Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           
    Date: 10/29/96
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  126

SOUTHEASTERN THEATRE PRESENTS "THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL"
     HAMMOND -- Ronda Powell of Hammond has the lead role in the Southeastern
Louisiana University Theatre's upcoming production of Horton Foote's "A Trip to Bountiful."
     Powell, a recent Southeastern graduate who appeared in Southeastern Theatre productions
such as "The Miss Firecracker Contest" and "Dancing at Lughnasa," will play Mrs. Watts, an
elderly woman whose life is enriched by a pilgrimage to her small Texas hometown.
     Also cast in the play, which will run Nov. 19-23, at Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers
Hall, are Tom Stephens of Bogalusa as Mrs. Watt's beloved son Ludie; Brook Patterson of Baton
Rouge, as Tom's wife, Jessie Mae; Dina Alleman of Ferriday as Thelma and Greg Carpenter of
Holden as the Sheriff.
     The cast also includes Robert Statton of Baton Rouge, John Deshotel of Pride and
Belford Carver of Hammond as ticket men and Shannon Sharpe of Slidell, Dan Brown of
Ponchatoula, Anita Landry of Carencro and Todd Nebeker of Mandeville as travelers in the
Houston bus depot.
     Southeastern communication and theatre instructor Charley Vance of Amite will direct
the play and Brandi Chisholm of Harvey is assistant director. Set and lighting design is by Steve
Shepker.
     The play, set in the mid-1950s, revolves around Mrs. Watts, who was reared on a quaint
family farm just outside of Bountiful, Texas. Mrs. Watts now lives pensively in a small Houston
flat with her son and daughter-in-law. Hoping to regain her dignity and peace of mind, and to
escape the chaffing of Jessie Mae, Mrs. Watts attempts to return to Bountiful.
                                 (MORE) 
THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL  -- Add One

     She is able to complete her pilgrimage with the help of a kindly sheriff, only to discover
that her old friends are dead and the once charming family farmhouse is crumbling. When her
son and Jessie Mae arrive to fetch her back to Houston, she consents, enriched by her last contact
with Bountiful.
     Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets, available at the theatre box office in D Vickers Hall
lobby and at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 non-SLU students and senior citizens.
SLU students are admitted free with their university I.D. For additional information, call the
Communication and Theatre Department, 549-2105.
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