Category: Oklahoma

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events jazz music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tulsa

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame honors inductees on Wednesday


The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame presents the 21st Annual Induction Banquet Gala at 6 p.m. Wed. Oct. 21 at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street, in Tulsa. There is a reception at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets are $100 each, and dinner is catered by Just Catering by Orr. The black-tie fundraiser assists the Jazz Hall with educational programming.

The event’s theme is “Swinging All the Way Up,” which honors Oklahoma music all-stars such as the legendary western swing patriarch Bob Willis, the late former NBA player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, Steve Pryor, Dr. Stephen Wiley, Olivia Duhon and John C. Wooley.

There will be special musical performances by saxophonist Tom Braxton, members of Rockin Acoustic Circus, vocalist Brenda Johnson and Jazz Rhapsody Trio, Olivia Duhon, Steve Pryor and Dr. Stephen Wiley. The gala chair for 2009 is Regina Tisdale, and honorary gala co-chairs are Cassandra Gaines and Grady Nichols.

Tickets may be obtain by calling the Jazz Depot at (918)281-8600, (918) 281-8608 or (918) 281-8609 or online at MyTicketOffice.com.

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arts Halloween Oklahoma Sapulpa Sapulpa Community Theatre theater theatre

Sapulpa Community Theatre presents “Finders Creepers” this weekend

Sapulpa Community Theatre presents “Finders Creepers” by Donald Payton today though Sunday, Oct. 18 and Oct. 23-25. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Reservations are required.

Directed by Sean Ballard, “Finders Creepers” is a Halloween show that features Hercules Nelson. His aunt and uncle invite he and his best friend Lucas to spend the weekend with them. With suitcases in hand, the boys arrive at Uncle Bob’s to discover that Uncle Bob is a mortician, and there’s a funeral scheduled on Monday. Well, it’s not long before things start happening in ways that would put most brave men to
flight.

Needless to say, the boys are terrified until they find out that Mr. Quigley, the corpse, isn’t dead. Someone tried to knock him off while he was sleeping so he devised a plan: he’d make his family think he was dead, then show up at his funeral and trap the guilty party. No doubt Mr. Quigley had a good plan and no doubt things would have ended peacefully, but there are two things he failed to consider … Lucas Maxwell and Hercules Nelson.

The Sapulpa Community Theatre is at 124 S Water St. in Sapulpa, OK. For more information, call (918)227-2169 or send an e-mail to stheatre@sbcglobal.net.

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arts Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. education Oklahoma Oklahoma City teachers

Teacher Randy Barron to conduct arts education workshop in Oklahoma City


Randy Barron, a 25-year teacher specializing in arts education, will be in Oklahoma City Oct. 19-22, conducting teacher training at Wilson Elementary School in the Oklahoma City Public Schools District and at Highland Park School in the Mid-Del Schools District. The announcement was made today by Anita Arnold, executive director of Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc.

Barron has conducted more than 100 professional development workshops and more than 75 in-school residencies in 23 states. Barron has written arts curriculum reaching more than 250,000 students in urban and rural school districts. He is a founding member and current curriculum coordinator for the Rio Gallinas School, an elementary charter school in Las Vegas that is focused on ecology and the arts.

As a professional dancer, Barron has choreographed, performed with and directed ballet and modern dance companies throughout the United States and Europe. He is a co-founder and former artistic director of City in Motion Dance Theater in Kansas City, Mo.

While in Oklahoma City, Barron will conduct the workshop, “Scientific Thought in Motion,” at Highland Park School and will spend three days coaching teachers at Wilson Elementary School. This is his third trip to Oklahoma City to work with classroom teachers.

This project, a part of BLAC Inc.’s arts education program, is funded in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Oklahoma Department of Education.

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arts Clark Theatre Oklahoma theatre tulsa youth

Clark Youth Theatre presents Shakespeare’s “As You Like It ”

Clark Youth Theatre presents Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 and 25; and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23-24 at Clark Theatre, 11440 E. Admiral Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The show is directed by Julie Tattershall.

Clark Theatre’s annual classic play for 2009 transports the audience to the mythical Forest of Arden, where they will follow the adventures of Rosalind, considered by many to be Shakespeare’s greatest female character. Forced to flee her evil uncle, she disguises herself as a boy and searches for her exiled father. Comedy and romance inevitably ensue. Containing Shakespeare’s classic “All the world’s a stage” monolog, “As You Like It” is one of his best-loved comedies.

