The Sam Houston State University Department of Theatre and Dance is presenting Bareface, a narrative work of dance theater based on “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the ABIII Dance Theatre at Sam Houston State University.

In tandem with “Bareface,” Dr. Peter Kreeft will give a lecture over C.S. Lewis and his last novel, “Till We Have Faces.”

The talk starts at 2 p.m. Friday in the Mafrige Auditorium located in the Smith-Hutson Building on the SHSU campus. The event is open to the public and students. Admission is free.

Cheryl Callon, an advanced graduate student at SHSU, organized the event to include Kreeft’s lecture because she wanted to bring an academic audience to an arts event.

“I’m pitching it as a C.S. Lewis weekend in Huntsville,” she said.

Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and at the King’s College in New York City. He is a the author of over 45 books, including, “Handbook of Christian Apologetics,” “Christianity for Modern Pagans” and “Fundamentals of the Faith.” Kreeft will speak again Feb. 9 from 8:30-10 a.m. at First United Methodist Church. FUMC is hosting a breakfast for Kreeft, and he is giving a short lecture titled “C.S. Lewis for Today's World.” For more information on Kreeft, visit his website at www.peterkreeft.com.

“Bareface” is the graduate thesis concert of Callon. Callon is a Master of Fine Arts candidate who choreographed and produced the concert.

According to Callon, her overall artistic goal is to present dance that is accessible to general audiences. Her ambition for the project is to bring dance to fans of C.S. Lewis who would not normally see a dance concert and to bring C.S. Lewis to a dance audience who would not normally pick up one of his books.

“My specialized interest in C.S. Lewis has been slowly developing over many years,” Callon said. “I read ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ as a child, but I had no idea as to the wealth of literature that Lewis had published until I got into college.”

Callon said reading “Mere Christianity” opened her eyes to Lewis’s personal, articulate and meaningful style. Her husband introduced more of his works to her, and she quickly became a fan.

“As a graduate student at SHSU, I took a course on the literature of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien hoping that I might find some inspiration for a thesis topic,” Callon said. “I got more than I bargained for. Not only did I find a thesis topic, but I discovered a whole world of creative opportunities waiting for me in the pages of the books I learned about.”

Callon discovered the book “Till We Have Faces” while looking into the lesser known works of Lewis.

“The novel is a re-telling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which immediately piqued my interest since I have always had an interest in mythology,” she said.

According to Callon, before she even took the course, she saw the potential for choreograping Lewis’s work.

“The story – the unfolding of events and the relationships of the characters – fascinated me so much that as I read, I could see images of how it would develop on stage in dance,” Callon said. “Upon reading it multiple times and reading and listening to critiques, other avenues of creativity opened up. The depth of this book gave me virtually limitless possibilities in how I could create choreography from it. My love of story won, and I decided to create a narrative.”

















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