Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed “Porch” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

“Porch” is half of SFA Playwright-in-Residence Jack Heifner’s 1978 Broadway debut, “Patio/Porch,” two one-acts portraying conversations between women. In “Patio,” the women are disappointed sisters. In “Porch,” they are a domineering, aging mother and her fading daughter who are “locked in a dance of death,” according to Dominique Rider, Dallas junior theatre major and director of the play.

“The two find themselves on their porch on a hot day in Texas, and the dance continues as it always has,” Rider said.

The two-member cast features Dallas senior Celeste Galey as Dot and Maple Grove, Minnesota, freshman Marie Phillips as Lucille.

The production staff includes Rebekah Webb, Dallas sophomore, stage manager; Danika Pettyjohn, Fort Worth junior, scenic designer; TJ Davis, Beaumont junior, costume designer; Brian Steele, Houston sophomore, lighting designer; Devin Bruton, Nacogdoches junior, sound designer; Victoria Medrano, Edinburg sophomore, hair and makeup designer; and Taylor Solice, Mesquite junior, properties designer.

Rider was most recently seen in the title role in SFA’s Mainstage production of “Macbeth” last fall. After directing “Porch,” he will participate in SFA’s Festival of New American Plays in April.

Faculty production advisor for “Porch” is Melissa McMillian-Cunningham.

SFA’s playwright-in-residence since 1997, Heifner is the author of more than 30 plays and musicals produced in New York, Los Angeles and theatres around the world. He is best known for the play version of “Vanities,” which ran for five years in New York, is published by Samuel French, and became one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history.

The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

Lone Wittliff, Stephen F. Austin State University lecturer of marketing, demonstrated and discussed proper dining etiquette to help students prepare for job interviews, banquets, galas and other professional dinner settings in a recent Student Success Passport Program workshop in the Nelson Rusche College of Business.

More than 20 students attended the workshop where Wittliff explained the do’s and don’ts for several-course-meal dining. She also recommended students be on time, wear appropriate attire, network with other guests and more.

The Student Success Passport Program helps SFA students hone their professional skills while competing for scholarships. Program activities and workshops are designed to assist students in developing their personal and professional branding, experiential learning, leadership development, and engage in college activities and events.

Stephen F. Austin State University students will have the opportunity to study abroad and participate in the Cannes International Film Festival in France this May.

During May 7-23, students enrolled in HMS 426: Field Experience in Human Sciences will work at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in various capacities. Dr. Gina Causin, SFA hospitality administration professor who is coordinating the trip and teaching the course, said this hands-on opportunity is perfect for film, video, communications, fashion, media studies, business, culinary, hospitality and event-planning majors.

“This class is the opportunity of a lifetime. Attending the Cannes Film Festival helps students broaden their horizons, network with industry professionals and expand on concepts they are taught in class,” Causin said. “At the end of this course, students will have a greater understanding of the production of a global event and have gained hands-on experience in event planning, catering and set-up.”

Prior to the start of the festival, students participate in a two-day festival orientation and tour of Cannes. They attend workshops and seminars designed to help them gain a greater understanding of the history of the event and the business side of the film industry.

Once the festival begins, students work six hours a day at the American Pavilion, which includes a restaurant, coffee bar, conference center and business center.

The students have the opportunity to meet and interact with industry professionals while observing the fast-paced nature of the festival and market.

During the festival, students participate in the Roundtable Series, which allows them to have small-group discussions with noted individuals from both the creative and business side of the film industry.

This programming is available only to students participating in the American Pavilion Worldwide Student programs. Past guests in the Roundtable Series include Tim Roth, Jude Law, Charlie Kaufman and Michael Moore.

Participants also receive membership to the American Pavilion, which provides them access to programming in the Roger Ebert Conference Center. The center hosts panel discussions on topics ranging from film financing to the future of independent film.

The In Conversation Series pairs leading journalists with industry thought leaders. Past participants in this series include Francis Ford Coppola, Malcolm McDowell, Wong Kar-wai, Terry Gilliam, Andie MacDowell, Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Jessica Chastain, Michael Madsen, Josh Charles and James Franco.

In addition, students will have the opportunity to attend red carpet film premieres, watch films and work in other pavilions.

For more information concerning the course, trip and its costs, contact Causin at (936) 468-1411 or causingf@sfasu.edu.

Texas photographer Richard Orton will discuss his book “The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

The presentation takes place during the fourth annual Nacogdoches Main Street Wine Swirl, which is a wine-and-food pairing event that showcases Texas wineries and local restaurants inside the doors of downtown Nacogdoches businesses.

Although tickets must be purchased in advance to participate in the Wine Swirl, admission to Orton’s talk is free, according to Alisa Steed, events coordinator for the art galleries of Stephen F. Austin State University. Orton’s talk is also presented in observance of Black History Month and is an official Nacogdoches 300 Tricentennial event.

“We are excited to present this event free to our community in honor of Black History Month and as special added value for Wine Swirl participants,” Steed said. “Richard’s enthusiasm and commitment to this project are contagious and highlight an important segment of Nacogdoches County history. Many members of the Upshaw family are expected to attend and participate in the presentation.”

In the late 1980s, Orton became acquainted with the Upshaw family, which had lived for decades in the northwest Nacogdoches County community of County Line. He began a project of documenting the community’s history through photographs and oral histories that resulted in the eventual publication of his book, “The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family” by the University of North Texas Press in 2014 after 25 years of preparation.

Three brothers, Guss, Felix and Jim Upshaw, and their families established County Line in the 1870s. What stimulated Orton’s curiosity about County Line was how quickly emancipated slaves were able to own their own land, and, as a result, had the opportunity to live relatively autonomous, self-sufficient lives while raising their families in the time of Jim Crow.

“That is why I wanted to make photographs there and collect their oral history,” Orton explained. “I was most fortunate to be allowed to do that.

“The story I tell in my book and presentation is personal and universal,” he said. “It’s about the strength of family and community and the resilience of humankind. Because I am white, and the community is black, it speaks directly to the potential for black/white relationships. In County Line, I am on cultural turf not my own, which, in a different sense, is the common experience of black people in America.”

Being in County Line, and being accepted there, gave Orton the opportunity to learn this family’s story, and in telling that story, it became part of Orton’s own, he said.

“The story I tell is the story of a white man given the opportunity to ‘integrate’ into a historical African American community (so to speak),” Orton said.

He does that through images captured through the camera lens and through the words of people born and raised there. His presentation provides an opportunity for diverse audiences “to recognize their commonalities and engage in positive dialogue about race,” he said.

Orton, who is a native of Nacogdoches and returned to East Texas in 2007 after living and working in Austin for 36 years, is active on the boards of the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and the African American Heritage Project.

For additional information, call (936) 468-1131.