Theater students will have the opportunity to attend an additional study abroad program next summer.
In the past, the summer theater faculty-led study abroad trips to Paris and London have taken place on alternating summers. Applications filled up so quickly for this past summer’s trip to London that theater officials decided to repeat the trip for an additional summer.
Applications are available for both trips. The fee for this application, which is usually $75, was waived for this year. The application is due Nov. 15, and students can visit okcu.abroadoffice.net to create an account and apply.
The London trip, which is scheduled for June 27 to Aug. 3, will be led by Lance Marsh, theater professor and head of performance, and includes an advanced Shakespeare class, and introduction to the London stage class. It also includes trips to Bath, Stonehenge, Stratford-upon-Avon, two Royal Shakespeare Company shows, and a chance to watch a show at Shakespeare’s Globe theater. Students also have the option to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland until Aug. 11 and perform in a play devised throughout the trip.
The Paris trip, which is scheduled for June 2 to July 6, will be led by Tim Fall, professor of on-camera acting for the School of Theater, and offers courses in on-camera acting and French classes at the Alliance Française. The trip includes excursions to Versailles, Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny, tours of the Louvre and the Orsay, as well as walking tours through Parisienne neighborhoods. The program’s final project will be a film created by the students.
“I like doing the class in a concentrated five-week burst,” Fall said. “I find it energizing to be in Paris and have that city as the backdrop around you. It’s energizing to be there and to take that class in that sort of context. Also, if you take it during the summer, it frees up a chunk of time your senior year. It’s smart when you’re able to get a required class like that out of the way.”
Students who studied in Paris in 2017 were unable to get their foreign language credits from the Alliance Française to transfer.
“I think what happened was, at the end of classes, they didn’t do a test,” Fall said. “They test to show you’ve done this course, but, from what I understand, the students who were there are being given the chance to take the equivalent of that test through our French department at OCU to formalize them getting the credit hours.”
Fall said the students will take their evaluation during the last week of classes in May, which will finalize the class credit and transfer the credit to OCU.
The Paris trip is open to students who will be juniors and seniors in Fall 2019. The program is for acting, theater and performance, and film production students, but anyone may apply. Priority will be given to acting and film students who have on-camera acting as a requirement.
This past summer, Marsh took 24 students to London, and Fall took seven students to Paris. But, the cap on both trips now is set at 12 students. The trips share an application whereby students specify which trip is their first choice and which is their second.
Students may apply for scholarships for the trips. The Paris trip offers a $1,500 scholarship for a student who will be a production assistant for the trip. The student should have some experience working with film equipment.
The London trip offers two scholarships for a stage manager and an assistant director who work on the show performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. An honors scholarship is available for honors students.
The early scholarship decision deadline is Nov. 15. State and federal aid is available for students who qualify, which can come in the from of grants or loans. A full list of scholarships is available on the university website.
“Studying abroad was definitely the best experience of my life,” said Adelaide Ross, acting senior who attended the 2017 Paris trip. “I would encourage it to everyone because it’s really valuable for us to learn about other cultures. You’ll have experiences in another country that you could never have in OKC.”
Jordan Kilgore, acting senior, attended the Advanced Shakespeare trip in London last summer.
“Being abroad not only gave me good in-classroom learning experiences, but also finding my own way in a foreign country sent me back to the states with newfound confidence and independence,” he said.
Mary Benner, director of global engagement, was unavailable last week for comment.
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