Little Mary Sunshine beginning October 7th, 2011

Arts after Work

The Oakland University MTD department has instated events called "Arts after Work" for the school's community. Arts after Work is something of a cultural experience for the slightly more aesthetically influenced crowd present on campus and the artistically overt community surrounding the university. Various events include Jazz shows, dance recitals, choir events and theatre productions such as plays and musicals. Arts after Work takes place Thursdays at 6pm in a designated location in Varner Hall (the school’s arts/sciences building on campus) while being preluded with a 5 o’clock presentation of food.

            The previous Arts after Work event took place Thursday September 29^th presented a student showcase in which, as with every Arts after Work event, students and all participants paid as much as they pleased or as much as they could, and the crowd was presented works from Oakland’s own group of talent. In the ambiance of a Saturday (though Thursday) night orgy of the arts, people joined together to support the local arts and the sense of community that the arts present to the students.

            The next up and coming Arts after Work event just so happens to be one of the main stage plays that the department is putting on for the community titled Little Mary Sunshine. (Pay in mind I know very little about the show). First and foremost, Little Mary Sunshine is a Broadway musical that has caught many hearts. The show is described as being a Dramady (drama-comedy) in which a broken engagement and homicide bring two characters together in a sentimental union of overcoming. The show has been in preparation since the summer months of Oakland University’s theatre department. The play itself will begin October 7^th but the Arts after Work event for the musical will be Thursday October 13^th, 2011 in which, once again, people can pay what they can or want to watch.

            Arts after Work may be relatively new to Oakland University’s community but with proper advertisement, Arts after Work is sure to bring a sense of artistic culture to the campus and to the students. As new voyeurs bring themselves closer to the art community by removing the blockade that is finances and simply allowing art to exist in an environment that can be enjoyed by all, Arts after Work will allow many students to become citizens of the world rather than just students of Oakland University. 

If English class has taught me anything in the past it's that we search for the why and the how

So here's the why. Why a theatre blog? Why a blog so focused on the ways of the thespian community in adverse to activities that have a stronger connotation with young females of my generation and my social standing? Well, I've never been an "in the box" thinker and theatre is a positive gateway for such a thinking style.
        My ninth grade iB prep geometry teacher would read us a success book and we would put aside all studies for the day to read a chapter here and a chapter there. The idea of career choice was always brought up throughout the text and a point was put into our minds that I grasped desperately which is, you have to spend thirty five or more years with this decision, do what you love. I love theatre, I love escapism and living on carpe diem standards. I'm pursuing a career in theatre and a side career in sexology because the day will come when I reflect on my life and choices, I don't want to reflect from a cubicle. So there is the why, I have one life, I plan on doing it with a heart full of love and a fist full of opportunity. Sure, girls my age are focused on materials, puppies (which I love), boys, looking good, getting good grades, impressing the people of our choosing, and in the social pressures of the world, possibly just possibly, world events but I will back my decision to focus on the things I love, a dark stage and a terrible costume.

And if the point wasn't yet grasped, this blog is the how to express my why.

This is an anonymous quote but it is highly relative to why I love theatre, I chose to surround myself with those that live on the highs of life

There come’s a time in your life when you walk away from the drama & people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad & focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don’t. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. Being alive is a gift, being happy is by choice.

The sheer things I live for