Everything Nac

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

Written by American playwright Margaret Edson, “Wit” will be directed by Emory senior theatre major Vanessa Hendricks.

“‘Wit’ is an intellectually challenging, emotionally charged play about Dr. Vivian Bearing, a stern professor of literature, recently diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer,” Hendricks explained. “During the course of her illness and treatment, Vivian reassess her work, her life and, ultimately, her death.”

Wit” won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the “Best New Play” award the same year from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle.

The student cast features Katy Rutherford, Richmond junior, as Dr. Vivian Bearing; Eric Gibson, Fairfield senior, as Jason Posner; Michael Spencer, Colleyville junior, in dual roles as Dr. Kelekian and Mr. Bearing; Anna Drake, Friendswood sophomore, as Susie Monahan; and Heather Abbott, Garland junior, as E.M. Ashford. Ensemble members include April Gore, Katy junior; Anna Goldberg, Brownsville junior; Lauren Bowler, Katy sophomore; and Pedro Dominguez, McAllen freshman.

The production crew includes Stephen Davis, Baytown sophomore, stage manager; Sloan Frierson, Center Point junior, assistant director; Landy Trapp, Crystal City senior, scenic designer; Chris Dawson, Marshall senior, costume designer; Amanda Warren, Nacogdoches junior, lighting designer; Ross Denison, Houston sophomore, sound designer; and Molly Brown, Galveston senior, makeup and hair designer.

Hendricks is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with teacher certification. She has directed “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl, “Tunnel of Love” by Jacquelyn Reingold, “Small World” and “The Tarantino Variation.” She has been assistant director for “Adam and the Experts,” “Animal Farm,” “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls” and “Medusa’s Tale.” She currently serves as assistant director for The Fredonia Players, a performance troupe in which she has previously acted. She was also props designer for the student-directed “Lone Star” earlier this year. She has acted in several Mainstage, Downstage and Upstage productions.

This play is recommended for mature audiences.

Admission is $5. The Downstage Theatre is located on the first floor of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.

The SFA Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a concert of recently composed works for chamber ensembles at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in Cole Concert Hall in the Wright Music Building.

Two world premieres will be presented at this concert: “Tri-Takt” and “Coniferous Contemplation.” “Tri-Takt,” created by Tasmanian composer Matt Chilmaid, is for three percussionists performing on similar instruments of differing pitches, and “Coniferous Contemplation,” composed by Meyer, is for two groups performing on bodhrans, which are Celtic frame drums played with either the hand or a wooden stick called a “tipper,” Meyer explained.

Senior Juwan Blanton, music education major from Lufkin, will be the featured soloist on James Campbell’s “Garage Drummer,” a composition inspired by the composer’s experience in and around rock band jam sessions.

Lastly, “Contrails,” written by Dr. Josh Smith, will end the concert.

“It’s a flashy, heart-pounding composition that evokes the sounds and noise of a jet engine, which eventually fades and surrounds the audience in a wash of shimmering triangles,” Meyer said.

For more information about the SFA Percussion Studio, visit/subscribe/”like” their online presence at:
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/SFAPS
• Website: www.Brad-Meyer.com/sfa
• Twitter/Instagram/Vine/Tumbler/Pinterest: SFAPercStudio

The concert is a joint presentation of SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is part of the Concert Series.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music and Cole Performing Arts Series will present the Stone Fort Wind Quintet in concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The concert will feature repertoire for the woodwind quintet as performed by the faculty artists/teachers of the SFA School of Music. Members are Christina Guenther, flute; John W. Goodall, oboe; Christopher Ayer, clarinet; Staci Spring, bassoon; and Charles Gavin, horn.

J.D. Salas, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium studies at SFA, will join the group as a guest soloist. Salas will be featured on Suite Concertante for Tuba and Wind Quintet, by composer Armand Russell.

The performance will also feature a rendition of “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev, arranged for wind quintet by Trevor Cramer.

“This is the ever-popular orchestral composition based on a Russian folk tale of a young lad who does not obey instructions, wanders into the woods and finds himself in an adventure with a cat, duck, bird and the scary wolf,” Gavin explained. “Each instrument in the quintet has a musical representation of a character in the story.”

Narration will be provided by SFA Assistant Professor of Acting/Directing Zach Hanks. He has appeared in such recognized television series as “Criminal Minds” and the “The Young and the Restless.”

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music and Cole Performing Arts Series will present the Trombone Choir in concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The choir, directed by Dr. Deb Scott, associate professor of trombone, will perform a variety of music.

The ensemble will be divided into two parts to perform “Ecce veniet dies illa” by Giovanni Palestrina. Scott described it as “a beautiful sacred piece from the 16th century.”

The 20th century “Isorhythmic Toccata” – an exciting rhythmically driven piece by John Prescott – will feature three SFA percussion students, including Nick Kelley, Lufkin senior; Sammy Hernandez, Athens senior; and Aaron McCommas, Kingwood freshman.

Other popular classical works to be performed are “Procession of the Nobles” by Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Craig Kaucher, and “Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare” by Richard Strauss, arranged by SFA bass trombone student Michael Swann, a senior from Plano.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

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

This documentary, directed and edited by Jim Hill, tells the story of the villagers of Lake Pátzcuaro, Mexico, who lovingly clean and decorate the graves of loved ones with handmade gifts, marigolds and special foods as they prepare for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The showing of this film coincides with the opening of the exhibition “Día de los Muertos: Art of the Living and the Dead.” The opening reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will be on display in Cole Art Center’s Ledbetter Gallery through Jan. 11.

The First Friday Film Series is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Junior Forum.

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