O UAC H I TA
B A P T I S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
the
SIGNAL
12.1.17
Vol. 126, Issue 12
SINCE 1890 FEATURES | 3
CHRISTMAS AT OUACHITA Campus celebrates with various holiday traditions
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School of Fine Arts to present annual “Festival of Christmas” By SAVANNAH HOGG Staff writer
The holidays are here, and that means it’s time for a performance that you won’t just feel inclined to attend for Arts Engagement Credit, but a show will get you into the Christmas Spirit. Festival of Christmas is one of Ouachita’s most popular holiday traditions, because what better represents Christmas than watching your fellow students run around in tacky Christmas sweaters while singing about the birth of Jesus? This is the 25th anniversary of not only Festival of Christmas, but also of the construction of Jones Performing Arts Center. In order to celebrate both of these anniversaries, the theme for FOC this year is “A Festival of Christmas: Celebrating 25 Years of Joy.” Dr. Gary Gerber, the director of choral activities and chair of the music division, says his goal for Festival of Christmas is for “the audience to experience the immense talent that Ouachita possesses in the School of Fine Arts. Our students are
very talented and enjoy performing. This particular show not only represents that talent, but also the building for which it is performed in each year.” The students have been working very hard to prepare for this performance, and have been putting countless hours into learning and perfecting their music all of the fall semester. The week of the production includes nightly practice for around four hours, and it all ends up being worth it. Performer Jhonika Wright says her favorite part is “watching it all come together. The music has been learned and is ready to be sung at the show. There’s just something about all of us being on JPAC stage this week that makes you feel accomplished about what you’ve been working towards all semester.” The show includes numbers performed by Ouachita’s Concert Choir, Ouachita Sounds, Women’s Chorus, Ouachita Singers and Ouachita Honor Choir, which is full of children from the Arkadelphia community. There will also be a pit orchestra and an appearance by the Ouachita Handbell Ringers. The first half of the
Andy Henderson z Photo Lab SENIOR MUSICAL THEATRE MAJOR MICHAEL PERE performs in last year’s Festival of Christmas production. The show celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and features performances by the Concert Choir, Ouachita Sounds, Women’s Chorus, Ouachita Singers and the Ouachita Honor Choir.
show usually consists of the classic secular songs such as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” The second half of the show will switch gears into the more traditional religious songs like “Breath of Heaven” and “O Holy Night.”
OBU RecLife to host “Christmas Climbing Party” at climbing center
Gerber’s favorite part of FOC is “watching the students perform and share their talent with the audience. They are a joy to work with and bring a special joy and appreciation to the effort that other faculty and I put into this production.” Overall, the students are excited to share one of their favorite productions and can’t wait
OBU Theatre Department to stage student-directed One Act Plays
By KACY SPEARS Staff writer
By MORGAN HOWARD Staff writer
This year, RecLife is bringing the Christmas cheer to the climbing center with a Christmas Climbing Party on Friday, December 8 from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Ouachita Climbing Center. “The Christmas Climbing Party is a chance for all students to celebrate Christmas and have fun climbing together,” said Shane Seaton, Director of Recreation Life at Ouachita. “The Climbing Center will be open on a Friday night when they are normally closed.” The event is free, and allows students “access to the climbing center when it is normally closed,” Seaton said. “There will be snacks and hot drinks to fill us with Christmas cheer. I have even been working with the big man up North to get one of his workers to stop by with some stocking stuffers to give away. We will probably try out some crate stacking as well, which is something that is difficult to describe, but a of fun to try!” No registration is needed to enjoy this event. This winter break, RecLife is venturing to HoneyRock, a camp in Northern Wisconsin, which is owned by Wheaton College, where Seaton received his Master’s Degree. They will leave campus on January 7, 2018 and return January 13. “While there, I learned about all of the great winter activities there are to do besides downhill skiing,” said Seaton. “We will be tubing, cross-country skiing, ice
OBU’s theatre department will present student-directed one act plays on Thursday, December 7 at 7:30. The event will include seven different plays, each directed by a different senior theatre student. This semester’s directors are Mattie Alexander, Chris Baggett, Nadalie Gill, Jacob Hemsath, Andrew Martin, Will Stotts and Anna Joie Valdez. Although these plays are relatively short, a great deal of work goes into producing them. “First, we read a whole bunch of plays. I believe I read about 20 one acts and looked through many more,” said Nadalie Gill, a senior theatre major from Price, Texas. “During our Play Directing class we would also prep with exercises that better equipped us for the actual staging of our shows. Once the show is picked, in depth research about the show and breaking down of the script begins. All of this leads into casting for the show and starting the rehearsals. Now it has been a process of coordinating with actors and designers to bring it all to life!” Even choosing plays can be somewhat difficult. “We had to read a bunch of plays and figure out which one we actually wanted to put onstage,” said Chris Baggett, a senior theatre major from Maumelle, Arkansas. “We had to choose one that meant a lot to us.” After the directors pick their plays, they must figure
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RecLife z Courtesy RECLIFE DIRECTOR SHANE SEATON sports a festive costume during last year’s Christmas Climbing Party.
skating, playing broomball, snowshoeing frozen lakes, and horseback riding just to name a few things.” Attendees will be staying in comfortable cabins at HoneyRock and dining in their dining hall and lodge. Attendees will also have the opportunity to have a campfire on a frozen lake and enjoy fellowship with one another. On this winter excursion, students will have the opportunity to meet and engage with an OBU alumna, Faith Reed, at the K-Life House in St. Louis, where they will be staying the night on their way to Wisconsin. Registration is now closed for the Snow Retreat. However, if you didn’t get the chance to sign up for the Snow Retreat, RecLife is cur-
rently planning events next semester. In their lineup is the annual Rockfest Climbing Competition, where students get sorted based on their climbing skill and compete for prizes. More information will be sent to students closer to registration. “We will have some day hiking trips but we have not decided on a location for those,” said Seaton. “As it warms up, we will have a backpacking trip and the ever-popular canoe trip. We also hope to have several mountain biking trips throughout the semester.” RecLife is also working to plan a spring break trip. For more information on the Christmas Climbing Party and RecLife, contact Shane Seaton at seatons@obu.edu or visit obu.edu/reclife. n
for you to see their sweaters that they all worked so hard to find! Festival of Christmas performances take place today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be bought online or through the JPAC Box Office, and students receive one free ticket with their student ID. n
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out how to bring their visions to life. “First, I had to block out the show. I couldn’t just get onstage and tell the actors to do it organically—all the movements need to be exact. It’s told in a storytelling format, not just the actors interacting, so that was definitely a challenge. I took my binder and script and I have a diagram and drew out each movement I wanted for my actors on a separate sheet,” said Mattie Alexander, a senior theatre major from Midwest City, Oklahoma. “I also took a look at props and costumes and set design, and try to piece it together.” One acts also provide a way for students to get involved as actors and crew members. “I want the actors to work hard and do a lot of memorization and work well with another person,” Baggett said. “I especially want them to enjoy it.” Directors often choose plays that directly relate to their personal interests. Given the freedom to choose which story they tell, they choose one that seems the most impactful. “My play is about a circus, and I’ve always been fascinated with circuses. I’ve even dabbled in circus arts. That’s something I’ve always enjoyed learning about,” Alexander said. “Circuses are so mysterious—they pop up for a day, they come and perform these amazing feats and then they’re gone in a couple of hours. We’ve lost that circus tradition. We’ve transitioned to cirque now, see Theatre z 2
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