Shelby County Today

October 19, 2015 - The Texas 12th Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments concerning three cases beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday, October 22, in the McGee Building Room 133 on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. The event will provide an opportunity for educators, students and state residents to witness a judicial process not often observed.

This will be the second time the court has heard cases on the SFA campus. Sponsored by SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts, the event is free and open to the public. The session is expected to last until noon, however, individuals may come and go in a non-distracting manner.

The Texas 12th Court of Appeals is based in Tyler and covers 17 counties in East Texas, including Nacogdoches County. The court is responsible for hearing the initial appeals in civil and criminal matters.

As an appellate court, the members of the 12th Court of Appeals (three justices) review decisions by lower courts and determine if there was procedural error in the trial. The court does not try cases, hear witnesses or have jurors. The justices will review the cases and consider the attorneys’ arguments from both sides of each case.

There will be a security check prior to admission to the court, and attendees are forbidden to use cellphones or recording devices.

For information about the event, contact Dixie Groll at grollda@sfasu.edu or at (936) 468-2385.

September 30, 2015 - NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Theatre majors at Stephen F. Austin State University bring a wealth of talent to every Mainstage production.

From acting and stage managing, to lighting, sound, costume and scenic design, SFA theatre students quickly become well versed in the dynamics of producing a successful play.

The School of Theatre takes pride in providing the kind of curriculum and hands-on experience that gives each student a diverse skill-set. The school also cultivates internships and international programs to enhance what the students learn at SFA.

Three theatre students will put the knowledge and experience they acquired while studying in different programs in Europe to work in the upcoming production of Mary Zimmerman’s “The Arabian Nights.” Amanda Warren, Molly Dyer and Josh Wallace spent last year in Europe participating in various programs that are part of the SFA-Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance international exchange initiative.

Warren, a Nacogdoches senior, is lighting designer for “The Arabian Nights,” and she is planning “some interesting things to bring color and sculptural shape to the show,” said Scott Shattuck, director of the School of Theatre and of the play. “We’re getting her some innovative, state-of-the-art equipment with which to do it,” he added.

Warren’s year abroad was spent learning computer programming for performance lighting in Rose Bruford’s Creative Lighting Control program.

A Central Heights High School graduate, Warren is completing her final semesters at SFA and is “doing the work of a professional designer,” Shattuck said. Her overall goal in designing lighting for “The Arabian Nights” is for the audience to “experience a clear separation between the stories and reality,” she said.

In the play, the murderous king Shahryar is gradually humanized by the storytelling of one of his intended victims, the legendary Scheherazade, who becomes his wife.

“I want to show the stark contrast between Shahryar's colorless, shapeless world and the worlds that Scheherazade breathes life, dimension and color into,” Warren said. “Throughout the journey, the world of reality will become more colorful as Shahryar falls into the stories.”

In order to create the contrast of worlds, Warren said she gathered inspiration from oil paintings of the Middle East.

“When the stories are being told, the goal is to make the audience feel as if they are looking inside a painting and seeing the actors bring it to life,” she explained. “With the use of dance lighting techniques, I plan to sculpt the actors, giving them more dimension, which will act almost as a pop up painting.”

Through her work on the upcoming SFA production, Warren said she hopes to sharpen her analytical skills as a designer.

“This is the first production in a very long time where I've had a clear design concept,” she said. “My time at Bruford helped sharpen my skills as a designer, and I am happy to put those skills into practice.”

Dyer, Copperas Cove senior, who will assume the role of Scheherazade in “The Arabian Nights,” described her year abroad as “the most challenging of my entire academic career.”

Her studies in the European Theatre Arts program took place in three parts, the first of which was spent in London, learning about Greek and Spanish culture and how those cultures were expressed in individual modes of performance.

Dyer then spent three months in Tallinn, Estonia, where she was immersed in voice classes and stage movement classes, an intense gymnastics class, and an in-depth acting class in the Stanislavsky technique. Her last term was spent back in England where her focus was entirely on directing and designing a single scene from a play originally written in a foreign language.

“This proved to be the toughest term of them all, as we not only were expected to direct the scene but further manipulate the source material with other influences so as to create an original production,” she said. “This secondary source material was then used in the portion of the semester when we designed an entire production concept – lights, sound, costume, everything down to the specific theatre space we wanted to use.”

Dyer’s year at Rose Bruford was spent primarily “devising” work, or using text as a starting point and creating an original work from it.

“I wouldn't go as far as saying that I have become conditioned to that mode of theatre,” she said, “rather, I’m now comfortable with it. I've been in a handful of Mainstage productions, but I’ve never really had a speaking role before. This will be a huge jump for me!”

Dyer said she quickly came to realize that Shattuck’s intention with the play was to “create a cast of storytellers, and that’s when everything came together for me.” She said she plans look to her work in Estonia the most when considering the script and the character of Scheherazade.

“There, I was taught to understand the value of the humanity in a character, and finding their 'truth' as a person rather than an idea or a metaphor,” Dyer said. “When I first looked at this script, it came across as a jumbled mess of nondescript characters and tangled tales. But the more time I spent with it, reading it over and over and analyzing all of the inter-relationships, I came to a realization: all of these characters that Scheherazade introduces are actually extensions of herself. They’re beautiful, vivid, and creative wonders that come to life to entertain and enchant.”

