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Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome. It is time now for our community connection right here on K one, the one you trust in. Today we got a whole lot more community that I was bargained for, that's for sure, because we've got folks from far and wide, but all right.

Here in the same room today.

We have Hardy bla Blacker, Professor of Film and the Photography, and Markel Porter, professor of music at Oklahoma Wesley and University. And we all found out that we're from just we're a bunch of line jumpers here between Kansas and Oklahoma. But we're all here today to pretty much celebrate Oklahoma Wesley and University. It's some great camps that are coming up this summer. You know, it never stops out there on campus.

Doesn't party, No, it does not. We're very excited about the upcoming things.

In fact, you've got something going on tonight.

Yes, in fact, it's opening night for our theater department. We're putting on a little show that we've entitled An Evening of Monologues and one act plays. Essentially, our acting class is putting on this production and it's going to be running tonight tomorrow night and also Saturday night, all at seven o'clock in the evening.

Oh righty, how do we get tickets?

Basically it's a free show, so you just walk right on in. I'm blown away and it's Lion Hall.

Yes, it's in Line Hall, right, which is in the Fine Arts building where the Chapel building. You just have to go upstairs and to the left in Lion Hall is right there.

I know. We got the camp.

I want to talk about some of the stuff that's happening right now so that folks can go out and visit. You see what's going on, Nancy, Okay, that camp there you go. It's on my radar now, Markel, you've got coming up on the twenty six, the big competition.

Tell us about that we do.

We are going to be having a vocal competition on the twenty six that's going to start at nine o'clock. We are looking for college age students to participate, so it's going to be from ages seventeen to twenty two. There is an entry fee which is thirty dollars. They can register and pay online, and there is also a spectator fee five dollars cash at the door, So anybody in the community can come and watch. This is the first time I have ever organized anything like this before,

It goes to school, yes, yes.

So the scholarships are going to go towards the Oakwood Music Business Program, which is the degree program that we offer, and that's where students can come in and learn the basics of the music industry and the areas that we cover our artistry, you know, performing as well as management as well as the behind the scenes the av So this is the program that we are developing and we're really excited about it. Hardy we'll be teaching some of

Where were you two?

And where was this class in nineteen seventy something we really needed it.

I'm not going to tell you where I was got me neither think you got.

Youa think you got you there?

But anyway, this is a very good work out. You've got a camp it's coming up for using.

Yes, we are going to be doing a worship choir camp. Now. These are for students who have just finished eighth grade through twelfth grade, so they could have just graduated and still come and participate. We're just going to get together on June thirtieth through July second, right before the fourth of July, and give an opportunity to sing. Not only are we just going to sing together, but we're going to have some theory boot camps, you know, kind of

Like getting the stage. This is something else. And how do we sign up for this class?

Well, you can go camp.

Yes, you can go to our ok WU dot edu slash summer dash camps or you can just go and Google search the summer camps at ok WU and this one's the Worship Choir camp.

Very good. Now, Hardy, you've got your plate full over here.

Now you've got the big thing going on tonight here, but you've got a camp of your own and it involves a lot of moving parts.

Yes it does.

In fact, our summer camp is called the Children's Theater Summer Camp, and we're going to be featuring the production Peter Pan Junior, which is produced or it's by MTI Music Theater International, and it's a two week camp, so it starts June third and runs through Saturday the seventh, and then we come back the next week and run from the ninth through the fourteenth, and the performances are the last two so it be Friday and Saturday performances on the camp.

But during that week it's going to be very intense.

The camp runs from nine in the morning till four in the afternoon, and we're going to have auditions here very soon, which is going to actually start. The last day to sign up for the camps is the twenty fourth of this month, so April twenty fourth, and then immediately the very next day, the twenty fifth, we're going to have auditions and that evening as well as auditions Saturday morning. That's all on the website. You can go

And of course, because it's done in oak WRU, we're.

Also going to integrate a lot of biblical themes, especially as we meet with the students throughout the day, not just in rehearsal and in music, but we're also going to have some short devotionals and things like that to really make the students understand that understand that all truth is God's truth, and that essentially God created beauty, God created the arts, and so we were going to celebrate that in in a theatrical setting.

You know, that comes in handy because you know, even though it sounds like it's a lot of fun acting, choreography, music singing sometimes can produce a little bit of stress. And when we preach the good word. It kind of reminds us that we're working together indeed, and we need to rely on one another. It's not all about I me my absolutely, Oh, I see what you guys are up to.

It's so good to collaborate with each other, you know. And in the music industry in general, we see, especially like in the opera world things, it's a doggy dog world. But then when we come into this Christian atmosphere, we can see how God brings us together and how we can benefit one to each other and edify one another.

This is great.

And we can find out the camps right there on the website. That's right, Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Yes, yes, indeed, in ours.

Once you land on the landing page, you'll see all the camps listed there and you just scroll down a little bit to get to the theater camp and the music camps are listed there's well, along with sports camps as well.

So yeah, I know that coach down he's going to try to make it and he's been everybody's been after him lately, so but yeah, there's gonna be some sports camps out there too. And I was telling both.

