Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present scenes from the student-directed play “These Shining Lives” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Jessica Griffin, a theatre major from Brownsboro, directs scenes from Melanie Marnich’s one-act play. The play chronicles the strength and determination of four women, considered expendable in their day, who worked in a factory in the 1920s. Catherine and her friends are dying, but their story is one of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to steal their spirits or endanger the lives of those who follow them.

The cast includes Scurry freshman Courtney Pratt as Catherine; Frisco freshman Anthony Johnson as Tom; Plano freshman Marissa Mondragon as Charlotte; Bastrop sophomore Erinn St. Clair as Pearl; Houston sophomore Alexis Hargy as Frances; Buffalo junior Zach White as Mr. Reed; Wylie junior Drake St. Pierre as the company doctor/Dr. Dalitsch; Plano junior Sarah Clark as reporters; and Lufkin freshman Jeremiah Hewitt as Grossman.

The production crew includes Tommy Vest, Sherman sophomore, as stage manager; Jenna Alley, Kingwood sophomore, scenic designer; Jordyn Averitte, Baytown senior, costume designer; Hannah Pittman, Bulverde junior, lighting designer; and Gaby Trevino, Duncanville sophomore, sound designer.

Griffin is a senior teacher certification student in the School of Theatre.

Faculty production advisor for the play is Dr. Inga Meier.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu. The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House will partner with the Nacogdoches Public Library and its NEA Big Read Nacogdoches project to present a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, “Seven Samurai.”

A free, one-night screening of the Oscar-nominated film is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Cole Art Center. Refreshments will be provided.

The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. According to the film description at imdb.com, a veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village’s request for protection from bandits. He gathers six other samurai to help him. They teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.

The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This program seeks to broaden understanding of the world and its communities, and of oneself, through the joy of sharing a good book. This screening of “Seven Samurai” is just one of many events the Nacogdoches Public Library has planned during October as part of the Big Read initiative.

“I want to thank Cole Art Center for once again being involved with our city-wide program this year,” said Crystal Hicks, assistant director of the library. “We’re so glad to have such a wonderfully engaged and supportive community.”

Following the screening, there will be time for discussion of the film and the NEA Big Read novel, “Into the Beautiful North,” by Luis Alberto Urrea. The novel is set in Mexico and follows the adventures of Nayeli and her friends as they travel north across the border into the U.S. The trip is inspired by the film, “The Magnificent Seven,” which is based on “Seven Samurai.”

The Big Read activities will take place in October and will culminate with the annual Dia de los Muertos Fiesta on Nov. 2. The Nacogdoches Public Library is one of 78 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host community reading programs between September 2019 and June 2020. For more information about the Big Read initiative, contact Hicks at (936) 559-2970.

The Cole Art Center is Stephen F. Austin State University’s historic downtown art gallery, located at 329 E. Main St. For more information about the screening, call (936) 468-1131.

Cutline: A free, one-night screening of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece “Seven Samurai” is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Cole Art Center.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host the fourth annual Homecoming Step Show, which will feature guest host Darren Brand.

Brand is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the comedy group The Freestyle Funny Comedy Show, which he hosts alongside fellow cast members Anthony Jamal Bean, aka Chico Bean, and Brian McLaughlin, aka B-Daht. Additionally, Brand was a recurring cast member of the improv comedy show “Wild ‘N Out” on MTV and MTV2 between the show’s seventh through 12th seasons.

The Homecoming Step Show is a joint effort between OMA and members of SFA’s Greek Life and Student Activities Association.

“Stepping has its roots in Africa, where there originally was the African gumboot dance,” explained Veronica Beavers, OMA director. “In the early 1900s, National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations began stepping to show unification between the organizations.”

Four teams performed in last year’s Homecoming step competition. More have already signed up for the 2019 event, which averages about 1,000 attendees.

Step teams may sign up to perform until Friday, Oct. 4. The entry fee is $50 per team. Applications may be picked up in the OMA office on the third floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

Dance groups will be competing for a $1,000 grand prize and $500 second place prize.

