NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre event on Feb. 11 will help raise funds for theatre students to travel Edinburgh, Scotland, in August to participate in the two-week Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
"An Evening of Love Scenes and Songs" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, in the Upstage Theatre in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus. The show will feature theatre faculty members and students performing scenes from William Shakespeare's plays and singing love songs.
"We are really excited to get started planning our trip to Edinburgh this year," SFA Professor of Theatre Angela Bacarisse said. "This year's production will include musical numbers, so we decided to put together a special Valentine's fundraiser including popular love songs." Purchasing tickets makes a great early Valentine gift for one's sweetheart and supports student study abroad, she added.
This year, the School of Theatre will produce the play "Closed For Repairs" by Bobby Britton, senior theatre student from Angleton. The play is about a young man's struggle to accept himself as it relates to his faith. It will be performed in Fringe Venue 45, the same theatre in which SFA performed in 2015.
That year, SFA students performed original works by an SFA student playwright on the international stage in Edinburgh. In 2015, the plays were "Hate Mail" by SFA playwright-in-residence Jack Heifner and the student-written "Mom and Dad" by Nick Pinelli, an SFA graduate from The Woodlands, and Allison Day, an SFA graduate from San Antonio. Pinelli and Day wrote the play as an honors project for their class with Heifner.
"Our trip in 2015 was eye opening for the students who participated," Bacarisse said. "They had an opportunity to see theatre companies from all over the world perform. They were so excited to talk to each other and recommend the shows that they had seen. They also made friends with the students who were participating from other universities. It was a very supportive group."
Begun in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of several festivals that will take place in Edinburgh while the SFA students are there, has become the largest international theatre arts festival in the world. During festival season, which is three weeks in August, the International Festival, the Festival Fringe, jazz festival, art festival and book festival all take place in Edinburgh.
In addition to acting in shows, SFA students will house manage, run the lighting and soundboards and stage-manage for their performances. Students will get experience touring shows at an international festival and learn organizational skills while being exposed to art, music, theatre and dance from around the world, Bacarisse said.
"We are so grateful for everyone who supports the arts and our students," she said. "Allowing them the opportunity to perform abroad and learn more about our global community is a great gift."
Attending the fundraiser is just one way to support the School of Theatre in this endeavor. Tax-exempt donations for the trip can be made at sfasu.edu/giving by clicking on the "give online" tab and writing "Scotland trip" for special instructions.
Tickets to the fundraiser are $10 for general admission and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS or visit http://www.finearts.sfasu.edu/.
Axe ’Em, Jacks!