Variety of entertainers to perform at Opening Night 2012, downtown Oklahoma City’s New Year’s Eve party
OKC Improv will perform at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art's auditorium at 7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Saturday during Opening Night 2012.
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman.
The Arts Council of Oklahoma City will send in the clowns — along with an Elvis impersonator, a roller derby squad and a Hank Williams tribute band — Saturday night at its annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
As usual, Opening Night 2012 will transform downtown Oklahoma City into a sprawling variety show, bringing together dancers, magicians and musicians of practically every genre. The alcohol-free, family-friendly will assemble 40 performers in eight different venues, with the festivities starting at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s been so much fun. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work with all the performers and artists that we have for the event,” said Christina Foss, the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s projects director, who is working on her first Opening Night. “I’ve had a wonderful time already. It’s busy and hectic and crazy, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Party-goers can enter every venue Saturday with an Opening Night wristband, which are $8 in advance or $10 at the event. Children younger than 5 are admitted for free.
Wristbands are available at 7-Eleven stores, metro-area Homeland stores, MidFirst Bank locations, Science Museum Oklahoma or at the event.
After making their debut at Opening Night 2011, the performers with OKC Improv are moving up to a bigger venue this year.
“After our sellout shows at the downtown library auditorium last year, the Arts Council has moved us to OKC Museum of Art auditorium, which can fit twice as many people,” said Eric Webb, OKC Improv co-founder and co-producer. “So we’re very excited about that.”
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is a new venue for Opening Night. Along with the improvisers, the museum will close two special exhibitions, celebrate the grand reopening of its Dale Chihuly glass art collection and host two jazz bands Saturday on New Year’s Eve.
“Additionally, this is the first time OKC Improv has performed in our theater. We look forward to the fun,” said Leslie Spears, the museum’s communications coordinator.
For the first time in the event’s 25-year history, the Opening Night finale will be staged in the Myriad Botanical Gardens, which reopened earlier this year after undergoing an extensive overhaul. The finale previously took place in Kerr Park.
Along with live music from Smilin’ Vic and the Soul Monkeys, the finale will feature the ceremonial ascension of the massive mirrored ball, a countdown to midnight and a colorful fireworks display.
About 60,000 people rang in 2011 at last year’s Opening Night.
GOING ON
Opening Night 2012
When: 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday.
Where: Eight venues downtown.
Information: 270-4848 or www.artscouncilokc.com.
-BAM
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What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 27, 2011: Laugh at Rodney Carrington at FireLake Grand Casino
Today’s featured event:
SHAWNEE — Laugh at Tulsa comedian Rodney Carrington at 5 and 8 p.m. today at FireLake Grand Casino, 777 Grand Casino Blvd. Information: 964-7263 or www.firelakegrand.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Best Bets for Dec. 23-27, 2011: Lyric’s “A Christmas Carol,” Rodney Carrington and Casey Donahew Band
Casey Donahew Band
Here are the Best Bets for events happening around the state over the next few days, as listed in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. For more Oklahoma events, go to www.wimgo.com.
1. Watch Lyric Theatre’s new production of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” at 8 p.m. Friday at Lyric at the Plaza, 1725 NW 16 in the Plaza District. Performances continue Tuesday-Dec. 31. Information: 524-9312 or www.lyrictheatreokc.com.
2. YUKON — Hear the Red Dirt Rangers at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Grady’s 66 Pub, 444 W Main St. Information: 354-8789 or www.gradys66.com.
3. THACKERVILLE — Listen to popular Texas country group Casey Donahew Band at 9 p.m. Friday at WinStar World Casino, Interstate 35, Exit 1. Information: (800) 622-6317 or www.winstarworldcasino.com.
4. SHAWNEE — Laugh at Tulsa comedian Rodney Carrington at 5 and 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at FireLake Grand Casino, 777 Grand Casino Blvd. Information: 964-7263 or www.firelakegrand.com.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Twinprov’s “Casino Lady”
Speaking of locally produced advertisements employing humorous rhymes, my pals Buck and Clint Vrazel of comedy duo Twinprov have developed “Casino Lady,” an epic rap battle for the love of a slot-machine love machine who frequents Thunderbird Casino’s Senior Citizen Discount Wednesday.
I’m a casino fan, but I’m a fan of this.
-BAM
Bio Channel’s “Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy” sets ratings records, reairing tonight
The premiere of the Bio Channel original special “Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy” set ratings records for the network last Tuesday, Nov. 22. The two-hour special became the network’s most-watched telecast of all time among key adults 18-49 and 25-54 demographics and total viewers, according to a news release.
