OSU play to focus on Okla. Native narratives

STILLWATER, Okla. — A new production highlighting Indian Country will debut at Oklahoma State University early next year.

Funded by a private grant, the school’s theater department is creating “Oklahoma Voices,” which will emphasize underrepresented groups in Oklahoma.

“A lot of the focus is on women, Freedmen and Native Americans,” assistant theater professor Jodi Jinks said. “This piece will help give a voice to Oklahoma residents who really haven’t had much of one.”

With her students helping with the research, Jinks said the production will rely heavily on first-person narratives and oral history. Along with a graduate student, she has conducted many interviews with elders across the state, including attending a codetalkers meeting earlier this year.

“This is a production that will have very rich stories,” Jinks said. “It offers perspectives from people in this section of the country that are rarely seen on stage.”

The play will also include segments on significant moments in Oklahoma history, such as the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Auditions are scheduled for Nov. 26 at the Vivia Locke stage of the Seretean Center for the Performing Arts at OSU-Stillwater. Rehearsals will start in January 2013 and the show will run Feb. 13-17, 2013.