Clark Theatre is a youth theater program and is part of the City of Tulsa Park and Recreation Department. Clark Theatre won the Tulsa Area Theatre Excellence award for Outstanding Youth Production for 2009. Tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults. For more information, call (918) 669-6455 or (918) 746-5065, or go to clarktheatre.com. Watch the trailer:

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arts Heller Theatre Oklahoma theater tulsa

Heller Theatre to present “The Exonerated”

Heller Theatre will present the second show of the 2009-2010 season, “The Exonerated” by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen. Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 23-24, 29-31 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. There will be talk-back sessions with the cast following the Friday evening performances. This will be the first production performed in the new theatre located in Henthorne Park, 4825 S. Quaker.
“Exonerated” tells the true stories of six former death row prisoners who were released from prison after their convictions were reversed. This drama examines their false accusations, wrongful convictions, and eventual exoneration. The cast includes Darrell Christopher, Liz Masters, Stephen Brown, Shrae Johnson, Ron Friedberg, Craig Walter, B.J. Johnson, Susan Dergoul, W. Bryan Thompson, Michael Remington and Kathern Shaine. George Romero directs, and the production is stage managed by Melissa Childs.
Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and college students. For more information, call (918) 746-5065, or go to www.hellertheatre.com.

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arts concert Donald Ryan jazz music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame piano ragtime tulsa

Final musical tribute to ragtime for Tulsa


Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame inductee pianist Donald Ryan and Barron Ryan, a recent piano graduate of the University of Oklahoma, will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s Jazz Depot, 111 E. First Street (Upper Level), Tulsa.
The concert is dedicated to the memory of David Sahler, friend and Ragtime board member. Concert tickets are $15 adults; $10 for seniors, Jazz Hall members and college students; and $5 students older than 12 years. Limited seating is available. For more information, call (918) 281-8600. Also, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame will host Argentinean group Viento Sur Trombone Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Wed. Oct. 7. Ticket prices for this engagement are same as Sunday concerts.

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african tales arts BLAC Inc. Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. education Oklahoma Oklahoma City storytelling

African Storyteller Dylan Pritchett returns to Oklahoma City


Anita Arnold, executive director of BLAC Inc., announced today that African Storyteller Dylan Pritchett will return to Oklahoma City after a long absence to do a number of educational activities with schools and with the Pauline E. Mayer Shelter.
For 20 years, Pritchett worked in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, where he trained staff to present stories as well as interpretive and musical programs to the public. Currently, he presents storytelling programs in more than 100 elementary and secondary schools each year and leads numerous workshops for teachers. Pritchett also presents programs in museums for both children and the adult public.
The Kennedy Center trainer will present storytelling programs at Highland Park School in the Mid-Del Schools District, for 7th and 8th graders at Douglass High School and children at Pauline E. Mayer Shelter. While in the city, Pritchett will conduct teacher workshop, “Storytelling: Involving Students in African Tales.”
Arnold said, “We are always excited to have Dylan come and spend time with our teachers and children. He is, especially effective with students and has the unique ability to engage children despite their circumstances. BLAC Inc. provides this service to our community through The Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education Program that BLAC Inc. brought to Oklahoma City in 1995. BLAC Inc.’s school partners are Oklahoma City Public Schools and Mid-Del Schools.”
This program is sponsored in part by Mid-Del Schools, Oklahoma Department of Education, Oklahoma Art Council, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and BLAC Inc.

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Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC INC.) presents Ailey II in Midwest City


Ailey II (an Alvin Ailey Company) will perform at Rose State Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 18. Ailey II, one of the country’s best young dance talents, exudes spirit, energy, passion and creative vision.
Ailey II began in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, when Alvin Ailey initiated a workshop composed of the most promising scholarship students from the Ailey School. The original members of the company were handpicked by Mr. Ailey. Ailey II embodies Mr. Ailey’s pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training and community programs for all people. Today, Ailey II has become one of the most popular dance companies in the United States.
Anita Arnold, executive director of Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc. in Oklahoma City, said this will be the third time in 20 years that the company has performed in Oklahoma City. “We are looking forward to their usual vividly, electrifying dance performance as we open our 2009-10 season of performing arts,” Arnold said.
Tickets are on sale at the Civic Center box office, 201 N Walker Ave., Oklahoma City, and Rose State box office, located off Interstate 40 at Hudiburg Drive in Midwest City.
For more information, call BLAC, Inc. at (405) 524-3800 or the Civic Center box office at (405) 297-2264. Tickets are $50, $40, $30, and $20. Special discounts are available for seniors, students and groups. The performance is generously sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council.