For the night, “Jeff Dunham” was watched by 1.2 million total viewers. The 8 p.m. premiere garnered 425,000 adults 25-54, 321,000 adults 18-49 and 714,000 total viewers, all ratings records for the network, becoming the single most-watched telecast in network history.
Bio’s “Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy,” is billed as giving exclusive, unprecedented access to the life of the entertainer who single-handedly made ventriloquism hip again. The special will encore on Bio at 8 p.m. today, 7 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 on the cable network.
Dunham is bringing his “Controlled Chaos” tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center for a Feb. 26 performance. For more information, go to www.bokcenter.com.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Nov. 26, 2011: Catch the debut of The Memepunks at OKC Improv
Today’s featured event:
Check out the debut of new nerd-pop/folk/rock/hip-hop band The Memepunks at OKC Improv’s 10 p.m. Saturday show at Ghostlight Theatre Club, 3110 N Walker. Information: 343-1570 or www.okcimprov.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
OKC Improv celebrates 2nd anniversary with 3-week run of shows
Nerd-pop/folk/rock/hip-hop band The Memepunks will give their first public performance at 10 p.m. Nov. 26 at Ghostlight Theatre Club during OKC Improv's three-week November run. OKC Improv is celebrating its second anniversary. (Photo by Phillip Grimes)
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
OKC Improv celebrates second anniversary
The state’s first ongoing professional improv showcase is starting a new three-week run of shows at Saturday at Ghostlight Theatre Club in the Paseo Arts District.
Over the past two years, OKC Improv has entertained more than 3,500 people at 100-plus shows, taught at least 175 classes and helped foster a cohesive improv scene in Oklahoma City.
Even better, the founders of the state’s first ongoing professional improv showcase have reached a series of milestones that indicate more Oklahomans are appreciating improvisational theater as a true art form.
“While we took a pragmatic approach when discussing our goals as an organization when we first began, our dreams for what OKC Improv could become were ambitious from the start. Whether we’d succeed was anyone’s guess. Would other established improv groups participate in the community we were trying to build and perhaps most importantly, would there be an audience willing to support regular improv shows? The amazing thing is that after two years, we have our answer,” said OKC Improv co-founder and co-producer Eric Webb.
“At the end of our first two years we are proud of what we’ve accomplished, but most of all are grateful to be able to be part of this amazing community of people.”
Naturally, OKC Improv is celebrating its second anniversary by putting on a three-week run of shows starting at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday at Ghostlight Theatre Club, 3110 N Walker in the Paseo Arts District. Performances will continue at 8 and 10 p.m. Nov. 19, 25 and 26 at Ghostlight.
The upcoming run will feature 22 different acts, three of them making their OKC Improv debuts, plus two world premieres. Hunter Canedy and Gloria Jones of Oklahoma City University Improv will perform as a long-form improv duo Saturday, marking their first time on the showcase.
The November lineup includes the first public performance at 10 p.m. Nov. 26 of nerd-pop/folk/rock/hip-hop band The Memepunks.
“This will be the first time we’ve ever hosted a band on our stage,” Webb said. “Our regular fans will find a lot of common ground with Memepunks.”
The Big O, a new boundary-pushing group of OKC Improv students Kyle Gossett, Ben Davis, Stephen Dillard-Carroll and Jessi Kyle, also will make their debut at 8 p.m. Nov. 26.
Along with putting on shows, OKC Improv remains committed to teaching improvisation, with its current run of Saturday afternoon Level 1-3 improv classes continuing through Nov. 26. In addition, the organization is planning a series of four advanced workshops, one per Sunday starting this weekend. Topics include unadulterated fun, physical comedy, scene editing and musical improv.
“With enough imagination and skill, there are no limits to the places improv can go, the kinds of stories that can be created, and how they are told,” Webb said.
“The number of active performance groups in the metro (over the past two years) has increased from five to 35, with the promise of more groups and projects to be developed during the course of the next year. Most importantly is the community of performers that has come together and bonded over a mutual love of this unique art form.”
OKC Improv recently was accepted to the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Performing Artist Roster, which Webb said means a great deal to the producers and performers.
“From the start we’ve wanted to find ways to partner with existing arts organizations, to share the art of improv, but also because we want to be a part of the arts community in Oklahoma. Improv is about so much more than just making people laugh. This is a legitimate performance art that unleashes creativity in both practitioners and audiences,” he said.
“Being vetted by and vouched for by the Oklahoma Arts Council is a huge affirmation for our improvisers, many of which have worked for years to hone their craft. It also gives us an opportunity to reach a wider audience, taking our showcases to other parts of the state.”
Artistic directors Buck and Clint Vrazel recently were recognized as part OKCBiz’s “Forty Under 40” for their innovative leadership and impact on the local arts community, and OKC Improv has joined the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and Arts Council of Oklahoma City.
