Fanfare
2025
Celebrate the arts, humanities & social sciences with Southeastern & Columbia Theatre
This Year's Upcoming Events
All events are free unless price is noted
Animating the Divine: Water, Magic, and Knowledge in the Automata of Villa Pratolino
Lily Filson steps into the world of Renaissance wonder to explain that hidden water-powered machines at a Medici villa were not just dazzling entertainment but were designed to channel celestial forces. Water served as both a magical and scientific medium, animating lifelike statues and symbolizing divine knowledge in a place where art, technology, and spirituality converged. This lecture will trace how thinkers used water to bring statues to life and ideas to light
Inspirations!
Music that is inspired by composers, dances, history or sparking an idea, all of these pieces have that in common. The concert will feature such standard works as William Schuman’s New England Triptych, which is based on the patriotic anthems by William Billings. Grainger’s Molly on the Shore is based on Irish Dance music, while Joel Puckett’s work, Prelude and Fugato from Mama Dee’s Songbook is a tribute to his grandmother, who, despite numerous hardships through the Great Depression, was the first in his family to earn a music degree. The world premiere of a wind version of Quinn Mason’s orchestral work, Inspiration! Festive Overture, focuses on the power of inspiration.
Jefferson Performing Arts presents: Waitress
Jefferson Performing Arts returns to the Columbia Theatre to kick off Fanfare 2025 with this hit Broadway musical! Featuring an original score with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles, Waitress will be a night to remember at the Columbia Theatre. This touring production features a live orchestra conducted by Maestro Dennis Assaf. Co-produced by Southeastern’s Development Foundation and Tangi Tourism. Tickets $45 and $25 and are available at columbiatheatre.org
Southeastern Dance presents: MAINSTAGE: LA STRONG -14 Victims
This work is dedicated to the lives of the 14 victims who were innocently killed on New Year’s Day in New Orleans and the strength of our state to stand together as explored through dance, video projections and music for this performance. Tickets $10 Students/Seniors/Military and $15 General Admission.
A Fanfare Day of Latino Culture: The New Detective in Twenty-First Century Mexican and Colombian Narrative
Gabriela Miranda-Recinos, Stephen F. Austin State University.
Gabriela Miranda-Recinos will use the conventions of the classic detective story to theorize the presence in 21st century Mexican and Colombian novels of a non-detective subject who is a direct victim of the effects of violence and who employs a methodology similar to an investigator to unravel and reconstruct a violent recent national history. Reconstructing the trauma experience becomes a fundamental thematic component in these narratives.
El testigo (The Witness
José Neftalí Recinos will argue that while Juan Villoro’s El testigo (2004) isa precursor to narco-novels, which feature professional criminals fighting for survival, profit, and power and emphasize masculine daring and violent adventure, it eschews journalistic sensationalism, shows greater narrative innovation and social awareness, and allows readers to identify violence as the fundamental element of this narrative exercise.
Angels in the Machine: Edgar Clement's Graphic Novels of Ontological Transgression
Mario Morera will argue that the graphic novels Operación Bolívar and Kerubim challenge the idea of the border from a geographic perspective but also as a deconstructive game that erases the boundaries between fantasy and reality,religion and economy, anthropology and globalization. He will approach their use of angels from the perspective of Brian McHale’s ‘postmodern angelology’ as a realized metaphor of the violation of ontological boundaries.
Chicano Rock and the Influence of Latino Music on Rock
Chicano Rock came right down Whittier Boulevard. It is the sound of East LA and little California towns where Latin rhythms blended with American rock and roll and R&B. Richie Valens, Trini Lopez, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, The Champs, and Santana became wildly successful in American popular music. Hear from Joe Burns, Professor of Communication and the host of KSLU’s Rock School, how they created a new sound that still thrills people today.
2025 Visual Art + Design Exhibition: To Make and Be Received: Analyzing the Artistic Process
To Make and Be Received includes 7 artists from a variety of disciplines:installation, painting, sculpture, ceramics, and photography. These artists actively pursue the relationship between the conscious and unconscious realms in their work. Their visual language is specific and personal, yet open to interpretation. This exhibition invites the audience to first look at the artist's work, and without titles or artist’s statements, leave written reflections on paper in response to the work. Then, the audience listens to interviews with the artists. This information reveals what is unique to them and what is shared. Exhibition includes work from: Eric Whitaker, Brooke Cassady ,Diane Appaix-Castro, Ben Hamburger, Keir Johnston, Jessica Lynne Brown,Danielle Fauth.
Gallery hours are M, T, TH, 8:00am -5:00pm, W 8:00am-8:00pm, F 8:00am - 12pm
Mosaic Concert: A Tapestry of Sound and Movement
Southeastern’s Department of Music and Performing Arts presents a very special evening of live performances from various ensembles including: Wind Symphony, Saxophone Ensemble, Bella Voce, Gospel Choir, Dance Ensembles, and Opera Scenes. Students from Southeastern Theatre will serve as the evening's MCs.
Tickets Adults $20, Non-Southeastern Students/SLU Faculty/Staff $15, SLU Students free w/ID
Southeastern 100
This documentary is a fascinating look at Southeastern Louisiana University’s first 100 years; exploring the profound impact the school has had on the people,culture and economy of the region. You will hear stories from every aspect of campus, from our current students to some of our oldest alumni as we glance back on a century of impact and prepare to continue towards a future of promise.