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Opportunity for career-bound artists at Oklahoma Arts Conference


Performing artists who want to learn the business skills needed to become more marketable should register for the Oklahoma Arts Conference. The conference will be held October 7-9 in Stillwater. In addition to workshops offered during the Conference sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, there will be excellent opportunities for performing artists to network with presenting organizations from across the state.

At this year’s conference, Jeri Goldstein, award-winning author of the book, “How To Be Your Own Booking Agent: A Performing Artist’s Guide To A Successful Touring Career,” will conduct a series of workshops for performing artists.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Thursday, Oct. 8, Goldstein will conduct several workshops where performing artists will focus on acquiring communication skills, (e-mail, social networking and effective Web site content) that will help present a more effective marketing message to various audiences. Performing artists will also learn how to appeal to presenters and to the media. Actual Web sites will be critiqued, and the group will discuss how Web sites can offer more appeal to increase bookings.

The registration fee is $50 and includes a pre-conference session, lunches at the conference center, receptions and community events. Register online for the 2009 Oklahoma Arts Conference at http://www.arts.ok.gov. Participants are encouraged to register as soon as possible. The deadline to register is Sept. 25.

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Chuck Cissel contemporary jazz gospel jazz music Oklahoma Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame traditional jazz tulsa

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame announces 2009 Autumn Jazz Concert Series


The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in Tulsa has announced two upcoming musical events for the 2009 Autumn Music Season.
Chuck Cissel, artistic director and executive producer of the Autumn Jazz Concert Series said, “We are thrilled to present four months of Sunday afternoon concerts from September through December 2009 at the Jazz Depot.”
The series is titled “Sounds of the Spirit” and kicks off at 5 p.m. Sunday, September 13 with smooth jazz Tulsa saxophonist, Grady Nichols. Nichols is also the 2003 Legacy Tribute Award recipient from the Jazz Hall and one of Tulsa’s most popular entertainers.
Other artists that will be featured in the series include Maestro Marc Gottlieb and his string quartet, with special guests vocalist Charlotte Blakely and New York Philharmonic pianist, Harriett Wingreen. In addition, University of Tulsa’s Big Jazz Band will feature trumpeter great Walter White of the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s jazz ensemble in New York City, led by JALC artistic director, Wynton Marsalis.
Also on board for the Autumn season, the Rev. Cortez Rex performs his special musical tribute to gospel legend, the Rev. James Cleveland.
Cissel said the Viento Sur Trombone Quartet from Argentina will also make a return appearance this Fall at the Hall, and the concert series will conclude with the Holiday Concert featuring Jazz Hall inductee, the Rev. Joey Crutcher and the Gospel Workshop Choir of America.
According to Cissel, “This is perhaps our most ambitious Autumn series programming effort yet, because we are covering the bases from ragtime, classical, Dixieland, big band, swing, traditional jazz, blues and gospel, while several of our musical guests will be making their debut at the Jazz Depot and many of the musical artists will be from New York City. Our programming efforts are to make it fresh and exciting by putting a new spin on the music each season; give the Jazz Hall members and music lovers new music to enjoy and new artists to become acquainted with.”
All Autumn Jazz Concert performances are held at the Jazz Depot (1st and Cincinnati – upper level)at 5 p.m. on Sundays. General admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, college students and Jazz Hall members and $5 for students. You may also reserve a seat at $20 per person at one of our tables of eight. Reserved seating and table reservations need to be purchased in advance of the concert date(s). For tickets or more information, call the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at (918) 281-8600/8609 or go online. Gift shop and concessions are available. All major credit cards are accepted. *Tickets for weeknight performances are the same price as Sunday performances. All weeknight performances begin at 7:30pm.