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    “I think the audience will love the journey we will take them on,” said Lancaster senior Lamar Jefferson when speaking of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Rabbit Hole.” The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s production opened Tuesday and will be presented at 7:30 p.m. each evening through Saturday, Oct. 8, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

Missouri City junior Amelia Fultz, portrays Izzy in the SFA School of Theatres production of Rabbit Hole, rehearses a comic scene with White Oak senior Lindsay Love, who plays Izzys mother. David Lindsay-Abaires drama, which director Scott Shattuck calls an astounding affirmation of the importance and resiliency of family, depicts an extended family learning to adjust after the accidental death of a child. It is being presented nightly at 7:30 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 8, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

    Jefferson and Wink senior Erin Whitmire portray Howie and Becca, a young couple whose 4-year-old son was killed in an accident eight months prior to the opening scene.

    “People will be able to relate to (the storyline) probably on a very personal level,” said Whitmire. “It’s just like life. There’s grief, and love, and comedy, and hope—and it’s all believable.”

    Amelia Fultz, Missouri City junior who portrays Becca’s sister, Izzy, expanded upon the play’s realisim. “Most dramas tend to be a little overdone and unrealistic, but Lindsay-Abaire’s writing is natural and fuss-free. The scenes are realistic, as if the audience walked in on a real family sitting around and talking.”

    Even though the characters are dealing with a loss, there is a good balance of pain and humor, remarked Jefferson.

    In fact, White Oak senior Lindsay Love says the purpose of her character (Becca’s mother, Nat) is to provide comic relief and comfort.

    “The scenes between Izzy and Nat are hilarious,” said Fultz. “I’m able to break out of my shell for this role as the ‘screw-up sister’ who has a habit of breaking the tension in the room.”

    Nick Pinelli, a freshman from The Woodlands who is making his SFA acting debut with “Rabbit Hole,” is impressed with the development each of the characters goes through during the play. “The audience is given just enough information about each character and then watches them grow.”

    Professor Scott Shattuck, director of the SFA School of Theatre and of the play, invites the community to see the production. “The subject matter may not sound like much fun, but please trust us on this one. It’s moving, uplifting, and actually quite funny.”

    In conjunction with the play’s five performances, the School of Theatre is presenting “Survived By . . . ,” a symposium on the experience of grief. Before or after each performance, an expert on grief will speak from either an academic, medical or spiritual perspective. All talks will be given in W.M. Turner Auditorium and are free. Please go to www.theatre.sfasu.edu for a detailed schedule of speakers and their topics.

    “Rabbit Hole,” which is recommended for mature audiences, is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Theatre. It is sponsored in part by Tipton Ford-Lincoln.

    W.M. Turner is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

    Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. For tickets or more information, please go to www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

    Dr. Juan Carlos Ureña, Stephen F. Austin State University assistant professor of modern languages, will give a lecture/demonstration on poetry and music in Central America at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the Music Recital Hall on the SFA campus.

    The presentation is part of the SFA School of Music’s monthly Robert G. Sidnell Lecture Series in Music Education. The lecture’s title, “Trovar: Memoria Poètica de la Conción Hispanoamericana,” is the same as Ureña’s book from which the lecture material is drawn.

    Ureña, who is also an acclaimed composer and musician, will begin his presentation with an overview of the whole book—an analysis of traditional, folk, protest and popular songs from Spain and Latin America, from medieval times to the 21st century.

    The majority of the lecture will concentrate on the impact song has had on historical transformations in Central America since the 1970s. Ureña will perform samples of the music during his presentation.

    Ureña earned his doctoral degree in Hispanic studies from Texas A&M University, his master’s in music education from SFA and his bachelor’s degree in music education from the Universidad de Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica.

    A member of the SFA faculty since 2004, Ureña taught Costa Rican university students for three years. He also has 16 years of experience teaching music and Spanish to public school students in Costa Rica and Texas.

    He has numerous written publications and musical recordings to his credit and was nominated for two Latin American Music Awards by the Academy of Country Music in 2000.

    The lecture is free and open to the public. The Music Recital Hall is located in Room 160 of the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

    For more information, please call Dr. Mark E. Turner, coordinator of the Sidnell Lecture Series, at (936) 468-4051.

    StephenF. Austin State University’s Lumberjack Marching Band will take its “Boldest Sound from the Oldest Town” to the 2013 London New Year’s Day Parade & Festival, event representatives announced to great fanfare on campus Wednesday.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Roger Bramble, left, principal patron of the London New Years Day Parade & Festival and representative of Queen Elizabeth II, greets Bryce Biffle of Garland, a junior in the Lumberjack Marching Band, following Wednesdays official reading of an invitation for the band to perform at the event in 2013. Between 200 and 250 SFA band members and alumni are expected to participate in the event, which is broadcast to a television audience of 280 million.

    Deputy Lord Lieutenant Roger Bramble, representing Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to SFA from London to present the official invitation to the band in person. Each fall, the Lieutenancy decides upon a select number of groups that it wishes to visit in the United States in connection with London’s New Year’s Day Parade. Bramble was accompanied to SFA by Robert Bone, executive director of the parade.

    “You came to our attention because everybody has told us that you are one of the finest marching bands in the country,” Bramble said during his visit, which was punctuated with lively musical performances and enthusiastic applause from band members.

    Accepting the invitation on behalf of the Lumberjack Marching Band was Dr. David W. Campo, director.

    “I am so thrilled we’ll be able to offer this opportunity for our students to travel abroad and see London,” he said. “It is also very exciting to bring some international recognition to the university, which has been so supportive of the band program for so many years.”

    Campo said he expects between 200 and 250 members of the marching band to participate in the 27th annual parade, which is watched by more than 600,000 spectators and televised to 280 million people around the world. More than 20 different countries will be represented in the parade and associated concert performances.

    “This is beyond awesome,” said Jordan Vaught, an SFA junior who plays tuba in the band. “To be selected to perform, televised, in front of millions of people across the ocean is simply phenomenal. We are so excited to have this opportunity!”

    Megan Massarello, a freshman trombone player, echoed the sentiment.

    “How exciting to come to SFA as a freshman and hear that the Lumberjack Marching Band has been invited to perform in London in the New Year’s Day Parade! I am extremely excited to get the chance to go to England, and I am looking forward to it.”

    While on campus Wednesday, Bramble and Bone met with representatives of the university and the College of Fine Arts, as well as band students and faculty members.

    “We know that international travel and the experiences it offers to students can be a unique and valuable element of education,” said Dr. Richard Berry, SFA provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am delighted that this opportunity has developed, and I look forward to having the Lumberjack Marching Band represent SFA and the United States amidst the pageantry of a London New Year’s parade.”

    As part of its monthly independent film series, the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art will present a free, one-night screening of “Beautiful Losers” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

    In this 90-minute documentary, directors Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard follow the lives of 10 artists and designers, many of whom got their start in the early 1990s with little or no formal training.

    Among the profiled artists are Shepard Fairey, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Harmony Korine, Barry McGee, Mike Mills and Ed Templeton.

    The 2008 film received the Grand Jury Award at the CineVegas International Film Festival and the Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

    The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. Admission is free.

    The film is sponsored in part by Michelle and Craig Smith, SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Nacogdoches Junior Forum. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.