the importance of strong friendships, according to McAllen senior theatre major Pedro Dominguez, who plays the character Frog.

“Toad leans on Frog to get him out of some of bad situations,” Dominguez said, adding that children will see how having a close friend can help every circumstance, even in the worst of times.

“They have their ups and downs,” Bacarisse said of the relationship between the main characters. “You see them get frustrated or outright mad at each other, but they always come back together in the end.”

Theatre students have been taking songs and scenes from “A Year With Frog and Toad” on the road to perform for children at area public libraries, including in Henderson, Mount Enterprise and Nacogdoches. During the academic year, Bacarisse works with the city’s historic sites department in an outreach program in which theatre students portray characters from Nacogdoches’ rich history during Storytime Saturdays.

“For me, it’s all about exciting kids about reading,” she said. “Here, they get to see a story brought to life – possibly one they have read. But if not, when they do read it, they will have a specific image to reference. If this sparks an interest in reading and the arts, then I have done my job.”

The SummerStage Festival will also present “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” a hilarious play by actor, screenwriter and stand-up comic Steve Martin about an imagined meeting in 1904 between a would-be scientist called “Einstein” and an irresistible-but-unknown painter named “Picasso” in a Paris café called the Lapin Agile. Wit and whimsy fuel their talk of creativity and inspiration with the bistro’s unforgettable cast of regulars until a very different kind of genius mysteriously arrives from the future. This play is recommended for mature audiences.

Performances of “A Year With Frog and Toad” are at 10 a.m. June 28 and July 13 and 15; at 2 p.m. June 24 and 27 and July 14 and 16; and at 6:30 p.m. June 25 and July 9 and 13. General admission tickets are $7.50. A special “pay-what-you-can” performance is scheduled for June 25.

Performances of “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” are at 7:30 nightly July 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 and 16. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students/youth. The “pay-what-you-can” performance is July 6.

For tickets or more information, visit theatre.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. All performances are in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

An upcoming project at Stephen F. Austin State University will not be visible to most campus visitors, but will be heard far and wide. With funding provided by the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, the university will restore and enhance the bell tower located atop the Griffith Fine Arts Building on campus.

Approved during a recent specially called meeting of the SFA Board of Regents, the project serves a dual purpose—historic preservation and university enhancement.

“This is a win-win situation,” said Dr. A.C. “Buddy” Himes, dean of SFA’s College of Fine Arts. “The Bright Foundation is an avid supporter of preservation and restoration of properties that support the recording of Nacogdoches history. The SFA campus and community will certainly benefit from the Bright Foundation’s assistance with funding this project, which will preserve the region’s only authentic bell tower.”

Built in 1959 as part of the Griffith Fine Arts Building’s original blueprints, the bell tower currently houses 15 bells. The restoration project will add 10 bells to create a carillon, a two-octave musical instrument that consists of 25 cast-bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to produce a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. The carillon will enable the university to play songs and commemorate special on-campus occasions and holidays.

A new computer system also will be installed to operate the bells allowing for chimes and programming of melodies. The system will include a wireless musical keyboard that can be played remotely.

“The bell tower is gaining new life through this project,” said Dr. Trey Turner, SFA executive director of development. “It will be utilized much more than in the past because of its two-octave capabilities. There’s something very collegiate and special about real bells chiming. It definitely adds to the on-campus atmosphere and also will benefit the Nacogdoches community.”

The installation is expected to take place in two phases. In August 2016, the frame that holds the original 15 bells will be dismantled. Then, a new frame will be built. The original 15 and 10 new bells should be installed in the new frame in December 2016.

Fifty Texas high school students attended the third annual Pre-Law Academy hosted by the Stephen F. Austin State University Division of Multidisciplinary Programs on the SFA campus this month.

“The purpose of the academy is for students to familiarize themselves with law and how to prepare for a law career, what courses they might consider and how a liberal arts-focused education can help prepare them for law school,” said Dr. Joyce Johnston, SFA professor of modern languages and director of the academy and multidisciplinary degrees. “The program started with 31 students three years ago and this year we hit our maximum at 50 participants.”

The “jewel” of the academy is the mock trial competition, Johnston said, run by Dr. Don Gooch, SFA assistant professor of political science.

“During the week, the students prepare a mock case—this year, the case was a question of self-defense or murder—and serve as attorneys and witnesses as they compete with each other acting out the trial according to given facts,” she added. “In addition, students have sessions with SFA professors, including a simulated crime scene investigation, sessions on mental health, literature and languages, history, etc.”

More than 30 area attorneys and judges attended the academy to help teach students important aspects of the law. Deans and admissions officers from five different law schools also visited with students, answering myriad questions on how to best prepare for law school and a career in the field.

“One thing that really impresses me with the mock trial is that these students do not know whether they are going to be the prosecution or defense attorney until they are in the courtroom,” said Assistant Nacogdoches County Attorney Keith Bradford, who has been participating in the SFA Pre-Law Academy since its inception. “It’s a flip of the coin. Every day of my legal career, I have known which side of the fence I’m on and prepare my case based on that. They have about 30 seconds to rearrange their thoughts and move the other direction if need be. That, to me, is really impressive.”

Bradford said he believes the academy not only brings recognition to both SFA and Nacogdoches but is developing necessary skills in some of our nation’s future leaders.

“Most of these students have aspirations to go to law school and as you well know many lawyers don’t practice law,” he added. “Some are top 200 CEOs. So not everyone who has a law degree practices law, but going through law school gives you a certain insight. The academy brings name recognition to Nacogdoches and SFA and I hope that continues to grow.”

To be eligible for next year’s academy, students must have finished their sophomore year of high school prior to the start of the program. Applicants must supply a short essay explaining why he/she wants to attend along with two letters of recommendation.