NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A CD companion piece to Kim Addonizio's poetry collection "My Black Angel, Blues Poems and Portraits" will be released at an event from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Maklemore's Ale House & Bistro.

"My Black Angel, Blues Poems and Portraits" features woodcuts by artist Charlie D. Jones and is a publication of a fine press book by the LaNana Creek Press and a trade edition by the SFA University Press.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Playwright James McLure's "Laundry and Bourbon" will open the fall semester of Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre's student-directed plays.

Directed by Longview junior Tanner O'Neal, "Laundry and Bourbon" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University has recorded increased first-time undergraduate enrollment for the third time in three years to 2,117 students.

First-time undergraduates are students attending college for the first time since graduating from high school. Most first-time undergraduates are freshmen, however some have earned a higher initial classification due to dual credit courses taken while in high school and advanced placement credits.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - State Sen. Robert Nichols will be the inaugural speaker at the STEM Innovation - Tying Creativity to Success patent education lecture series at Stephen F. Austin State University at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in SFA's Kennedy Auditorium.

Nichols, an industrial engineer who holds 32 U.S. and 128 foreign patents, will share his insights as an entrepreneur and his patent expertise. He will discuss career opportunities in fields that involve patent work in the 50-minute repeat sessions.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Alazan Trio at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus as part of the Cole Performing Arts Series.

The Alazan Trio features SFA School of Music faculty members Jennifer Dalmas, violin; Evgeni Raychev, cello; and Ron Petti, piano. The concert theme is "Angel Band" from the title of Daron Hagen's Piano Trio No. 4, which is the culminating work on the concert.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present "Double the Fun!" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The double-reed recital is part of the Cole Performing Arts Series and features guest oboist Leah Forsyth, instructor of oboe at Northwestern State University, along with SFA music faculty member Staci Spring, bassoon, and staff accompanist Geneva Fung, piano.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Faculty members of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will be the featured performers during the annual Pi Kappa Lambda Music Faculty Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

"This concert is a showcase featuring the talents of our diverse performing faculty," said Deborah Dalton, SFA associate professor of voice and president of the local chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Audience members who attend the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre's production of "The Arabian Nights" Oct. 6 through 10 will find themselves "on an enchanted journey to places far away and times long ago."

The play by Mary Zimmerman celebrates the connection between storytelling and life itself, according to Scott Shattuck, director of the School of Theatre and of the play.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - 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.