Theater, music and presentations highlight Fanfare’s upcoming week

Events surrounding music, presentations and theater are scheduled during the upcoming week of the 40th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual fall festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Kicking off the week on Tuesday, Oct. 21, is a special collaborative presentation from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the departments of Visual Art + Design and History and Political Science commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Visual Art + Design Instructor Anne-Liese Fox will present “Restoring Performance: Personal Story, Place, and Memory in Post-Katrina New Orleans.” Scheduled in the Student Union Theatre, the special Fanfare lecture will take place at 2 p.m. 

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Ida, Fox explores how theatre performances in New Orleans interact with personal story and place, animate community, sustain and convey cultural memory, reclaim lost spaces, amplify marginalized stories, challenge dominant narratives, bridge pre and post disaster identities, and open imaginative space for envisioning recovery.

Following Oct. 22-25, at 7:30 p.m., Southeastern Theatre will present “Katrina’s Path,” a play by New Orleans playwright Rob Florence, directed by Fox. The presentation is scheduled in D Vickers Hall studio 1048, and tickets are $20 general admission and free for Southeastern students with university ID. 

The inaugural performance in a new studio space offers a series of interconnected monologues, Fox explained. Seven New Orleanians relay and relive their epic journey through Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaks. 

“These characters experience as much humanity, inspiration, and even humor as they do trauma and horror from within America’s worst natural/human made disaster,” Fox said. 

Following on Oct. 23 is a musical performance, produced in partnership with Southeastern Theatre, in the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. An evening of live music is planned, as Pink Floyd’s iconic Dark Side of the Moon album is performed live in its entirety with a multi-projector liquid light show supporting the musicians. The band will also perform a set of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits and deep cuts. Tickets are $35 general admission.

Rounding out the week Oct. 24 and 25 are the final two performances of “The Graveyard Girls,” a play from resident playwright Tommy Jamerson about four teenagers who spend Halloween night telling spooky stories in a secluded cemetery. Directed by Jim Winter, the presentation includes an original score composed by Hayden Kimball and will take place in the Studio Theatre inside Columbia Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students. 

Fanfare events are free, unless otherwise noted. For more information, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-549-2999.