SFA to present student-directed ‘A Cheever Evening’

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre and Dance will present the student-directed one-act play “A Cheever Evening” by A.R. Gurney, based on the stories of John Cheever, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in the new Black Box Theater in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, SFA campus.
 
Directed by Spring senior theatre major Jillian Helberg, “A Cheever Evening” is set in the 1950s and probes the affairs of a group of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who once felt in the majority but find themselves in the twilight of their power and at the mercy of a changing world, according to a Dramatists Play Service description.
 
The cast includes Cushing senior Drake Willis as First Actor; Keller junior Zoie Dorn as First Actress; Winnie freshman Hayden Lee Cooke as Second Actor; Baytown senior Beth Powell as Third Actress; Houston freshman Molly Williams as Second Actress; and Elgin freshman Jaxon Larson as Third Actor.
 
The crew includes Marina Bogaards, sophomore from Rockport, stage manager; Haley Reed, senior from Rockwall, props and scenic designer; Ali Maxey, junior from Houston, costume designer; Jackson Barclay, senior from Nederland, lighting designer; Lee Geiger, senior from Tampa, Florida, sound designer; and Keaton Watlington, pianist.
 
Helberg is a future theatre educator who hopes to “empower” high school students through theater. She will graduate in spring 2024. She most recently directed “Unquestionable Evil” by Sam Graber. Helberg said she looks forward to future opportunities to expand her technical and directing skills.
 
Faculty production advisor is Jen Malmberg.
 
Tickets are $5 for SFA students and faculty/staff and $8 for adult and youth not affiliated with SFA. To purchase tickets, visit the SFA Fine Arts Box Office online at sfasu.edu/boxoffice or call (936) 468-6407. Available tickets may be purchased at the door. For more information about the play, call the School of Theatre and Dance at (936) 468-4003 or visit sfasu.edu/theatre-dance.