SFA’s Homecoming Step Show will begin at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 in the student center Grand Ballroom. Tickets cost $3 for SFA students and $6 for faculty, staff and community members. Instead of purchasing a ticket, SFA students can bring three non-expired canned goods to the OMA, Room 3.101 in the student center.

By Christine Broussard, editorial marketing communications coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University.

A fun evening of jazz featuring the Swingin’ Axes, Swingin’ Aces and the Faculty Jazz Combo from Stephen F. Austin State University will be presented from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at LugNutz Bar & Grill.

If weather permits, the jazz bands will perform on the outdoor stage. In inclement weather, the concert will be moved indoors.

The Axes, directed by Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone, will perform a variety of music including big band favorites from the 1940s and ’50s, such as Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol” and Count Basie’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” More modern jazz styles will include Gordon Goodwin’s energetic Latin-style “Mueva los Huesos” (Shake Your Bones) and Tower of Power’s funky “What Is Hip.”

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor of tuba and euphonium studies at SFA, will perform several standards from the library of the Count Basie and Stan Kenton Jazz orchestras, including “Put It Right Here,” “Just Friends” and “My Romance.” They will also perform a fun jazz rendition of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame.”

The jazz combo will play jazz standards arranged by former SFA music professor the late Darrell Holt. Salas, playing bass, and Scott, playing trombone, will join Dr. Jacob Walburn, associate professor of trumpet, and Dr. Gary Wurtz, director of the School of Music, on trumpet, adjunct professor Mike McGowan on piano, and assistant professor Dr. Brad Meyers on drums.

Concert tickets may be purchased ahead of time at the SFA Fine Arts Box Office for $10. Tickets at the door will be $15. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu. Tickets do not include food or beverages.

All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the School of Music jazz program.

LugNutz is located at 5287 U.S. Highway 59 approximately five miles south of Loop 224, Nacogdoches. Drinks from the bar and food from LugNutz’ Spitfire Grill will be available for purchase.

By Christine Broussard, editorial marketing communications coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Stray Cats’ Lee Rocker will bring his high-energy rockabilly show and signature upright bass to Nacogdoches to perform in the University Series at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Presented by the SFA College of Fine Arts, the 2019-20 University Series season brings another versatile and exciting lineup of touring shows that range from musical theatre and dance to superstar gospel music and the world’s foremost children’s chorus. Rocker’s classic rock concert is up next in the series.

“What a thrill it was to realize that a charter member of the one-and-only Stray Cats was available to perform at SFA,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the series. “The band, whose sound fuses the roots-rock of Carl Perkins and Bill Haley with the wild punk of the ’80s, recently got back together for a reunion tour, and on this solo tour Lee Rocker continues to play their biggest hits in versions that are as raucous as they are authentic.”

Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding (and current) member, along with Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom, of the Grammy-nominated rockabilly group the Stray Cats, which sold more than 10 million albums and garnered 23 gold- and platinum-certified records worldwide. Rocker and his band are headed to Nacogdoches to perform Stray Cats hits like “Sexy and Seventeen,” “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town,” plus many other rock-era songs he has performed post-Stray Cats with music legends from Ringo Starr and George Harrison to John Fogerty and The Rolling Stones. The performance is sponsored in part by Lehmann Eye Center.

Prior to the SFA performance, Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor in the SFA School of Music and a professional jazz-blues bassist, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and recognize the corporate sponsor.

Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors, $15 for SFA faculty and staff and $12 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Other upcoming University Series events include the beloved holiday story of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 10; the powerhouse Argentinian dancing of Che Malambo on March 3; and a boisterous celebration of the Harlem Renaissance in the musical “Ain’t Misbehavin'” on April 16.

Two special Encore Events will feature the angelic-voiced musicians of the Vienna Boys Choir on Nov. 21 and the bluegrass Southern gospel of The Isaacs on Jan. 24. Encore Event tickets are $45 for Section A seating; $36 for Section B seating; and $27 for Section C seating. Discounts are available for seniors, students, children and SFA faculty and staff members.