Leading Innovation at the Louisiana State Museum
Cody Scallions, a Southeastern M.A. in History, drives the Louisiana State Museum’s mission to preserve and celebrate Louisiana’s diverse history and culture, bringing extensive leadership and project management experience to the oversight of ten Louisiana museums, along with a commitment to educational outreach and special initiatives that enables him to shape and develop engaging cultural programs and exhibitions for visitors across the world.
Timeless Vivaldi
Hammond Art Guild’s 63rd Annual Judged Exhibition
Opening Reception, Friday, October 10, 5-8pm
Also in the Art Center: Mezzanine Gallery: Beauty in the Bayou by Marceo Brim
Gallery Hours, Wed.-Fri. 12PM-6PM
Phi Kappa Phi Joan Faust Memorial Quiz Bowl
The Evil God and the New Testament: How Marcion Shaped Early Christian Scripture
Adam Meier, a Southeastern M.A. in History,will discuss Marcion of Sinope, a second century Christian theologian with the radical belief that the God of the Hebrew scriptures was a wrathful deity binding humanity to a harsh law, while Jesus was the vehicle by which a separate loving God offered salvation. Marcion was the first to develop an authoritative list of scripture for the early Church and served as a catalyst for Orthodox Christians to take seriously what is canon.
Classics with a Twist- Southeastern Jazz Ensemble
Enjoy an evening of jazz with a full big band, featuring classics by Duke Ellington,Sammy Nestico, as well as twists on some classic favorites.
SLU Gospel Choir Homecoming Concert- Late Night Shift
Join us for a powerful night of fellowship and music at our Late Night Shift Homecoming Concert! The Gospel Choir invites you to experience the sounds of worship and celebration featuring voices united in faith and joy.
The Graveyard Girls by Tommy Jamerson
Four teenagers spend Halloween night telling spooky stories in a secluded cemetery…what could possibly go wrong? This world premiere production will be presented in our Studio Theatre, perfect for an intimate evening of thrills and chills. Featuring an original score composed by Voice of the Enemy's Hayden Kimball, written by Columbia Theatre’s Resident Playwright,Tommy Jamerson, and directed by Columbia Theatre’s Artistic Director, Jim Winter
Tickets: Adults $25, Students $15. Friday performances at 7pm, Saturday and Sunday performances at 2pm. Tickets available at columbiatheatre.org
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
We would like…if we may…to take you on a strange journey. Master of ceremonies Dr. Joe Burns and our incredible shadow cast celebrate the 50th anniversary of this cult classic. Come dressed as your favorite character (or in any costume you’d like) to participate in our annual costume contest for a shot to win movie posters and show tickets! Tickets: VIP $25 (includes prop bag) Adults $20. Tickets available at columbiatheatre.org
Remembering Hurricane Katrina on the Twentieth Anniversary
Remembering Hurricane Katrina on the Twentieth Anniversary
On the twentieth anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the fourth of Hurricane Ida, Anne-Liese 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.
Katrina’s Path A Play by New Orleans Playwright Rob Florence
Southeastern Theatre returns to D Vickers Hall and inaugurates a new studio performing space. In a series of interconnected monologues,seven New Orleanians relay and relive their epic journeys 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.
Tickets free for Southeastern students, general admission$20, discount tickets $15
Pink Budz: from Pompeii to the Dark Side of the Moon
Join us for an unforgettable evening of live music, 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 these incredible musicians. The band will also perform a set of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits and deep cuts. Rock shows at the Columbia don’t get any bigger than this! Produced in partnership with Southeastern Theatre. General Admission Tickets are $35 and are available at columbiatheatre.org
Southeastern English Department Common Read
Southeastern English Department Common Read
Southeastern English Department Common Read
Southeastern English Department Common Read
A Monster Behind the Mask? A Harrowing Halloween History of His Highness Henry VIII
The More-or-Less Annual Halloween Lecture returns with the usual mix of scholarship, silliness,and sweets as the Head HIPSter addresses questions about England’s most notorious king. Was he the monster portrayed in Firebrand? The sex-crazed perpetual adolescent of The Tudors? The cold glutton of The Private Life of Henry VIII? Did he deserve the label “man, monarch,monster”? Did he have the “mind of a tyrant.” Would he have thrown candy to the audience? The speaker will!
PSYCHO
A Halloween treat for you, courtesy of Alfred Hitchcock and the Columbia Theatre. Join us as we celebrate 65 years of one of the greatest horror films of all time: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Ghostface…without Norman Bates none of these icons would ever have been born. Columbia’s Resident Film Historian, Dr. Jason Landrum, will introduce the film and share some fun facts about its making, massive influence, and enduring legacy. Free popcorn and trick or treat bag included with admission. Tickets $20 available at columbiatheatre.org
Soil v Soul: Thomas Paine’s Vision of American Identity
Nicholas Scamardo, a Southeastern M.A. in History, notes that Tom Paine not only championed the American Revolution but also voiced the nation’s aspirational “soul,” a promise of justice,inclusion, and rights for all. History often records the “soil,” i.e., slavery,Jim Crow, exclusionary naturalization laws, internment camps, and mass surveillance, but the tension of soul vs soil permeates American identity and that Paine sought a nation grounded in universal justice
The Magic Flute
Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop closes out Fanfare at the Columbia Theatre with Mozart’s final opera, complete with a live orchestra. This timeless fantasy tells the story of Prince Tamino and his odd companion, Papageno, on their quest to rescue the daughter of the Queen of the Night.
Tickets are Adults $30, Non-SLU Students/SLU Faculty/Staff $15, SLU students FREE with ID. Available at columbiatheatre.org
2025-2026
Season
Sponsors
Southeastern Louisiana University Alumni Association
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