Everything Nac

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will present their “Swingin’ At The Brewery’ fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 16, at Fredonia Brewery in downtown Nacogdoches.

Admission to the outdoor concert is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the SFA School of Music’s jazz program, according to Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone and director of the Swingin’ Axes.

“When we scheduled our fall concert downtown on the square, we were not sure how well-received it would be,” Scott said. “But we were pleasantly surprised that it sold out. We heard from the community how nice it was to have an outdoor concert, so we wanted to do it again. We have performed once before at the Fredonia Brewery, and we are very grateful to them for hosting us once more. We are not reserving seats this time, so it will be first come, first served.”

In memoriam to the late jazz great Sammy Nestico, the Swingin’ Axes will perform Nestico’s “Tribute to Woody,” “Blues Machine” and “Beautiful Friendship.” The Axes will also perform Steve Owen’s “Goombay Smash” as performed by the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note. Scott will provide vocals on SFA’s own Mike McGowan’s “Mean to Me.” McGowan is adjunct instructor of music theory and jazz studies at SFA.

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. J.D. Salas, will perform jazz standards “Splanky” by Neal Hefti and Nestico’s arrangement of “Alright, Okay, You Win.” The Aces will also perform Bob Mintzer’s “Computer” and Mark Taylor’s arraignment of “St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins.

The concert will also feature a performance by the SFA Jazz Doctors, which is a combo group comprised of SFA jazz faculty, including Scott on trombone, Salas on upright bass, McGowan on piano, Larry Greer on guitar, and Jake Walburn and Gary Wurtz on trumpets.

Shali’s Indian Kitchen on Wheels will be on site, and the brewery’s Rebellion Pizza will be open. SFA Jazz T-shirts and other merchandise will be available for purchase.

Social distancing and face masks are encouraged. The Fredonia Brewery is located at 138 N. Mound St. For additional information, call the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602 or the brewery at (936) 305-5125.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies has announced the recipients of its annual Research and Creative Activity grants, which support initial research efforts by SFA faculty members and prepares them and their research for submission to national grant programs.

ORGS and the Division of Academic Affairs conduct a university-wide call for proposals, and the deadline for submissions is typically the end of October. The University Research Council conducts a blind peer review of all applications. Grant awardees are notified early in the spring semester, and projects are funded through the remainder of the fiscal year.

This year, ORGS received five applications, and the University Research Council selected four recipients. The total monies awarded equals nearly $35,215.

2021 Research and Creative Activity Grants:

Wesley Berg – School of Art, College of Fine Arts

Drawing Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest

Berg’s Creative Activity project proposes to explore rock art locations in southern Utah and northern Arizona. The objective is to create drawing artworks while observing petroglyphic sites and ultimately merging prehistoric iconography with contemporary interpretations of landscape, form and color.

Dr. Flora Farago – School of Human Sciences, James I. Perkins College of Education

Attitudes about Gender in 7-10 year-old Children in Kenya

Farago’s study is to examine Kenyan children’s gender stereotypes, including perceptions about gender, discrimination, gender atypical peers, occupational aspirations and empowerment. The current study extends previous research. The project will lay the foundation for external funding via the Fulbright, Reed Foundation, and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Dr. Lindsay Porter – Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Characterizing the a-latroinsectotoxins of Brown and Black Widow Spiders and Assessing their Potential as Biopesticides

In Porter’s study, two putatively insect-specific toxins, a-latroinsectotoxins, from two local widow spider species will be fully sequenced and the encoded proteins recombinantly expressed. These toxins will be assayed to confirm their toxicity against insects, both for a crop pest and for a vector of human pathogens.

Dr. Dipak Singh – Department of Computer Science, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Artificial Intelligence Solutions to Improve Natural Disaster Resilience and Relief

Singh’s project focuses on studying the characteristics of fake news during natural disasters based on the fine-grained contextual user features, such as user profile history and behavior on social network, and the pattern in the propagation of such news over time using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies.

Even as more and more Americans are getting a COVID vaccine, and pandemic protocols are beginning to loosen up a bit, safety remains at the forefront for Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre as students prepare to present Jane Martin’s “Talking With …” April 20 through 24 in Kennedy Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Martin’s “Talking With …” features idiosyncratic characters who amuse, move, frighten and always speak from the depths of their souls. They include a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex-rodeo rider and a person whose greatest desire is to live in a McDonald’s.

“The show offers a great variety in both the monologues and the acting,” according to Jack Heifner, adjunct instructor, SFA’s playwright-in-residence and the play’s director.

“Talking With …” takes the place of a previously chosen play that required too much physical contact among actors, Heifner said. The show will be presented in person, and it will be livestreamed.

“‘Talking With …’ is a series of monologues that can be rehearsed and performed separately, without more than one cast member being onstage at the same time,” Heifner said. “I have always liked the show and thought it was the perfect show considering the distancing guidelines we are following for both the cast and the audiences.”

The actors and people involved in the production will wear masks except when they are onstage. They will not take the masks off until they are onstage and will put their masks back on before going backstage. They are distanced at least 10 feet from the audience when they are performing.

“Every effort is being made to make the rehearsals and performances safe for everyone involved,” Heifner said.

Monologues can be difficult for actors, and presenting an entire evening of them requires variety in both the presentation and the performances, Heifner said.

“Taking the audience on a journey through the storytelling in the monologues will be a challenge for the student actors,” Heifner said. “Anyone who is interested in good writing and good acting should see ‘Talking With …,’ and those who do will be delighted in seeing the actors in such a challenging piece. The monologues offer rich characters and interesting stories about their lives.”

The author uses a pseudonym, “and no one knows who Jane Martin is,” Heifner said. “They have been active from the early 1980s until the present, but their identity is not known.” Martin first came to national attention for “Talking With …” in Louisville’s 1982 Humana Festival of New American Plays. Since its New York premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club in 1982, “Talking With …” has been performed around the world, winning the Best Foreign Play of the Year Award in Germany from Theatre Heute magazine.

Patrons who attend the show in person will be required to wear face coverings and socially distance themselves from other audience members not in their immediate group. Seating is limited.

General ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+), $10; non-SFA student, $10; SFA faculty/staff, $7.50; youth, $7.50; SFA student, $5; virtual access, $15. Live virtual access is available for all performances. Purchase tickets/access at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407. For questions about the play, contact the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003. “Talking with …” is recommended for mature audiences.