Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information  Office
                                           publicinfor@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 11/10/99
      Contact:                           Carol Dotson 126

EDITORS:  PLEASE NOTE LOCAL INTEREST- PHOTO ACCOMPANIES RELEASE
AMITE YOUTH CREATE POSTER FOR SLU'S "THE  BOYS NEXT DOOR"
     HAMMOND   When director, Selisa Hue needed a publicity poster for the Southeastern
Louisiana University theatre production of "The Boys Next Door" she knew she wanted
something "childlike" to reflect the play's characters.
     She and Southeastern designer Julie Ruckstuhl came up with the idea of having a child
create the drawing for the play.  "It really was a collaborative effort," said Hue. "The secretary in
Julie's office had two kids who liked to draw so they created some drawings for us. We made
suggestions on the initial drawings and had the boys draw something to identify each character.
One of the characters carries a teddy bear, one is attached to his keys like a security blanket and
one thinks he's a golf pro," she explained. "The kids did a fantastic job, they were great!"
      Cody Coumes, an 11-year-old student at Loranger Middle School, sketched the people on
the poster and his nine-year-old brother Mikey Thompson, a student at Loranger Elementary,
drew the house. Their mother, Carol, helped the boys with coloring their drawings. Both boys
say
they like to draw and get their ideas from television and books.  
     Hue, a 1993 Southeastern graduate and Ponchatoula resident, said it's important for
young people to have an outlet for their talents. She's excited about tapping that talent in the
future, especially through her production company, Jitterbug Productions.
     Cody and Mikey are excited that their drawings were used and they'll see their names in
the program as assistant designers. 
       "The Boys Next Door" runs through Saturday November20 at 7:30 p.m. nightly. 
Tickets are $5 general admission and $3 senior citizens, non-SLU students and Southeastern
faculty and staff, and free for Southeastern students. Tickets are available at the theatre box
office in D Vickers Hall, 549-2115. Box office hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m., weekdays, and one hour
before each performance.                  
                                                                     -SLU-
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