A pair of dance concerts, a theater production, and art exhibit are just some of the events scheduled during the upcoming week of the 39th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual fall festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
First up is a Then and Now Fanfare lecture from the History and Political Science Department Oct. 1, at 2 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre. Southeastern graduate Nicholas Scamardo will present “From Debate to Defamation: The British Government War on Thomas Paine’s ‘Rights of man’.”
Scamardo will explain how Thomas Paine, who garnered support in America with “Common Sense” and aroused controversy in Britain with “Rights of Man,” drew an unduly hostile reaction from the government and still managed to shape political discourse in Britain and the world in a way that has led to modern revival of his legacy and even monuments built in his honor.
On Oct. 2, at 5 p.m., the department of Visual Art + Design will present two lectures. Scheduled in the Contemporary Art Gallery on Southeastern’s campus, both lectures are free. Professor Blair Gallon will present “Hieronymus Bosch’s Iconography,” and Rachel Harmeyer, along with Gallon, will present “Representations of Death in Art.”
Also scheduled beginning Oct. 2 through Oct. 5 is a Southeastern Theatre production of “Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris. Directed by Jeff Polito, the production is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. each day in Reimers Auditorium, located at 305 E. Charles St. in Hammond.
The production takes place in two acts set 50 years apart. Act one is set in 1959, as white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, students, faculty and staff, and free for Southeastern students with university ID.
The Southeastern Dance Performance Project will present a concert on Oct. 2 and 3, at 7 p.m., titled “The Road.” Scheduled in Southeastern’s Pottle Auditorium, the dance concert is a personal journey to experience the moments that define life by way of dance and original music composed exclusively for this performance. Tickets are $10 for students, seniors and veterans and $15 general admission.
On Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m., Southeastern’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond will present “The War of the Worlds: A Live Radio Drama.” In 1938 Orson Wells and CBS radio made history by terrifying the nation when they broadcast this story of martians invading our planet. The broadcast was actually a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ famous science fiction novel that has since been made into several movies. Communication Professor Joe Burns and the Columbia Theatre team will do their own version of this historic broadcast for a live “studio” audience in Hainkel Hall.
The production will feature sound effects created live on stage and will be broadcast on local radio as it is happening. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students.
An opening reception for a pair of art exhibits is set Oct. 4, from 5-8 p.m., at the Hammond Regional Arts Center in downtown Hammond. “Space Junk,” by Erik Barthels will be on exhibit in the main gallery, while “#Snap: Cell Phone Photography” will be set up in the Mezzanine Gallery. Hours for the Hammond Regional Arts Center are Wednesday through Friday from 12 until 6 p.m.
Closing out the week is a concert titled “Southeastern’s Dance Department Performance Project – Alumni 2024” on Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., at Columbia Theatre. The evening of dance will include dance pieces by Southeastern Alumni choreographers Aura Cervini, Keith Skip Costa, Hayley Deplantier, Brooke Harris, Stephanie Harris, Leah Reeb, Crystal Schayot Rotherford, Crista Sevin, and Katie Stansbury. Tickets are $25 for VIP, $20 for adults, and $15 for students and veterans.
Fanfare events are free, unless otherwise noted. For more information, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-549-2999.
