OCU students are producing and performing in a new Musical Theatre Sessions live music event.
MT Sessions, a cabaret-style event in which students perform musical theater songs in a casual atmosphere, has been restarted in co-production with OKSessions, a local startup that aims to increase awareness of the Oklahoma City music scene and help it grow.
Hannah Kimball, design and production sophomore, is the event’s producing artistic director.
MT Sessions originally started in March 2018, but stopped after personal health issues of its previous leaders. When Kimball learned that MT Sessions used to occur, she reached out to Christian Pearson, cofounder and CEO of OKSessions. They discussed the idea and decided to start MT Sessions again.
Kimball said this has been a longtime goal of hers.
“It’s just a really great way to give people an outlet and find a place to perform when they might not be getting the chance all that often. Or maybe they do get to do it a lot but just want some more practice at it and just really find a way to share the wealth with everybody,” she said. “I feel like MT Sessions is a great way to get the whole community involved.”
The theme of the upcoming event is “Dangerous Divas: A Night of Broadway’s Sassiest.”
Kimball said of the 18 performers, 16 are OCU students. The host will be Grace Knight, music theater/vocal performance freshman, and the accompanist will be Jordan Andrews, vocal coaching graduate.
Bligh Voth, actor, singer and writer portraying “Alice Murphy” in the upcoming Lyric Theatre production of Bright Star, will perform, as well as Patty Irwin, music theater/vocal performance alumna portraying “Margo Crawford” in Bright Star.
Vance Klassen, music theater sophomore, said Kimball asked him to perform a song at the event. Klassen will perform “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” from The Book of Mormon with Brandon Dallman, music theater sophomore, and “Let Me Be Your Star” from Smash with Brandon Stalling, acting senior.
“It is nice to kind of just jam with your friends and collaborate in a different way that’s not so structured at OCU and formal, and just kind of have a fun night instead,” Klassen said.
Klassen said the event will be vocal-heavy and not involve much production like full mainstage shows.
“It’s just more of a ‘pull up a microphone, maybe a stool, and let’s just sing a little bit and then do the next thing,’” he said.
Kimball said she’s never felt more fulfilled at OCU and hopes the event will be inspirational for the audience.
“Being able to look at everyone involved and seeing how it takes a community to make something happen, and just think ‘how cool is it that people just like me are doing this, and I can do that too,’” she said.
Kimball said after this event, she will use the summer to examine it and plan how to create an MT Sessions events in the fall. She hopes to have two to four shows each semester, she said.
The “Dangerous Divas” event will be at 8 p.m. tonight at OKC Improv, 1755 NW 16th St.
Kimball said performances are set for this event, but anyone interested can contact her or email mtsessionsokc@gmail.com. Kimball said if students wish to perform, they should provide a video of them singing, a headshot, a resume, some songs currently in their repertoire, and whether they are willing to learn a new piece. She said anyone interested in helping as a marketing liaison for publicity may contact the same email address.
The event is free, but donations are greatly appreciated and will help with future event planning, Kimball said.
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