Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed play “The Lover” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Directed by senior theatre major Robert Malbrough of Houston, “The Lover,” a one-act play by Nobel Prize-winning English playwright Harold Pinter, is a comedy in which a married couple creates sexual games to liven up their relationship.

“‘The Lover’ explores the way we tend to compartmentalize our lives and how that affects our relationships, in particular,” Malbrough explains. “The games the characters play serve primarily as a distraction, so the question we have to ask ourselves is: what happens when games aren’t enough and we have to face the real issues?”

The cast includes Burleson sophomore Paige Farley as Sarah; Houston sophomore Jason Trevino as Richard; and Wichita Falls sophomore Travis Brasher as John.

The production staff includes Emily Rohrman, Grand Saline senior, stage manager; Megan Poole, Houston junior, assistant stage manager; Alexa Weeks, Mathis junior, scenic designer; Elizabeth Bielstein, Houston sophomore, costume designer; Katy Morton, Marshall senior, lighting designer; Lane Davidson, Denton junior, sound designer; Taylor Solice, Mesquite junior, properties designer; and Samantha Friedrich, Bay City senior, hair and makeup designer.

Malbrough most recently served as assistant director and dialect coach for the School of Theatre’s production of “Clybourne Park.” Previous SFA acting credits include “Spamalot,” “Macbeth” and “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Houston area acting credits include “Assassins” for SRO Productions and “Black Comedy,” “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” “Night of January 16th,” “Little Women: The Musical,” “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” “Assassins” and “Macbeth” for Lone Star College-Kingwood. Directing credits include “Abandon All Hope,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “The Unexamined Life” and “A Shield No Longer.” Malbrough is currently revising and expanding his short play, “Dangerous Goods,” which was originally produced in 2011.

“The Lover” is recommended for mature audiences. Faculty production advisor is Slade Billew.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu. The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will present an exhibition of the works of Vera Barnett March 30 through May 6 in Griffith Gallery on the SFA campus and in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The exhibition will feature oil paintings, as well as examples of the artist’s plastic models used to make her paintings, according to John Handley, director of galleries at SFA, who first saw Barnett’s work while he was visiting Valley House Sculpture Garden and Gallery in Dallas.

“I found her work unique, curious, humorous, and honoring an awareness of art history unlike any I had seen before,” he said. “As with many artists over the years, Barnett is very aware of the history of art – of the great master painters who have lived and worked and to whom all contemporary artists owe a debt.

Barnett draws upon earlier artists – Hieronymus Bosch, Masaccio and Grant Wood – bringing them into the 21st century with her own unique and personal interpretation, Handley said.

Barnett explains that she is drawn to images that can represent dual interpretations and reactions. “Plastic has the qualities of a false self of perfection; smooth, flawless and with the illusion of permanence,” she said. “This is juxtaposed against the reality of wrinkles and vulnerability.”

In the 2010 exhibition catalogue of Barnett’s work, the artist wrote: “I have been working for several years on a group of oil paintings that explore classical themes in art. I am drawn to art that explores the emotional relationships between people, their environment and circumstances that they find themselves in. I wish to reconstruct these ideas through my own vision, my life experiences. These ‘classic’ themes are chosen because they are timeless in nature, explore emotions that are universal and cross boundaries of time and distance. I reinterpret these themes using plastic ‘inflatable’ people.”

Art historian Frederick Turner describes Barnett’s figures as “full of human feeling.”

“Their faces are so expressive, so full of trepidation, resignation, bemused happiness, anxiety, affection, woe,” he said. “The eyes are especially striking, with their innocent and meditative gaze, almost never directly out of the picture into the viewer’s eyes, but always inward into the drama of the scene itself or into their own thoughts.”

The artist’s reception on April 21 will depart from the usual format, Handley said. Barnett will speak at the Griffith Gallery, where the majority of the pieces will show, at 5 p.m., followed by a wine-and-cheese reception at 6 p.m. in Cole Art Center, where Barnett’s work will also be exhibited.

The exhibition is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Junior Forum, SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Texas Commission on the Arts. Admission is free.

Griffith Gallery hours are 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Cole Art Center hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. For additional information, call (936) 468-1131.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Shadow of the House” at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Filmed over seven years, “Shadow of the House” is an intimate portrait of photographer Abelardo Morell, revealing the mystery and method of his artistic process. Morell serves as the juror for the 2016 Texas National Competition and Exhibition of the SFA School of Art. This year’s Texas National runs April 9 through June 11 in The Cole Art Center.

The film, directed by Allie Humenuk, skips across time and space from Morell’s early childhood escape from Castro’s regime to his status as a world-renowned photographer. The film explores his daily working life as an artist and his eventual return to Cuba after 40 years of living in exile, according to imdb.com.

“‘Shadow of the House’ uncovers the deep layers of a man who is pushed to confront his past and his familial allegiances as it explores his unique artistic vision,” Humenuk wrote. The film runs 74 minutes.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Film Festival, William Arscott, The Liberty Bell, Nacogdoches Junior Forum, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, Main Street Nacogdoches, David Kulhavy, John and Kristen Heath, Brad Maule, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens and Jim and Mary Neal.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

Dovetailing on its final day with Stephen F. Austin State University’s Showcase Saturday open-house event, the College of Sciences and Mathematics will host the 96th annual Mathematical Association of America – Texas Section conference on the campus this spring.

The annual meeting of MAA will take place Thursday, March 31, through Saturday, April 2. Faculty and staff members, students and the community, particularly K-12 teachers, are encouraged to attend.

Events of interest to teachers include a Math Circles gathering Friday, April 1, that focuses on problem-solving.

Student-oriented events include a student research talk from 8 to 11 a.m. and a graduate school fair from 5 to 6 p.m. in the math building, and keynote addresses both at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Kennedy Auditorium all occurring Friday, April 1. Other keynote addresses, including Becky Kamas, NASA activity manager, will take place from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 2, in Kennedy Auditorium.

Dr. Rob Beezer, professor with the University of Puget Sound, also will be a guest speaker discussing recent advances in open-source undergraduate mathematics textbooks, ways they integrate open-source software and how professors can best use them. He also will lead a hands-on workshop regarding basics of the open-source Sage mathematical software system.

Dr. Paul Zeitz of the University of San Francisco and Dr. Erica Flapan of Pomona College will speak as well.

Student and K-12 teacher registration is $5. Faculty member registration is $45. Registration can be completed onsite via cash or check.

For more information, visit http://www2.sfasu.edu/math/maa/index.html.