Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present “Reality’s TV: The Perception Project” in virtual performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 1 through 3.

“Reality’s TV: The Perception Project” was created by SFA theatre students as an interactive adventure designed to be entertaining and potentially change public perception of what theatre is and can do, according to Dr. Slade Billew, assistant professor of acting and movement and the project director.

“The show, which was created purely by the creative team, explores questions of reality and power,” Billew said. “It engages with the idea that forces beyond our control shape many of the experiences we have and how we perceive our reality.”

The students wanted to create a show that was a uniquely Zoom experience, Billew said.

“We have all seen a lot of Zoom theatre in the last year, and we wanted to do something that wasn’t just live in Zoom, but actually used the interactive nature of the medium to invite the audience into a more complicated experience of the show.”

“Reality’s TV: The Perception Project” is a form of devised theatre, which can “look like a lot of different things,” according to Billew.

“Some of it is very experimental, and some if it looks like a standard play or musical,” he explained. “A driving force in our process was to create a piece that was neither a play done online nor a low-tech movie, but rather a unique audience interactive experience specifically conceived for the medium of Zoom.”

Devised theatre is a constant process of thinking big and broad, and then narrowing down to specific choices, Billew said.

“A lot of work gets created and then abandoned, not because its bad, but just because it doesn’t fit in some way,” he said.

The process is also a form of what the dance theatre company Pilobolus calls “radical democracy,” meaning many of the traditional hierarchies of a rehearsal process are eliminated or minimized. The performers comment about design and rehearsal process, and the designer and management team provide input on the performance choices and staging. Billew, as director, served less as the creator of a vision for the show and more like a project manager, guiding the team through idea creation and decision making while minimizing his own power as a faculty member as much as possible, “so that the voice of the group could come through clearly,” he said.

“This show is so much fun and full of unexpected turns and mysterious characters,” said Astrid Maldonado, freshman theatre major from Katy. “We have all worked so hard to turn this into an amazing event, and I recommend everyone watch and take part with us.”

Ty Carter, senior theatre major from Beach City, said he was most excited to observe how the rehearsal process explored and researched new ideas and Zoom room restrictions.

“It’s a great learning experience to devise with all of the other artists and bring everything together as a piece,” Carter said. “People should see the show because it’s a fresh view of the conference room as well as seeing what can come from scratch.”

Virtual access is $15 and may be purchased at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or by calling (936) 468-6407. SFA student access is $5. Box office sales end at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 1. For questions about the project, contact the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003.

The SFA Opera Theater opens Thursday, March 25, for a three-night run in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. This year’s performance features portions of two operas: Act I of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” or “School for Lovers,” followed by Act II finale of “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss. Rehearsing a scene are music students, from left, Rudy Barrera, Spring junior; Abby Ayala, Cypress junior; Mindalena Adams, Ladonia graduate student; Hannah Hays, Lubbock junior; and Aaron Fish, Stinnett sophomore. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, visit finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407. Seating is limited, and face coverings are required. Free access to online, livestreamed performances will be available each night at music.sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University music students will perform works from the 18th through the 21st centuries when the SFA Wind Ensemble and Friends present “The Evolution of Chamber Winds” in a virtual performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1.

The concert features chamber music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Charles Gounod, Walter Hartley, Jean-Denis Michat and Andy Akiho, according to Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA.

Opening the program under the direction of graduate student conductor Abbigail Ramsey of Prosper, the students will perform the 1st movement of Mozart’s Serenade No. 10, “The Gran Partita.”

“As a genre, serenades were ‘dinner music’ to be performed at parties and other social events,” Campo said. “Also known as divertimenti, nocturnes, or cassations, these works had their origin in the aristocratic practice of hiring a band to ‘woo’ potential lovers and damsels. By 1780, these types of works were beginning to appear in serious concerts, but because of their very nature, many serenades from the Classical period have been lost forever, swallowed by time. Mozart’s serenades, however, have survived … a testament to their construction and quality.

“It is important to also note that Mozart did not, in fact, nickname his Serenade,” Campo added. “The moniker ‘Gran Partita’ was added by an unknown hand after his death. It is not clear if this title is one that Mozart endorsed or was even aware of.”

Petite symphonie pour neuf instruments à vent, or the “Little Symphony for Winds,” was composed in 1885 by French composer Gounod. Campo describes this complete miniature symphony as “elegant, delicate and sweet.” The first movement uses a slow introduction, like that of Joseph Haydn, and an allegretto in sonata form. The second movement features an added flute. The scherzo that follows is based on a hunting theme, with a lively finale in the fourth movement to end the symphony.

Graduate student conductor Jacob Bridges of Lake Charles, Louisiana, will lead the ensemble in Hartley’s Concerto for 23 Winds. Hartley composed this work for the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1957, and it was premiered by that group during the Eastman School’s annual Festival of American Music in 1958.

Hartley described the four-movement work as “roughly corresponding to those of the classical symphony or sonata in form, but it is textually more related to the style of the Baroque concerto, being essentially a large chamber work in which different soloists and groups of soloists play in contrast with each other and with the group as a whole.”

A percussion group from the Wind Ensemble lends its voice to the unique chamber music offering with composer Akiho’s “to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem,” a percussion piece that features a modified Pierrot ensemble – flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano – and prepared vibraphone. Although not much is said about the story of the piece, with the help of Michael McQuilken, Akiho published a short film to YouTube titled “To Walk Or Run.” The film uses the piece as a dramatic background track with actors portraying themes of sex trafficking. The piece assists this concept by using percussion instruments to mimic the sounds of a car door slamming and tires screeching as well as the sound of police sirens later in the work.

Dr. Nathan Nabb, professor of saxophone at SFA, and guitarist Brandon Coleman will be the featured guest performers on the final piece of the concert, Michat’s rollicking “Pasta Concerto” for saxophone ensemble, guitar and soprano saxophone soloist.

“The work is a sometimes tongue-in-cheek but always technically demanding tour-de-force that utilizes all of the vibrant colors of the entire saxophone family,” Campo said. Regarding the unusual name of the composition, Michat said, “In tribute to the Italian concertos, I called it ‘Pasta Concerto, ‘since the Baroque concertos are fascinating because everyone can play them; they are pleasant for the musicians and for the general public.” The four movements of the concerto are Spaghetti, Farfalle, Cellentani and Tagliatelle.

To access the live virtual concert free of charge, visit music.sfasu.edu the night of the performance. For additional information, contact the School of Music at (936) 468-4602.