To celebrate the first week of classes at Oklahoma Christian University, the faculty and staff hosted the 41st annual First Week Follies show in Hardeman Auditorium last night.
According to First Week Follies Director and former Executive Director of Alumni Relations Bob Lashley, the “one-of-a-kind show” consisted of joke skits, a 50s and 60s melody and other performances featuring assorted Oklahoma Christian faculty and staff. He said the primary focus is to break down some of the barriers between students and professors, and he hopes the show still accomplishes the goal, even after 41 years.
“While I retired from the university last June, I am happy to continue, at least for the indefinite future, to direct this show to welcome students back to campus,” Lashley said. “It is always an excited crowd and fun to play for. I doubt at another university you would see professors, staff and even the president willing to have this kind of fun in front of their new students.”
Bible Professor Kent Hartman sang the lead on “Blue Moon,” a song from the 60s, which was performed by First Week Follies’ “Doo Wop Doo Wop Wop” group, as well as participated in a joke skit based on the old western television show, “Hee Haw.”
“You have the banjo and guitar playing and then two people stand up and begin telling jokes,” Hartman said. “I told a joke about Texas and going into it, I imagined I would be getting some boos from people from Texas. It’s just corny, silly jokes, which are designed for us to have a lot of fun and provides a chance for the faculty to show students we are human, too.”
Although this was Hartman’s first performance in the show in over five years, he said he makes it a point to attend every fall, because First Week Follies is a fun night and a great opportunity for students to connect with their professors on a more personal level.
“I like to watch and see what talents the professors have on this campus,” Hartman said. “We have a couple of really talented singers in the faculty who are really good and then of course, there are some of us who like to sing but we aren’t as good. Either way, it makes it a special night.”
Other performances included a rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a game show skit and a mashup of “Heartache” and “Way Down.”
“I love this show because it provides a chance for us to build upon that positive, OC atmosphere,” Hartman said. “It lets us let our hair down a little bit and it gives students a little bit of a break, even though it is only the first week of classes.”
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