Everything Nac

As families across East Texas make plans for summer vacations and schedule events to keep the kids entertained in the coming months, putting the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s SummerStage Festival on the calendar is a must.

This year’s festival runs June 23 through July 8 and features the children’s musical favorite “The Jungle Book Kids,” and “Women Who Weave,” a comedy for young audiences. With its laid-back approach, SummerStage is designed to provide less formal, fun and easy-going live theatre experiences for audiences of all ages, according to Cleo House Jr., director of the SFA School of Theatre and director of “The Jungle Book Kids.”

“The School of Theatre is 100% committed to ensuring that our summer offerings are all about bringing productions that are family friendly, where children can have a great time,” House said. “This summer we’re doing things a little differently because both shows are targeted to the youth, but we are certain that the adults will have a good time, as well.”

“The Jungle Book Kids” is based on the novel “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling and the beloved Disney film by the same name. In the children’s stage version, the jungle is jumpin’ with jazz in this high-energy show. Audiences will enjoy watching Mowgli, Baloo, King Louie and the gang as they swing their way through madcap adventures, singing along with favorite tunes, including “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You.”

“We picked ‘The Jungle Book’ because it is nostalgia for the adults and great fun for the kids,” House said. “We will also be incorporating a great deal of puppetry, which we’re excited about. The puppets will be a collaboration between our lecturer in costume design, James McDaniel, and the student props designer, Jackson Barclay. I’m very excited for the audience to see what we have in store.”

In J.S. Puller’s “Women Who Weave,” 12-year-old Atalanta is convinced that being female means giving up any chance at being heroic. Her mother comforts her with the stories of the Fates, three goddesses who weave the destiny of all human beings. A dream carries Atalanta to the loom of the Fates, where she discovers that heroism has more to do with the decisions we make than the fate we’re born into.

It’s a play that ties mythology to current times, according to CC Conn, professor of lighting and sound design at SFA and the play’s director.

“It offers educational content that is entertaining and lighthearted,” Conn said. “In addition, the School of Theatre will offer sensory-friendly performances on July 6 and 8 at 10 a.m. and July 7 at 6:30 p.m. Sensory-friendly performances are designed to create an inviting audience experience for people with autism and other disabilities.”

The School of Theatre company will provide informational videos about these performances closer to the show dates. Pre-show arts activities will also be offered for the audience to enjoy as well, Conn said.

“The Jungle Book Kids” has music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Terry Gilkyson; with additional lyrics and book adapted by Marcy Heisler; and music adapted and arranged by Bryan Louiselle. Disney’s “The Jungle Book Kids” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

“The Jungle Book Kids” will be presented at 10 a.m. June 29 and July 1 and 7; and at 6:30 p.m. June 30 and July 1, 6 and 8.

“Woman Who Weave” will be presented at 10 a.m. June 23, 24, 30 and July 6 and 8; and at 6:30 p.m. June 29 and July 7. “Women Who Weave” is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.

General admission tickets for both plays are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students/youth. Pay-what-you-can performances for both shows are on June 30.

All performances are in Kennedy Auditorium, 1906 Alumni Drive, SFA campus. For tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or access finearts.sfasu.edu/purchase. For more information about SummerStage, visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

Mike Karns ’86, Stephen F. Austin State University alumnus as well as founder and CEO of Dallas-based Local Favorite Restaurants and Karns Commercial Real Estate, will give the commencement addresses during the university’s four graduation ceremonies this weekend, one Friday, May 6, and three Saturday, May 7.

Karns received a degree in general business and finance. His restaurant company owns and operates a portfolio of over 50 restaurants across 10 unique brands in four southern states as well as substantial real estate holdings. Karns bought the El Fenix chain in 2008 and has since acquired or created nine other restaurant brands, including Snuffer’s, Meso Maya, Taqueria La Ventana, Village Burger Bar, WokStar and Twisted Root Burger Company.

Before owning restaurants, he worked as a real estate agent, brokering more than 400 transactions for new restaurant locations across 22 states. This gave him the experience necessary to succeed with Local Favorite Restaurants. Karns also owns Sunrise Mexican Foods, a restaurant supply company, and his collective companies employ approximately 2,000 people.

Karns is a member of the Dallas and Aspen chapters of the Young Presidents’ Organization and was a finalist for Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

To attend commencement, guests must present tickets to enter Johnson Coliseum. Tickets are free and will help university officials ensure the venue is not overcrowded. Each graduation candidate will be allotted a maximum of 12 guest tickets. All commencements will take place at Johnson Coliseum.