Of you, you're so lucky.

You get to go out to probably one of the prettiest campuses I've ever seen, and you get to go out there every day.

So it is very beautiful, beautiful campus. But more than that, it's a beautiful spirit.

It's also a campus that's filmed a lot.

So I mean, it's it's it's it's not just for us that are you know that we're so enamored with the beauty of it, but other folks have have come there throughout the years and you know and filmed and yeah, there was a film back in the fall of a Hollywood studio that came out and they filmed some some some things there at the campus because it was very

You know, those Hollywood people been just kind of sneaking around here lately.

This is true.

That's great, they're.

Shooting a movie. That's the famous person. That's nice. Welcome to Marblesville. That's right now, Come on inad Coach Donnie grabbing, grabbing Sea grab one there and pull up, pull up. We'll get you everybody into the into the picture. Here.

Everybody kind of snug together here. I act like we know one another, and we get everybody here here. We are all right. We've been talking about the different camps.

Uh coach. First of all, congratulations out a very good.

Year in basketball, and you got a sports camp coming up at Oklahoma Westley in too.

Yeah, we've been doing basketball camps here for you know, since I came in seven and just grown. I also do camps all over the country with Nike and some other things. So we're able to do that here, same level of quality at a much cheaper price. And to do this so June first through the fourth is our first camp. We have an overnight option, extended day option, or actually a day option where kids can either go overnight. They can go nine to nine or then go nine

Learned both off the floor.

On the floor.

We spend time learning about how to be successful in life as well. And it's a faith based camp. Obviously with our campus, we're able to share our faith as well and learn basketball and that's our first camp. Our second camp is for little kids age four to eight. I'm called diaper Dandy. Of course, the kids do like what I call it diaper. They're like, we're not wearing diapers, you know, but parents seem to like it, and it's

Know, hokey pokey. Yeah, you know.

I started whenever I had kids that age and I'm like, it's easy to play soccer that age, but they can't make a goal.

I'm a ten foot goals.

So we're bringing the goals down. We have a lot of fun, really try to hook them in basketball, and you know, I think, uh, most of the times its cost wise as cheap is finding a babysitter. So parents love it whenever they, you know, are able to bring their kids for you know, it's it's not as long. It's it's a nice's a three hour camp nine tonoon for for smaller kids for two days and that'll be on that Uh, that'll be the sixth and seventh of June, and then we come back at the end of July

Wowy, one thing that I've noticed with the three of you, you've got the common thread.

Here, glory goes to God. Amen. Amen.

And once that's established, you know, you've got a whole different way of looking at what we're learning, looking at how we learn and learn what to do with the gifts.

That's really amazing. Absolutely, you know we're.

Able to teach biblical principles like you know, fear says, do not fear, like three hundred and sixty five times in a Bible, and fear blocks more suits than anything else. So when we can you know, so that love motivates better than fear, and and tell kids how to enjoy contact for the first time and not get angry or be timid.

You know that's just going to set them up for success later on.

The same thing is true the performing arts the fear of going on stage right and having stage right for sure. So absolutely scripture helps with that as we concentrate on that and as we pray with them before they go on stage, and and that that's very significant.

And Markel, no one with a beautiful voice was ever ever afraid to crack open on stage and make that first noise.

Yes, I wish every.

One of them.

We all get at times and stage five and we're fearful of what our voice is going to do at any time.

But I like that you can conquer peer, You can can conquer a lot of things, and you can learn a lot too. Like I was just telling h everyone here that you all are so blessed to be at a wonderful campus. You know. The thing is, it's small but mighty indeed in so many different ways. One thing I wanted to get with you is that not only do you have a theater, but you also do the production as if it were filmed like Hollywood movies, you know, minus the Hollywood.

Right right, Yeah, that's what that's all sure, Absolutely, Yeah, So I also teach film and photography there.

So we have a digital.

Cinema department Digital uh huh, and we have digital cinema students that come right and digital of course, meaning that we're not no longer using film stock like you you would have in the olden days with you know, technic color and all the rest of it. But with digital, of course, you have a huge world of things of instantaneous so you can edit immediately, you know, because everything goes on computer, right like our digital film or digital cameras.

I want to take all people for coming in today. Yeah, I'm gonna sell this some more time.

I've had both players and even my daughter is a videographer now in DFW doing really well. Came through this degree. My other daughter's a ministry major, but she uses her talent. She actually works with children's theater here in town and heart matters and she uses that in her gifts for work with.

Kids and stuff.

That it always through Oaklobe lesson and what they were able to do in the theater department and everything in the videographer on the digital side stuff. So I highly sell that program as well. My players have loved it. My daughters have also loved it.

That's so great, My goodness sakes. I want to thank you all for being here with you today. I'm glad we could all fit and I'm glad we got this out so that parents can make some really good choices. As far as some activities for the kids. We've got the big to do tonight with the actors. We've got the music program coming up on the twenty sixth, straying it night bright early at nine o'clock. Well, I kid, because I get up at three thirty in the morning. People get up at nine. Come on, come on, and

Definitely, thank you for being with us here. Thank you K one Community Connection