DAHLONEGA-Ever wonder what it would be like if the lunatics were really running the asylum? Well, wonder no more.

The North Georgia College & State University Student Theatre Guild’s fall production, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, will take place Nov. 7-10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium. Tickets are free, and the play is open to the general public.

Cuckoo’s Nest was adapted by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey's classic novel about the struggle for individuality and independence in a state mental hospital.

Playing the two leading characters are NGCSU students Greg Partin as McMurphy, a mental patient, and Jessica Stephens as Nurse Ratched, his main antagonist.

I chose these two because they have a powerful presence on the stage and work well opposite one another, said director Kevin Mace. Stephens also has a sweet smile that will work well masking Ratched’s sadism.

All the actors and actresses who play the patients give their roles a strong, yet funny humanity that adds depth and poignancy to the play, Mace said.

Mace added several changes to the play to give the production a more modern tone. He has made the asylum coed and the play is set in the present day.

Mace is also including a wide variety of music ranging from the Rolling Stones to Limp Bizkit to Native American music.

In 1975, the play and novel became a film that starred Jack Nicholson as McMurphy and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched. The film would go on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor and Actress for Nicholson and Fletcher.

Free tickets are available at the John L. Nix Mountain Cultural Center, room 216. For ticket information call 706-864-1423. Audience members are cautioned that the play contains strong language, violent scenes and strobe-light effects.

DAHLONEGA—The public is invited to attend the 14th annual North Georgia College & State University All American Piano Celebration on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. in the John L. Nix Mountain Cultural Center on campus. There is no admission charge.

The program will consist of diverse selections from American piano literature as performed by pianists from across the state of Georgia. There will also be performances by NGCSU piano majors, along with NGCSU director of keyboard studies, Joe Chapman.

Any pianist , teacher, student or artist, may perform one piano work or movement of work by any American composer. Register at no cost with Joe Chapman at 706-864-1429.

Century South Bank will provide an “All American supper” of hot dogs, apple pie and ice cream following the performance.

For more information, contact the Department of Fine Arts at 706-864-1423.

Duke Ellington’s ever-popular theme returns to the Holly Theatre in Dahlonega on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., as North Georgia College & State University’s jazz ensemble hits the stage for a night of big band swing.

“The ensemble will perform a variety of classic numbers made popular by such jazz greats as Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, along with contemporary works by Doug Beach, Jeff Jarvis, and others,” said director Joe Chapman.

A special feature will be the first public performance by North Georgia’s newly formed women's vocal ensemble, "Le Belle Voci," who will team up with the band to perform the Glenn Miller classic, "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."

Admission is free and open to the public. The Jazz ensemble will present a repeat concert on Nov. 13, at 12:30 p.m. For more information contact the NGCSU Fine Arts department at 706-864-1423.

Gerald Lord, associate vice president for Business & Finance at the university, said the new facility, to be constructed by Ambling Development Company, would be North Georgia's first new residence hall in more than 30 years.

"The new residence hall, expected to open in August for the fall semester next year, will house 314 students," Lord explained. "In addition, we're already building new lots for 600 additional parking spaces in the vicinity of the residence hall."

The architectural firm Niles Bolton Associates has designed the building, called "University Courtyard," in a "collegiate gothic" style, to complement the architecture of the main campus, Lord said.

NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford will officiate at Friday's ceremony. Speakers on the program will include Bill Chatham, vice chancellor for facilities for the University System of Georgia; Rhett Holmes, senior vice president of Ambling Development Company, and Cliff Adams, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NCGSU Foundation, Inc.

"Colleges and universities must find alternative ways to finance construction of new residence hall facilities," explained Jeff Boggan, director of Development at NGCSU. "The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia no longer provides funding for construction of residence halls."

In cooperation with the university and the Board of Regents, the NGCSU Foundation entered into a contract with Ambling of Valdosta, Ga., to construct and operate the new facility, which is financed by bonds issued by the Dahlonega Downtown Development Authority.

Several other public universities in Georgia are funding and constructing new dormitories with help from the private sector.

The impact on much-needed student housing at North Georgia will not be fully felt on campus until Lewis Hall, which was opened in 1953 and now houses 236 students, undergoes one-to-two years of renovation, following the opening of the new dorm in 2002. This year, the university's residence halls are full to overflowing, and some of NGCSU's more than 3,900 students requesting campus housing had to be turned away because of the crunch.

DAHLONEGA-North Georgia College & State University's bachelor of science in nursing program awarded 15 nursing students scholarships from the Helene Fuld Health Trust for fall semester 2001. The trust fund, designed to help remove economic barriers for registered nurses enrolled in nursing baccalaureate programs, is a two-year grant for $100,000.

The students' individual scholarship awards ranged from $2,400 to 5,250, based on their financial need.

"This trust fund allows economically disadvantaged students to complete their degree, advance their education and provide community-based care in rural Georgia," said Donna Waddell, professor of nursing at NGCSU and coordinator of the bachelor of science in nursing degree.

Thirty-nine nursing students have received Helene Fuld Health Trust money through NGCSU since January 2001. The Helene Fuld Health Trust is the nation's largest private funder devoted exclusively to nursing students and nursing education.

Scholarship selection criteria are based on admission into the bachelor of science nursing program at NGCSU, minority ethnicity, bilingual skills, experience living in another culture or interest in developing transcultural nursing skills and plans to study on a full-time basis.

For admissions information to NGCSU visit the university's website at www.ngcsu.edu or call 706-864-1800. For scholarship information contact the NGCSU Department of Nursing at 706-864-1930.