News Release

(1)Missoula Children's Theatre(2)Doug Kershaw(3) Guitare Louisiane

Fanfare's first week


Contact: Tonya Lowentritt

9/24/09


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(1) MISSOULA PRESENTS THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA – Southeastern’s Fanfare will present the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s version of “The Princess and the Pea” Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Auditions for children in grades kindergarten through high school are Oct. 5, 4 p.m., in the Columbia Theatre Conference Center.

(2) LEGENDARY FIDDLE PLAYER – As part of Fanfare, Louisiana’s legendary “Ragin’ Cajun” fiddler, Doug Kershaw, will perform Wednesday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre in historic downtown Hammond.

(3) SUNDAY WITH THE ARTS – Guitare Louisiane will present Fanfare’s first “Sunday With the Arts” concert Oct. 4, 3 p.m., at Hammond’s First United Methodist Church. From left are Matthew Aguilar, David Bryan, Patrick Kerber, and Matthew Spears.


     HAMMOND – The 9th annual International House of Blues Foundation Art Exhibit, a Shakespeare classic, an incredible Louisiana fiddle player, and a musical fairy tale starring local children are just some of the events providing the opening flourish for the 24th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual October arts festival.
     Fanfare’s first full week also includes performances by an acclaimed guitar ensemble, a lecture about the Latin American journey, a German film, a documentary film about a lost Louisiana treasure and the opening reception for three art exhibits. The week kicks off with Fanfare community partner events in Hungarian Settlement and Ponchatoula.

     Louisiana’s legendary “Ragin’ Cajun” fiddler, Doug Kershaw, will perform Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre. His more than 30 albums are a testament to the world-renowned fiddle player’s longevity as both a recording artist and a performer. Kershaw will present a powerful performance of an energetic, swirling mix of rock, blues, jazz, country and, of course, Cajun music, taking his audience on a hyperkinetic joyride through a multitude of musical styles, old and new.
     Also Oct. 7, Gerard Helferich, the former editor of several major New York publishing houses and author of “Humboldt’s Cosmos,” will present the lecture “Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We See the World” at 1 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. 
     An explorer and scientist, Humboldt’s discoveries influenced the work of Charles Darwin and other scientists in a variety of disciplines. Humboldt helped lay the foundations for modern scientific method, and his epic journey through Latin America in 1799-1804 made him a real-life, 19th century “Indiana Jones.” A book signing will follow the lecture. 
     Co-presented by the College of Science and Technology, the free presentation is part of the “Then and Now” lecture series by Southeastern faculty and guest scholars, sponsored by Department of History and Political Science. 
     The award-winning Southeastern Theatre will contribute to the Fanfare schedule William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Oct. 7-10, 7:30 p.m., at Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall. A brilliantly orchestrated comedy of confusion and desire, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” tells the adventures of four young mismatched Athenian lovers who escape to an enchanted forest. Amidst the moonlight, they cross paths with a group of hapless actors: Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies; and the trickster Puck, who runs loose with a flower that causes people to fall in love with the first person they see upon waking. Mischief and mayhem ensue with a twisting plot.
     Tickets -- $10, adults; $6, senior citizens, faculty, staff, alumni; $5 non-Southeastern students – will be available at the theater box office in D Vickers Hall. Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning Sept. 30 through Oct. 9 and one hour before performance time.
     A perennial favorite, Missoula Children’s Theatre will return to Fanfare with “The Princess and the Pea,” Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., at the Columbia Theatre. Area children can audition at the beginning of the week and perform in this original musical based on the children’s fairy tale. 
     Auditions for children in kindergarten through high school will be held Monday, Oct. 5, at 4 p.m., at the Columbia Theatre Conference Center. During the week of rehearsals, 50-60 local children will learn creativity, social and communication skills, goal fulfillment and self-esteem – while experiencing the thrill of being on stage – through Missoula’s unique theater program.
     Tickets are $15, adults; $13, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni, $11 for non-Southeastern students and $8 for Southeastern students. They are available online at columbiatheatre.org or at the box office.
   Also on the Fanfare lineup during the first full week are:
 ▪ A concert by Guitare Louisiane, Sunday, Oct. 4, 3 p.m., at the First United Methodist Church, 2200 Rue Denise in Hammond. Matthew Aguilar, David Bryan, Patrick Kerber and Matthew Spears bring to the stage French, Spanish, and Creole musical heritages of Louisiana. A reception follows the free concert, the first in the “Sunday with the Arts” series.
 ▪ “Read to the Beat” at the Hammond Library, Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m. The Hammond branch of the Tangipahoa Parish Library and children’s librarian “Miss Karen” blend music with story time fun. The event is free.
 ▪ A “Then and Now” lecture and documentary film premier of “Louisiana’s Lost Treasure: The Islenos” by two Southeastern students, history major Samantha Perez and communication major Joshua Robin. The film explores the history and culture of the Islenos population in St. Bernard Parish. The free event, followed by a reception, is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m., at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, 133 Mabel Dr. in Madisonville.
 ▪ The opening on Oct. 5 of the International House of Blues Foundation Art Exhibit, showcasing entries in the ninth annual Fanfare art competition for school children, who use “found” materials to create their artwork. The exhibit will be on display 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through Oct. 30 in the Columbia Theatre lobby.
 ▪ The German film “Woyzeck,” Tuesday, October 6, 5 p.m., in the Student Union Theatre. Shown with English subtitles, the 80-minute R-rated film is about a hopeless soldier assaulted from all sides by forces he cannot control. Abused and tortured both physically and psychologically by commanding officers, doctors and his unfaithful wife Marie, Woyzeck struggles to hold on to his humanity and fragile sanity. The free film is the first in Fanfare’s popular “Foreign Film Series.”
 ▪ The opening reception on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 5-7 p.m. of three exhibits “Michael Krueger: Full Metal Journals,” “Susan Johnson: Paintings, Drawings and Prints,” and “Art and the World” at the Contemporary Art Gallery. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., weekdays and Wednesday until 8 p.m. The exhibits run through Nov. 13.
 ▪ Fanfare’s community partners the Hungarian Harvest Dance, Saturday, Oct. 3, 6-11 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Hungarian Settlement, and the Berry Patch Quilt Expo, Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in downtown Ponchatoula.
     Fanfare tickets are on sale at the Columbia/Fanfare box office, 220 E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371. The box office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and one hour prior to Columbia performances. For a complete schedule, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-543-4366 or visit columbiatheatre.org.



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