Everything Nac

On the heels of Halloween, students enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s DeWitt School of Nursing held a disaster drill that incorporated a zombie attack to help nursing students better prepare for a crisis.

During the crisis simulation, fourth-semester nursing students divided into two groups. One group acted as medics and cared for patients who had been affected by a natural disaster while the other group acted as the patients. To further complicate the scenario, both groups had to endure a zombie attack during the drill.

Students participated in two simulations with members of each group reversing roles to ensure each student had the opportunity to act as a medic and patient. After the first simulation was complete, instructors held a debriefing where they gave critiques and shared information on how to correct deficiencies The students then attempted to correct the deficiencies during the second simulation.

Carol Athey, clinical instructor of nursing at SFA, said the simulation helps students put their nursing knowledge into practice. “During the simulation, students see how to use different medical resources, set up triages, assess various levels of injuries and communicate with each other,” Athey said.

Senior nursing students Addie Bowland, of Henderson, and Amber Comstock, of Lufkin, were selected as simulation team leaders by their classmates. Both students have been preparing for the simulation since the summer by gathering supplies, recruiting volunteers to play the roles of zombies and security personnel, and preplan the scenarios for each participant during the simulation.

Members of the Nacogdoches Fire Department and emergency medical services assisted and discussed with the nursing students how to anticipate the needs of first responders. They also trained students on how to properly use emergency equipment such as backboards.

“We finished with a better understanding of our roles as nurses when it comes to a disaster or mass-casualty event,” Comstock said. “The simulation has made us more aware and appreciative of what first responders do.”

Though nursing students participate in clinicals, which are supervised sessions for nursing students to observe and learn in real-world health care environments, this disaster drill provided additional insight.

According to Bowland, hospital situations are much more organized and controlled. “During the simulation, the wind was blowing our supplies away, and people were yelling for help while medics were trying to get to them without being contaminated by zombies,” Bowland said.

According to Athey, these types of simulations often can be helpful in preparing future nurses for natural disaster situations like hurricanes and other weather-related events.

“A few years ago, a former student called me after a tornado hit Waco,” Athey said. “She told me the disaster drills she was involved in at SFA helped prepare her for that disaster. As instructors, our goal is to prepare students for any type of medical situation that might occur. These types of drills may eventually save lives.”

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

The characters in Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns, a post-electric play” use the TV series “The Simpsons” as a vehicle – a shield or distraction – to avoid dealing with the hard truth of the world as it has become in a post-apocalyptic era.

That perspective by scenic designer Kenneth Verdugo helped guide his thought process in designing the set for the dark comedy to be presented by the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre as part of its 2017-18 Mainstage Series.

“The play is extremely dark at times,” said Verdugo, visiting assistant professor in the School of Theatre. “I wanted to go very dark at first – mirroring a kind of 9/11 picture of despair and hopelessness. Keeping it light was my challenge.”

“Mr. Burns” combines a nuclear catastrophe, “The Simpsons” and the myth-making impulse to reinvent contemporary theatre, according to its director, Slade Billew, assistant professor of acting/movement at SFA.

The play follows six people (and later seven) who have survived a nationwide nuclear power disaster. Society has collapsed, and there is no electricity. In Act One, the characters sit around a fire and try to recall an episode of “The Simpsons.” Act Two occurs seven years later. The survivors have regrouped and formed a theatre company performing old episodes of “The Simpsons.” They are seen in rehearsal where we discover more about the world they have helped remake. Act Three takes place 82 years after the initial disaster and includes a full musical performance of an episode of “The Simpsons.”

“The set evolves in three acts,” Verdugo explained. “The various locations or set elements evolve or progress accordingly, on a given trajectory, within the life of this particular theatre company over the years. There are a few iconographic elements directly referencing ‘The Simpsons.’ Over time, however, their cloudy images are based on word of mouth alone.

“Linked to a previous generation’s lost technology, ‘The Simpsons’ becomes a product of history,” he added. “That history gets retold in the form of a musical 82 years later. Of course, with time comes change.”

The play is not a recreation of “The Simpsons,” but rather it is a series of visual snapshots and remembrances. The play is reflective of the values and pop-cultural references commonly shared within that generation’s collective memories, Verdugo said.

“I wanted the design to reflect the point-of-view of this small collective of players,” he said, adding he hopes audience members will remember the boat painting on the wall of the Simpson home that he designed for the set.

“The characters in this play create an edgy coping mechanism in order to sublimate the darker underbelly of their new post-apocalyptic reality,” Verdugo said. “That coping mechanism comes in the form of a reformulated episode of ‘The Simpsons.’

“Their play (the musical) compelled me to be somewhat uplifted – to allow playful madness to help shape and/or normalize an otherwise desperate situation.”

“Mr. Burns, a post-electric play” is not appropriate for young children.

The play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Nov. 7 through 11, in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive, on the SFA campus.

Single tickets are $15 for adult, $10 for senior and $7.50 for student/youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.theatre.sfasu.edu.

The Stone Fort Wind Quintet at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, in Cole Concert Hall as part of the School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series.

The quintet includes SFA music faculty members Christina Guenther, flute; Kerry Hughes, oboe; Christopher Ayer, clarinet; Charles Gavin, horn; and Lee Goodhew, bassoon.

The program opens with “Pastorale” by Amy Beach.

“This lovely little piece by American pianist-composer Amy Beach features interesting harmonies as the melody floats through the ensemble,” Guenther said.

Composer-conductor-mezzo soprano Jenni Brandon’s “Five Frogs,” a fun piece in six movements depicting various events in the life of frogs, is also on the program.

Each movement features one of the five quintet instruments, Guenther explained. “Leaping” features the clarinet actively jumping in eighth notes; “On the Lily Pad” features the oboe in improvisational melismas; “Swimming” features the horn, melodically, while the rest of the ensemble accompanies; “Bullfrog” features the bassoon as the bullfrog; “Catching Bugs” features the piccolo as the frog (and the horn mouthpiece as the bug); and “Epilogue” closes the work with some returning material from earlier in the piece.

Cuban composer Paquito D’Rivera’s “Wapango,” also on the program, is a short, lively and rhythmic work with a fun Latino flair, according to Guenther.

“‘Wapango’ is a Mexican folk dance and music style, part of the style ‘son huasteco,'” she explained. “The word may be a corruption of the Nahuatl word ‘cuauhpanco’ that literally means ‘on top of the wood,’ alluding to a wooden platform on which dancers can make zapateado dance steps.”

A five-movement piece by American composer Daniel Dorff, “Cape May Breezes” depicts different events in Cape May, such as the autumn monarch migration, dusk at Sunset Beach and night breezes on the boardwalk.

The final work on the program is a short, fun piece by American hornist-composer Lowell “Spike” Shaw. “Dear Tessiel” is a jazz-inspired quintet, Guenther said.

“The title does not refer to an individual, but rather was an exclamation that came into use (and then faded quickly) about the time Shaw first put the tune to paper,” she explained. “It started out as a piano sketch, later surfaced as a ‘chart’ for big dance band, and then was put into quintet form as a concert closer.”

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.