Everything Nac

Playwright Don Nigro’s “Seascape with Sharks and Dancer” will open the fall semester of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s student-directed plays.

Directed by Center senior Avery Tindol, the full-length play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Set in a beach bungalow during 1978, the play is about a young man who saves a young woman from drowning. The play explores the relationship between the two from that point forward, according to Tindol. Soon, the woman finds herself trapped in the man’s life and torn between her need for love and her belief that all human relationships eventually turn into nightmares, Tindol said.

The two-person cast includes Austin senior Sarah Loveday as Tracy and Waxahachie freshman Adam Lamb as Ben.

The production staff includes Michael Nunez, Dallas freshman, as stage manager; Gareth Phipps, Dallas junior, assistant director; Kathleen McNamara, Irving junior, scenic designer; Jordyn Averitte, Baytown junior, costume designer; Armando Chavez, Corpus Christi sophomore, lighting designer; Mia Lindemann, Prosper senior, sound designer; and Logan Jennings, Longview junior, properties master.

Tindol is studying theatre and creative writing at SFA. His public directing credits at SFA are “Picnic on the Battlefield” by Fernando Arrabal and “Baby with the Bathwater” by Christopher Durang. His acting credits include Max in Jack Heifner’s “Hot Flashes,” Mr. Antrobus in “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Carthage Kilbride in “By the Bog of Cats” and Banquo in “Macbeth.”

“Seascape with Sharks and Dancer” is recommended for mature audiences. Faculty production advisor is Dr. Rick Jones.

Tickets are $6. 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.

Faculty members of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will be the featured performers during the annual Pi Kappa Lambda Music Faculty Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The concert showcases the talents of the diverse School of Music performing faculty, according to Dr. Jamie Weaver, associate professor of music history at SFA and president of Pi Kappa Lambda honors society. Proceeds from the concert fund scholarships for deserving SFA music majors selected by the honors society.

“I encourage everyone who loves music, who would like to learn more about music, or who is curious about music at SFA to attend this year’s Pi Kappa Lambda Faculty Showcase,” Weaver said. “Sponsored by the university music honors society, the concert features a wide variety of instruments, voices and musical styles in brief, audience-friendly performances.

“Faculty members look forward to this concert every year because we have the chance to perform for each other as well as for our students and friends,” she added. “Some musicians perform with their talented family members.”

For example, Mario Ajero, professor of piano pedagogy at SFA, will perform with his children, Nio and Olivia Ajero.

“Many of our faculty artists collaborate in groups, and we all enjoy watching them perform together,” Weaver said.

This year’s program will feature performances by a jazz trio, as well as the SFA Brass Quintet, which features Deb Scott, trombone; Jake Walburn and Gary Wurtz, trumpet; Charles Gavin, horn; and JD Salas, tuba.

Other faculty performers will be Christopher Ayer and Vanessa Davis, clarinet; Debbie Berry, Nita Hudson and Scott LaGraff, voice, with guest artist Kimberly LaGraff; Jennifer Dalmas, violin; Christina Guenther, flute; Abby Yeakle Held, oboe; Bradley Meyer, percussion; Evgeni Raychev, cello; and Mary Cooper, Thomas Nixon, Hyun Ji Oh, Andrew Parr, Ronald Petti and James Pitts, piano.

The recital is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is a feature of the 2018-19 Friends of Music Concert Series. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Wright Music Building at 2210 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts has announced the recipient of the fall 2018 Research Apprenticeship Program scholarship. The scholarship is awarded each semester to an undergraduate student who completes a substantial research or collaborative project with a faculty member.

Travis Fleener, a psychology undergraduate student with a minor in communication, will work with Dr. Lauren Brewer, assistant professor of psychology, to complete his research on how power and anonymity interact in order to predict online behavior.

“I hope this research can be successful in educating those involved in these online communities about confrontation and can lead to more enjoyable online experiences,” Fleener said.

Fleener began working with Brewer as a freshman. This year, the pair decided it was time for Fleener to begin his own research project.

“Dr. Brewer will be my faculty facilitator, guiding mentor and voice of reason for this independent study,” Fleener said. “She’s an amazing person and role model, and her high-energy lab philosophy makes projects like this a blast.”

Fleener and Brewer will use the scholarship to fund trips to various conferences, specifically the Southwestern Psychological Association conference in April 2019. During these conferences, Fleener will have the opportunity to network, learn and hear feedback regarding his research.

“Being able to obtain funding for these conferences can be a challenge, and this scholarship will go a long way in helping me develop as a student and an academician,” Fleener said.

Brewer, who has partnered with students for myriad research projects, believes it is useful for students to conduct their own research. Working alongside faculty members also allows SFA students to have transformative experiences as an undergraduate student.

“It’s one thing to read about and memorize the details of research, but it’s incredibly enlightening to be involved in the creation of new knowledge,” Brewer said. “Joining a research lab helps students understand their chosen field of study in a way that they really can’t by reading about it in a textbook.”

In addition, Brewer said students who get involved in a professor’s research lab gain experience that sets them apart. “We want our students to leave SFA and progress to graduate or professional school, or enter the workforce. Joining a professor’s research lab affords students the opportunity to fill their résumés with marketable skills and gives them a competitive advantage when entering the workforce,” Brewer said.

The deadline to apply for the spring 2018 RAP scholarship is Dec. 15. For more information, visit www.sfasu.edu/laa/622.asp.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Stephen F. Austin State University will celebrate its 95-year history at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Plaza. The event will pay homage to a tradition that dates all the way back to SFA’s opening day – birthday cake – along with a newer tradition: purple ice cream.

“At the end of the first day of classes 95 years ago, the faculty, staff and students enjoyed cake in celebration of the 50th birthday of SFA’s first president, Dr. Alton W. Birdwell,” said Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president. “We are inviting members of the SFA and Nacogdoches communities to gather with us and commemorate this anniversary in the same manner.”

State Sen. Robert Nichols is expected to attend, along with other elected officials.

SFA’s History

In the opening years of the 20th century, local citizens set about convincing the Texas Legislature to open a state college in Nacogdoches.

Toward that end, the group created an illustrated pamphlet titled “Twenty-Three Reasons Why Stephen F. Austin State Normal College Ought to be Located in Nacogdoches.” Among these revelations – the city offered a delightfully mild climate, cheap electricity and a good sewage system, rare natural beauty, a progressive business spirit, ample entertainment facilities, a high moral tone, and three two-story hotels. The 23rd reason given was that Nacogdoches “links old Texas with the new.”

A prime example of this link on the campus today is the newly opened Ed and Gwen Cole STEM Building, a $46.4 million facility that supports the study of physics, engineering, astronomy and computer science, which sits next to the Stone Fort Museum, a replica of the house built by legendary Texas pioneer Gil Y’Barbo.

Nacogdoches was selected as the site of the newly chartered school in 1917, but progress was delayed by World War I. On Sept. 18, 1923, SFA welcomed its first students to class, and the rest, as they say, is history.

A Year of Celebration

The university’s 95th anniversary will be celebrated throughout the coming academic year, and planning is underway for a variety of special events and activities, according to Jill Still, SFA vice president for university advancement and chair of the 95th anniversary planning committee.

“There will be many opportunities for students, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends of SFA to join in the celebrations surrounding this important milestone,” Still said. “Our 95th anniversary year is an appropriate time to honor SFA’s proud traditions and, as we look toward the celebration of our 100th anniversary, the new and exciting initiatives that will help ensure the continued success of our institution for many years to come.”