Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed "Porch" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.
"Porch" is half of SFA Playwright-in-Residence Jack Heifner's 1978 Broadway debut, "Patio/Porch," two one-acts portraying conversations between women. In "Patio," the women are disappointed sisters. In "Porch," they are a domineering, aging mother and her fading daughter who are "locked in a dance of death," according to Dominique Rider, Dallas junior theatre major and director of the play.
"The two find themselves on their porch on a hot day in Texas, and the dance continues as it always has," Rider said.
The two-member cast features Dallas senior Celeste Galey as Dot and Maple Grove, Minnesota, freshman Marie Phillips as Lucille.
The production staff includes Rebekah Webb, Dallas sophomore, stage manager; Danika Pettyjohn, Fort Worth junior, scenic designer; TJ Davis, Beaumont junior, costume designer; Brian Steele, Houston sophomore, lighting designer; Devin Bruton, Nacogdoches junior, sound designer; Victoria Medrano, Edinburg sophomore, hair and makeup designer; and Taylor Solice, Mesquite junior, properties designer.
Rider was most recently seen in the title role in SFA's Mainstage production of "Macbeth" last fall. After directing "Porch," he will participate in SFA's Festival of New American Plays in April.
Faculty production advisor for "Porch" is Melissa McMillian-Cunningham.
SFA's playwright-in-residence since 1997, Heifner is the author of more than 30 plays and musicals produced in New York, Los Angeles and theatres around the world. He is best known for the play version of "Vanities," which ran for five years in New York, is published by Samuel French, and became one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history.
The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.
Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.