“The play then, I find, takes on a whole other dimension of meaning,” she said, “not only for me but for each person, including the cast and crew and audience. It’s something very special.”

The School of Theatre will present “The Arabian Nights” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Oct. 6 through 10, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

The Mainstage Series is sponsored in part by Tipton Ford Lincoln.

September 29, 2015 - The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’s Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform classic swing music at their next concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The performance will feature the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Henry Mancini and other great jazz composers.

Directed by Dr. Gary Wurtz, professor of trumpet and jazz studies at SFA, the Swingin’ Axes’ program will include Ellington’s classic “Take the A-Train” and Buddy Rich’s “Basically Blues.”

“Tom Kubis’ roaring rendition of ‘Bill Bailey’ and a beautiful arrangement of Branislau Kaper’s haunting tune ‘Invitation’ are also on the program,” Wurtz said.

The Aces, under the direction of Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone at SFA, will perform Joe Garland’s “In the Mood,” made popular by the Glenn Miller jazz orchestra, and “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma, arranged by former SFA School of Music professor the late Darrell Holt. The arrangement will feature music student Rene Luna, Dallas senior, on alto sax.

The Aces will also perform “Mack the Knife,” composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht.

“This was originally composed for their well-known music drama, ‘Three Penny Opera,’” Scott said. “Sung by Bobby Darin, it became a No. 1 hit in the United States and Great Britain in 1959.” Overton sophomore Barry Martin will sing the piece with the Swingin’ Aces.

A performance of “Dreamsville” by famous American composer Mancini, which became a hit in 1960 when it was sung by Andy Williams, will feature Martin on the piano. Basie’s “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” will also be performed.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. 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.

September 17, 2015 - Stephen F. Austin State University’s Marleta Chadwick Student Financial Advisors’ benefits are twofold. Not only do the advisors offer students and the community free financial advice and money management tips, but advisors also are practicing skills that will benefit them once they leave the university and begin their careers.

The Nelson Rusche College of Business created the Student Financial Advisors organization in 2014 to emphasize financial literacy and smart money management to help people dealing with financial crises. The advisors assist individuals with budgeting, credit card and debt management, identity theft, and fraud.

Student director and SFA business administration graduate student Brian Cook has been with the program since its inception and is looking forward to the program’s development. “We counsel people financially. We help them make smarter decisions and realize the impact these decisions have on their lives,” Cook said.

Four student assistants work alongside Cook as student advisors. Mi-Kayla Lemon, Clark Taylor and Flo Soto specialize in community efforts, while Corey Belcher and Cook focus on the SFA campus. In addition, Soto handles Web and media projects and Belcher is in charge of the organization’s social media presence. Cook said the increase in student advisors should yield more workshops this semester.

The five-member group shares their financial knowledge through presentations to community and campus organizations, groups, and teams. Women’s and homeless shelters, United Way, and churches are some of the organizations the advisors assist.

The advisors also reach out to students at both SFA and beyond. Lemon explained the organization works with Center High School students to help them prepare for the real world, and at SFA, the advisors talk to SFA 101 freshmen seminar and other students to help educate them on financial issues.

“I feel students have a closer connection with us because we can relate to them,” Lemon said. “It’s a good feeling to see the transformation when students understand their financial situation.”

Recently, the organization moved into a new office on the first floor of the R. E. McGee Building, Room 169. This location has a reception area and private offices for each advisor to counsel individuals on sensitive financial issues.

Cook said the new location also enables advisors to meet with walk-in clients. Walk-ins are welcome from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Fridays. Visitors also can schedule advising appointments.

“It is an easy process. Clients can come in and fill out a quick form telling us the area they want to focus on,” Lemon said. “It takes less than 20 minutes.”

Cook encourages visitors to partake in this free service and stresses that the advisors have all been in their shoes and know the struggles they may be facing.

“We have people from all walks of life come here. We never talk down to or judge anyone,” Cook said. “We are here to help and genuinely want to meet our clients’ needs.”

Dr. Banker Phares, SFA economics and finance professor and director of the financial banking program, is impressed with the students’ work and dedication. “Their commitment to helping others reassures me that this generation of students is going to make a significant and positive contribution to society,” Phares said.

The office and program’s growth is a result of a recent gift to the university by the Marleta Chadwick Trust. This gift resulted in the naming of the Marleta Chadwick Student Financial Advisors, as well as the Chadwick Family Banking Program within the Nelson Rusche College of Business.

“We are so appreciative of the generosity of the Chadwick Family, as these programs will support hands-on learning experiences that are very beneficial to our students and will be an asset to the entire community,” Dr. Tim Bisping, dean of the Nelson Rusche College of Business, said.

The gift also will support a scholarship program for Center High School graduates who wish to pursue degrees in either SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education or the Nelson Rusche College of Business.

“We have a great relationship with the Chadwick family and this has opened so many doors,” Cook said. “Having the capital to set long-term budgets, goals and grow the program as needed is great.”

To take advantage of the free services and schedule an appointment, email student.financial.advisors.sfa@gmail.com. Request a presentation by accessing sfastudentfinancialadvisors.wordpress.com and click on the “Request a Presentation” tab.