The public also is invited to attend, and community tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.

Candidates from the College of Liberal and Applied Arts will participate in a ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday, May 6. Candidates from the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership, the School of Human Sciences, and the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts will participate in a ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 7. Candidates from the Rusche College of Business and the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science are slated for the 12:30 p.m. ceremony, followed by the Department of Education Studies and the College of Sciences and Mathematics at 4 p.m.

Degrees to be awarded include 1,205 bachelor’s, 300 master’s and two doctoral degrees. Nearly 500 students will graduate with honors, including 157 cum laude, 152 magna cum laude and 178 summa cum laude. Fifty-two students will graduate with the university scholar designation.

For more information, visit sfasu.edu/commencement.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education has launched a stand-alone, independently funded research center dedicated to the study of college students’ identities.

Called the Center for Research Advancing Identities and Student Experiences, or RAISE, its creation was led by assistant professor Dr. Pietro Sasso, who also will serve as the center’s director. Sasso’s hope is that the center, housed in the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership, becomes the hub of research and outreach centered on facilitating research to amplify voice, affirm identity, and advance belonging about college student development and their experiences to better understand their formative lived experiences and multiple identities.

As the center ramps up, research will focus on the latest generation of students to enter collegiate ranks, Generation Z, who were born between 1996 and 2014.

“They are on our campus and are completely native to computers and technology,” Sasso said. “They are different from former students, and we don’t know much about them.”

As Gen Z cycles out of college and is replaced by a subsequent generation of students, Generation Alpha, the center will adjust and evolve, Sasso said. But the goals of the center will remain.

“This center will aim to profile the spectrum of diversity comprising the contemporary college student through research and critical praxis,” Sasso writes in the proposal. “Programming will discuss and highlight student populations, trends and issues in regard to how they are supported by our institutions.”

In terms of output and production, Sasso wants the center to host a speaker series, produce a new research journal, author research papers, facilitate a network of scholars, and host a textbook series.

The new center will be housed in the Human Services Building in an office staffed with a graduate assistant. The center will begin by collaborating on research with the Pennsylvania State University’s Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform as well as produce a new forthcoming co-edited text on multiracial college students. These sponsored research projects will be used to support a graduate research assistant and to attend scholarly conferences. For the long term, Sasso said there are good opportunities to receive grant funding from private foundations, small federal grants, and perhaps a named donor.

While year one is dedicated to the basics — establishing the center and its advisory board, reaching out to potential partner universities, looking for funding and connecting with departments on the SFA campus — year two will be dedicated to building the center’s capacity. In year three, Sasso looks to begin publishing the center’s academic journal.

“The proposed research agenda and projects would position SFA as a unique and distinctive place to examine how the college experience is formative to student identity development,” Sasso said. “No current public or private higher education institution in Texas has such a center.”

For more information, visit gosfa.com/raise-center.

The School of Art at Stephen F. Austin State University is expanding its summer art camp to provide more opportunity for a larger demographic.

The SFA Art Academy is now offered for older students as well as elementary age students, according to Dr. Maggie Leysath, professor of art education in the School of Art.

“We are excited to be able to work with secondary-aged artists to provide in-depth artistic training in a studio setting for the first time,” Leysath said.

The elementary art academy is open to ages 5 through 10 who will be in first through sixth grades during the 2022-23 school year. Classes are arranged by approximate age and include drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics and more.

Classes for elementary students meet from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 6 through 10 and June 13 through 17, in the Art Building off Wilson Drive. An exhibition of student work will be at 4 p.m. Friday, June 17. All remaining work will be taken home at that time.

The secondary level art academy, which begins June 27 and ends July 1, is for ages 11 through 17 and is for students entering seventh through 12th grades in the 2022-23 school year. Student artists will work with art teachers for a real art studio experience from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“Secondary artists will enjoy a short art lesson each morning and then work on specific skills and artworks they have chosen before we break for lunch at the university cafeteria,” Leysath said. “Afternoon studio time allows students to work independently and with teachers to develop artworks.”

An exhibition of all secondary student artworks will be at 3 p.m. Friday, July 1.

Fees include all art supplies, daily snacks and exhibition expenses. Registration closes on June 3 or when all the spaces are filled. Fees received before June 1 are $200. After June 1, fees are $220. When registering, secondary art academy students should indicate which art mediums in which they are most interested on the form. Registration fees also include lunch costs for the secondary students.

Registration for each academy may be accessed at the School of Art website at art.sfasu.edu under Programs/Community. Space is limited. For more information, contact Leysath at leysathmn@sfasu.edu.