LSUA NEWS & EVENTS

The Empty Space Players of LSU Alexandria will hold auditions for Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Friday, Jan. 27 at noon and again at 5 p.m. Additional auditions will be on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Auditions will be held in the Multi-Purpose Academic Center (MPAC).

Those auditioning are encouraged to prepare a Shakespearian monologue, preferably from Macbeth. Roles to be cast include 20 men, five women and one child (9-11 years). Applications will also be taken for tech crew including set builders, painters, sound and light board operators, fog manufacturers, mask makers, and costumers.

Macbeth will be featured as part of LSUA’s annual Shakespeare-on-the-Greene Festival. Performances will be held at sundown April 19-21 in the campus quad at LSU Alexandria.

Macbeth will be produced Steampunk style which is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States—that incorporates elements of either science fiction or fantasy.

For more information about auditions for Macbeth, contact Dr. Rhonda Shook, director, at rshook@lsua.edu.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at Louisiana State University at Alexandria will take place on Monday, Jan. 23 at noon in the Brumfield Caffey Annex. Tickets are $10 and reservations are required.

The theme for this year’s program is “The Power of the Dream: Moving Forward” and the guest speaker is Judge Donald T. Johnson with the Ninth Judicial District, Division A. Entertainment will be provided by the New Scott Olly Choir. Two scholarships will be awarded during the program including the Ebony Scholarship and the Coughlin Saunders Talented Tenth Scholarship. Lunch will be provided by Outback Steakhouse. Seating is limited and reservations are required by contacting Sally Cowan at 473-6446. The MLK luncheon is held annual on the LSU Alexandria campus with proceeds benefitting the Ebony Scholarship Fund. The event is coordinated each year by the campus MLK Committee.

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Recognition of the Doug Young Family and the planting of new trees in the expanded campus quadrangle will highlight the annual Louisiana Arbor Day observance at LSU Alexandria at noon on Jan. 20. The event is free and is open to the public.

Doug Young Nurseries has donated several trees for the campus quad including 10 live oaks for this year’s Arbor Day celebration. More than 40 trees donated in memory of Doug Young will be planted this year including bald cypress, sycamore, river birch, red maple, willow oaks and cedar among others.

“Doug Young was a dedicated force for the horticulture industry in Forest Hill,” said Margaret Waring, local landscape architect. “Beyond his work acumen and diligence, Mr. Young was a wonderful and generous person who was always interested in helping people. These trees at LSUA will long be a fitting reminder of Doug, and a plaque will be placed that commemorates this gift from his family.”

LSUA has been designated a Tree Campus USA university by the Arbor Day Foundation for its work in planting and preserving trees. The campus celebrates Louisiana Arbor Day annually on the third Friday in January.

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Louisiana State University at Alexandria has been able to preserve the core mission of the university in spite of the most recent mid-year budget reduction of $413,357 which is 5.1 percent of State appropriations according to Chancellor David P. Manuel.

“All of us are doing everything possible to preserve the core mission of LSU Alexandria and will continue to prudently use our resources to ensure the success of our students,” Manuel said in a memo to LSUA faculty and staff.

“We were able to examine the budget for the remainder of this fiscal year to find adequate funds to trim,” he said. “Using a combination of elimination of unfilled positions, further adjustments to our auxiliary budgets, further decreases in professional travel and services, and accommodating some of the reduction with self-generated funds, we have been able to meet this year’s mid-year reduction."

"However, because the university is already working on a very lean budget, future cuts will likely have a direct impact on our students which is unfortunate" Manuel said. "I appreciate the dedication of our faculty and staff members who continue to do more and more with fewer resources.”

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The Louisiana State University at Alexandria campus will close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23 for the Christmas holidays. Offices will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 8 a.m.

The faculty, staff and students from LSU Alexandria wish everyone a very happy holiday season.

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