On Thursday, November 3rd at 7:30 pm, Ryan & Ryan, a father-son piano duet is coming to the Alumni Chapel as part of the Davis-Waldorf Performing Arts Series (DWPAS).

The DWPAS has been a staple of USAO since its first season in 2000. It was founded after Francis Dinsmore Davis, a professor of speech and theatre, and Louise Waldorf, a professor of music, both passed away and left the school a monetary fund after their passing. President Feaver decided to use the money to create a performing arts series, and DWPAS was born.

At first, the goals of the series were modest: bring music to campus and give regional and state artists recognition. As the series has expanded, so have the goals. Currently, the goals of DWPAS are to bring nationally and internationally recognized artists from all the performing arts to perform and expose students, as well as the Chickasha community, to shows and experiences they may not have a chance to see otherwise.

Katie Davis, the professor of Theatre at USAO and the executive director of DWPAS, is especially passionate about the series.

“I came to USAO 17 years ago,” she said, “and I’ve been the executive director almost as long as I’ve been here.”

She is in charge of contacting performers and scheduling a wide range of talent ranging from music to musicals to dance to spoken-word poetry.

“We try to schedule four years at a time, that way students get the opportunity to experience a wide variety of performing arts,” Davis said. “You might have a musical come through your freshman year and not see it again until your senior year, but in between, you’ll see hip-hop dancing, or a classical music show.”

One thing that has changed over the last several years is student involvement in the show. Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, season tickets were offered to students for a discounted rate. Because of this, season ticket holders were extremely low. In the 2019-2020 season, there were 11 season ticket holders.

The 2020-2021 season was moved online due to the pandemic and during this season the foundation decided to offer student season tickets for free. Despite being online, the season saw 45 student season ticket holders. The number of season ticket holders grew to 87 in the 2021-2022 season, and this year boasts 94 season ticket holders.

Davis encourages students to attend the show Thursday night, emphasizing how important the arts are to students and their liberal arts education.

Hannah Dudleson is a second-year English Education major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.