Unbound program ends

As Oklahoma Christian University recently made the decision to cut Unbound, the program will leave behind a memorable legacy.

Unbound is a student acting troupe that travels across the U.S. during the summer to perform comedy skits for prospective college students at Christian camps and conferences.

“We just put together skits that correlate with the Bible, they have Christ-like meaning, and then we do story time at the end, which is a remix of famous songs with a Bible story,” sophomore Allyson Stewart said.

Stewart is a current member of Unbound, and spent the summer of 2014 traveling with the group.

Jacob Shuart, Unbound manager and former member, said the group was originally developed for one student, Taylor Walling, in 2005.

“OC wanted Taylor to come here, so they told him he could have his own performing group,” Shuart said. “It kind of turned into a group that performs in the summers, like Summer Singers and New Reign.”

Although it was only intended to last for the four years that Walling was a student, Shuart said the group was a great success and continued for six summers after Walling graduated.

Shuart said Unbound used their presence and popularity to attract students who were in the process of deciding which college to attend.

“We would be used as parts of sermons at big conferences and things, and we would be in front of tens of thousands of people who are potential students,” Shuart said. “[But it’s] the relationships that those students build with campers and with students after the show or before the show,[because] if you have really talented, genuine students recruiting for the university, they’re going to attract students.”

Senior Garrett Marshall said he became interested in Unbound after seeing one of their performances in the sixth grade. He eventually came to Oklahoma Christian and has been a member of the group since his freshman year.

Marshall said he enjoyed building relationships with the students he interacted with through Unbound.

“I still talk to the kids who I came in contact with at Zenith and all over at camps,” Marshall said. “I have friends now in Oregon and Tennessee and random places across the map, just huge impacts, and we hope that our influence will get them to come to OC.”

According to Marshall, one of the strong points of the program was its combination of comedy and spirituality.

“I thought Unbound was a special thing because it shared the gospel through comedy and kind of a lighthearted take on most things and showing that it’s not all down and seriousness, Christianity can still be a lot of fun,” Marshall said.

As administrators reworked the university budget, the decision to cut the program came among other program cuts, including the photography degree.

“I understand their reasoning,” Shuart said. “It’s sad to see Unbound go, but it’s somewhat understandable.”

The primary costs of the program came from scholarships awarded to student participants and traveling expenses.

“We’re kind of a good family and we’ve all had a positive experience from Unbound,” Shuart said. “I’m sure everyone, including the current members, are thankful to have had that opportunity.”

Stewart said she is upset that Unbound is over but knows that the legacy of the group will live on through similar summer programs like Summer Singers, New Reign and summer recruiters.

“Every university or college you go to, they’re going to have to make cuts, Unbound just happened to be one of them” Stewart said. “You just have to learn to not take things like that personally and to understand where these cuts are coming from.”

Unbound will have a final performance on March 28 in Judd Theater.

“We’ll do old skits and have old members come back, and it should be a lot of fun,” Shuart said.

Marshall said he hopes that students will continue to be inspired to demonstrate their faith through the talents they are given, just as the Unbound actors did through their performances.

“I hope that people who got to see Unbound take away the fact that no matter what your talent is you can always form it to your Christianity,” Marshall said. “Whoever thought that being funny and being able to be creative and writing would also transfer to your Christianity…[but,] there are plenty of things that you can do with whatever you’re good at that can help spread the faith.”