Award Winning Theater Program Experiences Growth
(Press Release 08-07-07)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

"We at Theatre Eastern are  proud to herald the additions to our growing, and highly acclaimed, theatre program here at Eastern Oklahoma State College,"  Ruth Askew Brelsford, speech/theatre department chair announced this week.

Melissa Heath-Lee, an Eastern alum from Red Oak, takes the helm in the theatre department with local talent Dottie Minshall directing the expanded children's theatre program.  "We are blessed that artists with such talent, experience, and training in the professional performing arts are available to us in this area,"  Brelsford declares.  "We feel fortunate that these directors will continue the heritage of quality that our founder, the legendary Johnnie Wray, established at Eastern.

Our veteran patrons will remember Melissa when she was on this very stage in the early '90's.  And, of course, Dottie Minshall has wowed recent audiences with her performances in THE KING AND I, THE WIZARD OF OZ, QUILTERS, and THE MUSIC LESSON."

The dates for the first production of the 2007-08 season, THE RAINMAKER by N. Richard Nash are Oct. 11,12, & 15, which is a change from the published college calendar.  Performances are at 7:30 p.m. each evening and tickets are $3 with general seating.  This classic romance promises to be a hit with both the older generation who will remember Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn in the film version and younger audiences who will love the comedy which is just as funny today as when the play was written, according to Heath-Lee.

The children's theatre offering, scheduled as usual for the week before the Thanksgiving holiday, is TWINDERELLA.  Performances are at 10 a.m. and 12:30 daily, Nov. 12-14, with an evening performance scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.  Children from local school districts are bussed in to see this popular theatre event.  Approximately 4000 children attend the play each year and have for over 35 years which is the reason that the program received the Governor's Arts Award for excellence in arts education in 2004.

Director Dottie Minshall promises a "rollicking good time" with this "fractured" fairy tale.  Auditions for children who are interested in being in this production are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 10, 3-5 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium on the Wilburton campus.  Call 918-465-1758 or 918-465-1762 for more information.

Caption info:

Theatre Eastern students and faculty make costuming decisions for the first play of the year, THE RAINMAKER, running Oct. 11,12, and 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium on the Wilburton campus of Eastern Oklahoma State College.  Pictured from left are Katie Foster, Panola freshman; Jolene Hill, Wilburton sophomore; Melissa Heath-Lee, new theatre instructor and Eastern alum from Red Oak; Ashley Hallemeier, Okmulgee freshman; Maggie Barber, McAlester freshman; Matt Tucker, Quinton sophomore and Dottie Minshall, director of Eastern's acclaimed children's theatre program.  Anyone interested in more information about upcoming productions may call Heath-Lee at 918-465-1758.