March Newsletter
Welcome to the fine arts newsletter! We recently updated our subscription list and added new 2020-21 fine arts educators from across the state. If this is the first time you've received this newsletter, we're happy you're here!
March is a big month for arts education. All four of the professional organizations have ideas to celebrate arts in our schools month. Read more below.
Unfortunately, Covid-related issues have cancelled our day at the state capitol this year. We look forward to 2022 when Oklahoma students can dance, act, sing, play, and create in the rotunda again!
As we move into spring, be sure to read on and take note of upcoming auditions, workshops, and much more!
Good Reads
Comanche Elementary Students Learn African Drums for Black History Month
Lyric Theatre Announces 2021 Season
OKC's long-awaited First Americans Museum to open in fall with support from National Endowment for the Arts
Fine arts virtual meetings will be held on the second Thursday of every month at 4 p.m. on Zoom. We will not meet in March due to spring break, but please put Thursday, April 8 on your calendar! We will have time to discuss some new initiatives coming from the OSDE this spring/summer, and there will be time for networking with colleagues. All Oklahoma PK-12 arts educators are welcome to join the conversation! The Zoom link will be available in the April newsletter.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is pleased to join with the Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education and the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma for the 31st Annual State Superintendent Awards for Arts Excellence. This special recognition is given to high school juniors and seniors who meet certain criteria. In addition, we recognize fine arts educators, school administrators, and school boards who exhibit leadership, support quality arts education, and demand academic excellence in Oklahoma schools.
Teachers are encouraged to nominate colleagues for the arts educator award. Also, please consider nominating students, administrators, and school boards for the 2021 Arts Excellence Awards.
The student applications and educator/administrator/school board applications are completely online. Please visit this link to see the application overview, familiarize yourself with the process, and be prepared to help students navigate the form. Application fees may be mailed or students can submit a digital copy of a school purchase order with their application. This year, you may also use PayPal to pay for student application fees.
Applications are due March 8th
All students, teachers, and administrators selected to receive this distinguished award will be showcased and celebrated by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister at a virtual ceremony in May 2021.
For additional assistance, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Maughan, Director of Fine Arts, elizabeth.maughan@sde.ok.gov
OAEA Youth Arts Month is happening throughout March. Our theme this year is "Art Connects Us," and we would love to have your participation. Most of the entries will be digital this year, so get ready for something quite different and exciting. Please see the Google Document to get involved. If you have any questions, please contact Shelley Olds at shelley.olds@jenksps.org.
The Sutton Avian Research Center, an internationally renowned ornithological research and conservation organization based near Bartlesville, OK, offers an annual statewide scholarship competition known as the Sutton Art Award. The Sutton Art Award is comprised of up to $20,000 in cash, which will be distributed to winning student submissions and their instructors as determined by the selection committee.
Due to COVID-19, entries will be submitted and judged online. The Showcase and Awards Ceremony will be held via Facebook Live in March. The top-awarded pieces will also be displayed on the Sutton Avian Research Center’s website and Facebook pages.
Submission deadline is March 16, 2021. For more information and entry details visit Sutton’s website.
Auditions for the 2021 Kristin Chenoweth Virtual Broadway Bootcamp are open! The audition submission window ends on March 19, 2021, at 5 p.m. CST. There is no cost to audition. Any student who completed grades 8-12 in the 2020-2021 school year may audition. A limited number of slots are available, and the cost to attend the camp is $500. Scholarships are available for families in need. Learn more on the kcbbc website.
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On Friday, April 9, from 10-11am, I Dream of Greenwood—a dance inspired by personal accounts of survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre—will premiere on Zoom, followed by a talkback with the choreographers/dancers and recent U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith. High school students, librarians, and teachers around the state are invited to participate remotely during the live talkback event—click here to register. A curriculum packet that includes readings and discussion questions is available on the OU centennial website under the Special Projects - Dance Performance menu. For more information, email TRMcentennial@ou.edu.
The Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival is a grant-funded program, hosted by Perpetual Motion Dance, which allows dancers ages 12 & up throughout the mid-west region to study with professional choreographers throughout the month of July.
Festival auditions will be held April 10 from 9:00-12:00 p.m. at UCO’s Health & Physical Education building. Dancers will be placed with a choreographer to learn a piece of choreography to perform in the July show. There is an online audition and collaboration option for dancers needing to work remotely. For more information about the 2021 Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival, contact perpetualocdf@gmail.com.
OKC Broadway would like to remind you and your students that the deadline to submit applications and videos for the 2020-2021 Kelli O’Hara Awards is April 14, 2021!
Schools may participate in one of two ways:
1. Schools doing live productions may submit a video of their production and have their students performing in a qualifying role submit a self-tape of a solo song from their role to be considered for Best Actress/Best Actor categories.
2. Schools not doing live productions may submit up to two students for the Best Actor and up to two students for the Best Actress category.
Award Categories:
- Best Musical
- Best Ensemble
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical
- Spotlight Awards for an ensemble member from each school
The Best Actor and Actress Awards winners will go on to compete at the virtual National High School Musical Theatre Awards (AKA The Jimmy Awards). The Kelli O'Hara Awards program is open to public and private high schools in Central and Western Oklahoma. The winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony scheduled for late Spring 2021.
If you have students who wish to participate, please complete the application located at https://www.okcbroadway.com/apply-kelli-o-hara-awards.
For information on eligibility or questions, email kelliawards@okcbroadway.com.
It’s time for the 2021 Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain (OSAI)! The team at OAI is looking forward to being back together in person this summer and is making plans to ensure that will happen. Auditions for the 2021 Institute are currently underway and are being conducted entirely online. The program will still be held in person, but one month later than usual, July 10-25.
To be considered, students must complete a brief online application and submit audition materials demonstrating their artistic ability. Performing artists and filmmakers will submit a video file. Writers and visual artists will submit a digital portfolio of their work. The application portal is currently open at apply.oaiquartz.org, and all auditions must be submitted by March 15. Please contact PR and Outreach Coordinator Becky Holladay with any questions.
“Now, more than ever, we realize how the past year has impacted the educational experience for students across the country—and how those students have responded with incredible resilience and adaptability.” -Stacey Mindich, Dear Evan Hansen lead producer
11th and 12th-graders, we invite you to share your experiences for the chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship. The 2021 National “You Will Be Found” essay contest is presented by the @BroadwayEducationAlliance, @gothamwriters, @OKCBroadway, and @DearEvanHansen.
Learn more and submit your essay here. Submission deadline is April 5, 2021.
The Resonance Series is a new guest-lecture series brought to you by the OU School of Music and Jazz in June that connects OU students and Oklahoma PK-12 students with music professionals from around the world. Speakers will share their experiences, provide the future generation with insight into the industry and career paths, and answer questions students may have.
Join online for this unique opportunity to listen to, talk with, and ask questions of the music industry's most successful experts. Oklahoma arts educators and their students are welcome to attend the series!
Email Eric Walschap at e@ou.edu with any questions.
A new gallery schedule will be developed soon. Stay tuned!
A virtual art gallery is available on the SDE Fine Arts website for students and families who would like to see pictures of their work in the OSDE (Oliver Hodge) Building.
March 2 - "Arts ARE Education" Launch of Arts Education Month
March 8 - Application DEADLINE State Superintendent's Awards for Arts Excellence
March 15 - Application DEADLINE Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute
March 16 - Submission DEADLINE Sutton Art Award
March 19 - Application DEADLINE Kristin Chenoweth Broadway Bootcamp
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