Everything Nac

In a world where COVID-19 continuously throws obstacles in the way of plans and progress, the School of Theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University is moving forward in presenting its annual SummerStage Festival in a new and innovative way.

The play choice has been changed from the original lineup, and its delivery has been adapted as an online version. But as always in live theater, the show must, and will, go on in live, online performances at 7:30 p.m. June 30 through July 2 and in a recorded version the following three days. Online access can be purchased through the College of Fine Arts Box Office.

Changes in work structures this past spring brought on by the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to get in touch with publishing houses in order to obtain rights, or permission, to perform copyrighted plays. As a result, the School of Theatre decided to present a show in the Public Domain, and SFA Assistant Professor of Theatre Slade Billew decided on William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which he described as “one of my favorite plays.”

“It also seems timely,” said Billew, who is the play’s director. “‘The Tempest’ is a story of isolation and loss, but it is also about the power of life to continue and of humanity to recover. In the beautiful way that Shakespeare does, the script blends tragedy, comedy, songs and magic.”

Although “The Tempest” is a full-length play, Billew has cut it to approximately 90 minutes. The play will be “created” entirely over the internet, with rehearsals conducted via Zoom, and designers conceiving and creating work in their own personal spaces.

Billew and his colleagues are exploring existing and new platforms of delivery – specifically ones that will allow individual access through a donation to the School of Theatre as a means of recuperating much-needed funding that was lost by the cancellation of live in-person SummerStage performances.

“We are, of course, all still figuring this out, so there are a few possibilities,” Billew said. “We are going to perform the piece live online three times. Then, a recording that people can ‘rent’ will be available. It will likely be accessed through YouTube. Right now we are working with Zoom, but I have also been in conversations with LaMaMa/Culture Hub in New York who have developed a software called Live Lab specifically for this kind of work. They are planning to release Live Lab for beta testing in early June, so we are going to test it out.”

Theatre faculty is working with the Fine Arts Box Office to give audiences online access to the show through a donation. Once donations/purchases are made, the School of Theatre will contact the purchaser by email three hours before the 7:30 p.m. performance time to provide link access.

SFA discovered in presenting its Festival of New American Plays in a free format this past April that audiences wanted a mechanism by which to donate to the School of Theatre in support of performance art.

“This really highlights the value our audiences place on the work of not only the students but also the faculty/staff who are integral to our success,” said Cleo House Jr., director of the School of Theatre. As a result, audience members will have an opportunity to contribute at different levels. The minimum level is $5 with the maximum level being $25.

“Regardless of the level, you’ll get access to the performance on a selected night,” House explained. “We will have three nights of live performance, and, in an effort to be flexible, the remaining nights will be a recorded version of one of the previous live nights. We are so happy that audiences still want to make a financial impact during this time. Our income has been affected by the pandemic, like so many others. Our theatre productions are funded almost 100% by ticket revenue. Donations of any kind are always appreciated.”

Another lesson learned from the play festival was that there is an audience for these types of online performances, House said. “Audiences still want to support the School of Theatre and see our talented students perform live,” he said. “A performance likes this breaks up the monotony of watching the various streaming services that are so popular now. We actually were able to host larger audiences with our play festival than in the past, thanks to not having the limitations of brick and mortar.”

There is a long tradition in the theatre of “the show must go on.” During Shakespeare’s life when the London theatres were shut down due to plague, the companies adapted by touring the countryside.

“In this time when many aspects of American life are shut down, we are learning how to keep the show going in the face of whatever the world throws at us,” Billew said. “We are deeply committed to making this a unique piece of online performance.”

The online performance of “The Tempest” speaks not only to the adaptability of theatre but to the commitment that the School of Theatre has to its students and the community, House said. “It speaks to our students’ desire to embrace technology and to their strong commitment to the mantra ‘the show must go on.'”

Live streaming performances are at 7:30 p.m. June 30, July 1 and July 2. Sales end at 1 p.m. for that day’s performance; links will be emailed after 4:30 p.m. The recorded performance will be available July 3 though 5 with daily access purchase required. To purchase online access, visit boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 for online purchasing questions. For more information about the School of Theatre, visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

A new director of the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music is taking the music outreach program in a new and exciting direction.

Alba Madrid, an adjunct faculty member in the SFA School of Music, began training recently as the new director and took over as head of the program on June 1.

“I am excited to embark on a new journey in my professional career as the director of an institution that has the potential to grow and become an integral part of the community,” Madrid said.

A new strategy is in place to “heavily recruit” for the many programs offered in Music Prep, such as the Suzuki violin program, guitar lessons, youth orchestra and others, including the well-established piano program for youth and adults, Madrid said.

“We would like to see more collaboration between the university and Music Preparatory Division by giving SFA students an opportunity to receive valuable field experience in music education,” she said. “We are also working very hard to expand our scholarship funds to help families that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The scholarship funds will be expanded through grants, donations and sponsorships.”

Despite the one-on-one teaching restrictions brought on by COVID-19, Music Prep faculty members are teaching summer lessons remotely, meeting with students weekly via Zoom, Facetime and Skype, as well as through recorded instructional videos for students to use during their daily practice at home, Madrid explained. Students also have the option to receive an in-person lesson if both the teacher and the student agree to it, and if they all follow social-distancing guidelines, wear masks and keep their hands sanitized.

“We recently had our first live virtual recitals where we featured our Music Preparatory students and the Piney Woods Youth Orchestra,” she said. “It was a huge success, and we hope to do another virtual recital in August.”

Madrid brings a wealth of music education experience to the community outreach program, according to Dr. Gary Wurtz, director of the School of Music.

“Upon learning that we would need to find a new director of the Music Preparatory Division, I hoped that we could find someone here in our community with the right expertise, experience and vision to take the program to greater levels of success,” Wurtz said. “We were blessed to have Ms. Madrid, with her years of public school teaching and professional performing experience, available and willing to take on the role. This is a good time for Music Prep.”

At SFA, Madrid teaches violin and viola applied lessons, a course of string methods and secondary music education and has coached chamber music ensembles. For the past year, she has been the Piney Woods Youth Orchestra director and was a Music Prep faculty member.

Before moving to Nacogdoches, she held the position of head orchestra director at Nikki Rowe High School in McAllen and assistant orchestra director at Economedes High School in Edinburg. She also taught in the Gulfport School District and Houston Independent School District both as a music teacher and orchestra director.

An active performer, Madrid is a member of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, and she is principal second violin with the Longview Symphony Orchestra. Prior to moving to Nacogdoches, she performed with Sinfonia da Camera, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and the Valley Symphony Orchestra, where she held the position of principal second violin and performed in the orchestra’s chamber music series.

Summer registration for Music Prep flex lessons is still underway, and online registration can be accessed at music.sfasu.edu/outreach.

A new fall initiative includes establishing a pilot strings project in which students from all Nacogdoches County public school districts and some from surrounding areas will participate.

“A grant is being written now to help support this effort,” Madrid said. “Students will have the opportunity to learn to play a string instrument in a group setting guided by a master teacher along with three SFA music students. Currently, students in the public school system only have the option to participate in choir or band. We hope this new strings project will help increase the interest and participation of string education in the local schools.

“I am hopeful about the future of Music Prep, and I will work very hard to create opportunities to reach as many students as possible and to have more community exposure,” Madrid said.

Music Prep summer office hours are from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Madrid can also be reached via email at madrida@sfasu.edu or musicprep@sfasu.edu or by phone at (936) 468-1291. Parents can also find program information on Facebook and Instagram.