NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre and Dance will present the student-directed full-length play “Sagittarius Ponderosa" by MJ Kaufman at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in Regents Suite A in the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus.
Connor Molen, a junior theatre major from Denton, is the play’s director. He explains that in “Sagittarius Ponderosa,” character Archer (still Angela to his family) “doesn’t want to move back to his home in eastern Oregon when his father falls ill. But at night, under the oldest Ponderosa Pine, he meets a stranger who knows the history of the forests and the sadness of losing endangered things. As Archer accepts big changes in his family, he discovers the power of names and the histories they make and mask,” according to information at trwplays.com/sagittarius-ponderosa/.
The cast features Dani Wilson, Denton senior, as Mom; Kai Crumley, Kingwood junior, as Archer; Jaslyn Ebron, Marshall junior, as Pops and Peterson; Macy Burns, Temple sophomore, as Grandma; Xavier Sanchez, Houston freshman, as Owen; and Caitlynn Monaghen, Sulphur Springs junior, as Herbalist.
The crew includes Magnolia freshman Michelle Guerrero as stage manager; Baytown sophomore Josh Harris, assistant director; Georgetown junior Nate Malone, scenic designer; Houston sophomore Ali Maxey, costume designer; Kingwood freshman Jonathan Graves, lighting designer; Baytown junior Beth Powell, sound designer; Nacogdoches senior Heath McCormack, properties designer; Gonzales senior Theo Moers, intimacy director; and League City senior Ethan Sizelove, music director.
Molen is pursuing a BFA with an acting/directing focus. While attending SFA, he has performed in Mainstage shows “Rideshare/Overshare,” “The Maids,” “Ajax in Iraq” and “The Taming of the Shrew.” Molen is a member and officer of Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society and is president of “Speak Up: Devised Theatre.” Last semester, he directed “30 Neo-Futurist plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.” Other work this semester includes the role of Everybody/Somebody in the Mainstage production of “Everybody.”
Tickets are $6. To purchase tickets, visit the SFA Fine Arts Box Office online at boxoffice.sfasu.edu 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. This production is recommended for mature audiences. Faculty production advisor is Scott Shattuck.
Axe ’Em, Jacks!