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Open auditions tonight for theater festival

The Oklahoma Christian University theater company is holding open auditions tonight at 7 p.m. for their theater festival in April.

The festival will feature three plays, including “Fourteen,” written by Alice Gerstenberg, and “A Sure Bet or Marryin’ a Librarian,” written by Oklahoma Christian alumna Patricia Middleton. The third play will be the winner of the faith-based play writing competition, which Anna Wilcox, assistant stage producer for the theater company, said will be either a fully produced version or a staged reading.

Wilcox said in previous years the play festival was focused on the plays from the play writing competition and some plays from the film and stage directing class. This semester, the class is not in rotation, but independent study student Cooper Copelin will complete his project by producing and filming a one-act play.

The auditions are open to all students and will consist of readings from the two chosen plays. Copelin will direct “Fourteen,” a comedy about a mother hosting a dinner party gone wrong to introduce her daughter to the city’s most eligible bachelor. Wilcox will direct “A Sure Bet or Marryin’ a Librarian,” a melodrama about a stolen will, a library and a casino in Texas.

Junior Darby Franks participated in last year’s play festival by playing a role in the stage version of “Blind Date.” Franks said it was the festival’s first year during her time at Oklahoma Christian. Because she has a theater scholarship, Franks said she has participated in many productions.

“Part of the requirements for the scholarship is you have to audition for every show, every year,” Franks said. “And if you don’t get cast, you have to be involved in some capacity. This year, we are only casting for 11 parts total. We might get understudies, but I’m not sure yet. We have a handful of people involved who are trained in tech, so this year we might have more people learning how to do lights and sound.”

At the play festival last year, donations were accepted instead of charging admission. The donations went to With Purpose, a youth and community-led movement dedicated to making sure kids with cancer have access to safe and effective treatment options. They raised more than $100, and Wilcox said the theater practicum plans to raise money for another organization this year, although they have not decided which one.

According to Franks, people from all departments are welcome to participate in the theater festival. Because of the number of theater scholarships, Franks said she sees the same people at every audition. While she said this means there is always a guaranteed pool to draw from, Franks said people go for roles they know they are good at.

“It’s always good to have new blood,” Franks said. “If your only real experience with stage productions is Spring Sing, then it’s also probably good to do a different type of theater. Learning a script with lines, memorizing and being a character is a very different experience than being a chorus girl.”

Wilcox said theater can be valuable no matter what area students are pursuing for their career. She directed the Master Cat play in the fall and said out of 17 cast members, around 10 different majors were represented.

“It was really fun to see so many different backgrounds coming together and enjoying doing that together,” Wilcox said. “Theater is so valuable to learn how to present yourself in front of people and to build self-confidence to be up there. Even if you’re performing a character, it takes a lot to have that stage presence, to learn how to project your voice and just learn how to present yourself in front of others. You can carry that over into any field, even if you are addressing people one-on-one or a whole roomful of people. It’s a great way to just build relationships at Oklahoma Christian, and it’s a great artistic outlet.”

Auditions are tonight from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the department of communication, Room 113.

Those interested can notify Anna Wilcox if they need to arrive late or leave early. The festival will be April 13 at 7:00 p.m. in Judd Theatre.

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