Throughout the year, students, faculty, and community members have the opportunity to see four productions in the performing arts, all four being held in Te Ata Memorial auditorium. The Davis-Waldorf Performing Arts Series, or DWPAS, will hold their 23rd season this academic year. Each year, the set of four performances is different from the previous shows performed during a student’s time at USAO.
“The first goal of the series is to make sure that if you go to see four shows a year the whole time you’re a student here, you will have seen 16 different shows,” Katie Davis, the executive director of the DWPAS and coordinator of the theatre arts program, said. “Your exposure to having the professional performing arts in your life, you will know more about what it’s like to go to those shows, and we hope after you graduate you continue to have that as a part of your life.”
Davis said the committee for DWPAS looks for acts someone would not typically see in Chickasha and see what kind of shows people would want to see. The committee does not want to duplicate acts from around Chickasha, and they want to expose the community to new types of performing arts.
Another goal of DWPAS is to form a better community in the performing arts in Chickasha, and people in Chickasha have an accessible way to view arts entertainment. This provides a way for community members to see professional arts performances while not having to travel to larger population centers. In addition to close proximity, DWPAS wants to make it financially accessible, as they provide free tickets to K-12 and USAO students. Season tickets are $60, which provides a ticket for each show, while single show tickets are $20 each.
This year, DWPAS will be hosting PUSH Physical Theatre, American Midwest Ballet, The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, and The Cleverlys. PUSH Physical Theatre has been working with USAO’s Theatre Department and K-12 students to put on their fall theatre production, a production based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
PUSH Physical Theatre is the opening act for DWPAS, performing Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. They are premiering their production HYDE. The production was developed on USAO’s campus, so the Chickasha community gets the world premiere performance of the show. PUSH Physical Theatre uses their bodies to tell a story rather than storytelling like a traditional theatre production would.
On Saturday, Oct. 28, USAO’s Theatre Department is putting on their fall production, with the help of PUSH Physical Theatre. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. in Te Ata Memorial Auditorium and all season ticket holders will get a bonus ticket for the production.
The American Midwest Ballet is performing their show, MOMENTUM, Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. MOMENTUM is a mix of short ballets of varying styles of dance and music. American Midwest Ballet celebrates the combination of artistry and athleticism among their dancers.
The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra will be performing Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. One of the most well-known and sought-after Big Bands around the world, the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra has 18 members, and they will be performing original Glenn Miller arrangements, originating from the 1930s and 40s in the swing era of music. They also perform more modern music but styling it to sound like a Miller composition.
To close out the season, The Cleverlys will perform Thursday, Mar. 28 at 7:30 p.m. They combine stand-up comedy and bluegrass music, and they put a bluegrass spin on hit songs.
“How amazingly cool is it that our college is the group that brings these shows to Chickasha? These are shows that these people perform all over the world,” Davis said. “How important it is for our college to be the organization that is making sure that not just for the students on our campus, but for everybody in Grady county and all the rural counties around Grady county to have a place to come to where people know they can afford tickets, they’re going to be comfortable, and it’s easy for them to get to see shows like this, it just makes me proud of our college.”
Season tickets can be purchased until Wednesday, Oct. 25. USAO students can get tickets for free, and tickets can be picked up at the business office.
Luka Messick is a first-year physics major at the Univeristy of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
