Leaving work right at 5 p.m. can be a challenge. We know many of you sometimes decide to stay a little later, take the opportunity to get extra work done, and make the journey home when the roads are less frantic. We are delighted to be able to offer you an alternative to working through the rush hour. Once again this year, we are offering our Arts-After-Work Series on selected Thursdays.
May we suggest that instead of working an extra hour, you join us in Varner Hall for our series of diverse performing arts events, especially scheduled to allow you to avoid stressful traffic and head for home feeling refreshed and uplifted! As an added incentive to spend a little time in the inspiring company of our faculty and student musicians, actors and dancers, the tickets for all the Arts-After-Work Series performances are "Pay What You Wish," with a minimum contribution of $1, though, of course, we would be delighted if you wished to pay a little more.
Tickets are available at the door or in advance by visiting the Star Tickets website at
startickets.com or calling Star Tickets at (800) 585-3737; by calling the Varner Box Office at (248) 370-3013; by visiting the Center for Student Activities Service Window in the Oakland Center, or by visiting the Varner Box Office from 3-6 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; or for one hour before each performance.
All performances start at 6 p.m. but in the hour from 5 p.m. until the performance begins, people are welcome to gather on the Varner Mezzanine to meet and mingle informally. Perhaps you would like to attend with a group of friends or colleagues and bring in food. We can provide a long table to set out the food and high round tables for people to use as they eat and chat.
If you have a group that would like to reserve the mezzanine area for your exclusive use, we may be able to accommodate you. If you have a group coming to one of the performances, whether eating first or not, please let us know, so we can welcome you from the stage. Please contact
uhrig@oakland.edu.
The season will showcase a wide range of our work, including the following concerts during the fall semester:
Voice Faculty Concert on October 25, when John-Paul White, Drake Dantzler, Alta Dantzler, Edith Diggory, Barbara Bland and Melissa Maloney will present a collaborative concert of solos and duets;
The Oakland Chamber Players on November 8, when Oakland’s in-residence faculty chamber ensemble will feature the music of North American composers Larysa Kuzmenko, Malcolm Forsyth and Leonard Bernstein in works for violin, cello and piano;
The Oakland Dance Theatre and OU Repertory Dance Company on November 29, the annual showcase concert featuring works choreographed by OU dance faculty, and guest artists Alexandra Beller and the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble; and
Bernard Woma, on December 6, the greatest living performer of the Dagara gyil, a West African xylophone.
Most of these events are scheduled to run around one hour. Come and experience OU’s wonderful performing arts and then be on your way home. We know you’ll be back for one of our full length performances! A full listing of the
Arts-After-Work season is available here. Complete tickets information is here. Our season brochure is available as a
PDF on our homepage.
Photos: Upper: The Oakordz, Constantine Novotny, Jake Skipworth, Justin Donoghue, Chris Brody and Erik Dewar who performed in the Arts-After-Work Student Showcase on September 27. Photo by Gillian Ellis.
Lower: Ryan Sparks, Cheyanne Coss, Chynna Roose and Constantine Novotny who performed a scene from Gianni Schicchi
at the Arts-After-Work Student Showcase on September 27. Photo by Gillian Ellis. 