After selling out last year, OKC Improv will again be featured at the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s Opening Night New Year’s Eve celebration.
“We are so excited to welcome OKC Improv to the membership roster of the Arts Council of Oklahoma City,” said Executive Director Peter Dolese. “We urge everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to see this professional improv group take the stage.”
For more information on OKC Improv, go to www.okcimprov.com.
-BAM
Best Bets for Nov. 11-13, 2011: Zac Brown Band, Red Dot and “Memphis”
Zac Brown Band (AP file)
Here are my Best Bets for the top events happening around Oklahoma this weekend. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
1. Rock along with the Tony Award-winning musical “Memphis” at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker. Information: (800) 869-1451 or www.celebrityattractions.com.
2. Bid on work by more than 130 Oklahoma artists and sample festive food from several local restaurants at the annual Red Dot art auction from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery, 706 W Sheridan. Information: 232-6060 or www.iaogallery.org.
3. Celebrate the second anniversary of OKC Improv with performances by Kind of a Big Deal, Two’s Company and The MiDolls at 8 p.m. Saturday and Homemade Fireworks, Oklahoma City University Improv and Red Letters at 10 p.m. Saturday at Ghostlight Theatre Club, 3110 N Walker. Information: 343-1570 or www.okcimprov.com.
4. TULSA — Hear Zac Brown Band, with special guests Sonia Leigh and Nic Cowan, at 7 p.m. Friday at BOK Center, 200 S Denver. Information: (866) 726-5287 or www.bokcenter.com.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Oct. 24, 2011: Hear MC Frontalot, Brandon Patton and The Doppelgangstas at The Conservatory
MC Frontalot
Today’s featured event:
Hear nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot at 8 tonight at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Frontalot bassist and award-winning solo artist Brandon Patton and OKC-based act The Doppelgangstas, AKA Buck and Clint Vrazel of nationally recognized musical comedy duo Twinprov, will open tonight’s show.
MC Frontalot is touring in support of his fifth studio album, “Solved.”
When Damian Hess began recording as MC Frontalot in 2000, there was no category into which his unique brand of alternative hip-hop fit, so he coined and self-applied the term “nerdcore.” Since then, a thriving rap subgenre has grown up around him. Falling outside of what the music business considered commercially viable, he pursued marketing and distribution channels then largely unfamiliar to recording artists, embracing the worlds that embraced him, particularly comic books and gaming. Throughout the first decade of his career, Frontalot has found imaginative, visionary ways of creating and putting forth his music.
Since he first released his music on the internet through the online songwriting and recording competition Song Fight!, MC Frontalot has parlayed his early online buzz into an enduring career as a artist. He remains a key member of the communities that initially celebrated him, and performs for thousands of fans at conventions such as Penny Arcade Expo and Blizzcon. In addition to garnering considerable critical acclaim, MC Frontalot is the subject of the feature documentary “Nerdcore Rising: The Movie.”
Frontalot bassist BL4k Lotus AKA Brandon Patton will be opening. His newest album, “How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire,” features 13 mostly comical songs that capture the hilarity of his live shows opening for Frontalot. On the album, he exposes dark family secrets (“Mixed-Up Modern Family”) sings anthems about sex acts (“Munching the Cooch” and “Kethcup and Mayo”) and relates stories about traveling the world and getting into mischief (“Big in Japan” and the title track “How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire”)
Patton also performs with playwright Prince Gomolvilas in the underground theater duo “Jukebox Stories,” called one of the 10 best plays of 2008 by the East Bay Express. He composed the songs for “Love Sucks: the Musical,” a Shakespearean take on the punk rock of the 1970s, which won honorable mention at the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Patton’s 2004 album “Should Confusion” was nominated for Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. His music has appeared on the soundtracks of several TV shows, including “Monster Garage,” “That 70’s Show,” and “The Real World.” He also sometimes plays bass for Futureboy and Jonathan Coulton.
Twin brothers Buck and Clint Vrazel of nationally acclaimed improv duo Twinprov will also be opening for Frontalot as their rap alter-egos, The Doppelgangstas, AKA Kid Koopernicus and Uncus The Humongous Homunculus. They will be joined on stage by OKC’s most in-demand improv accompanist, Kyle Gossett, AKA Trouble Clef. The Doppelgangstas will be performing a mix of pre-written and improvised/freestyle songs created in the moment based on suggestions from the audience.
Buck and Clint Vrazel have been performing and teaching improv for 11 years in Oklahoma and around the country including 10 different festivals in 2011 and are a driving force in the regional improv scene. They are co-artistic directors of OKC Improv, the state’s premiere professional improv showcase and learning institution, where they currently teach classes and perform with numerous troupes. This will be The Doppelgangsta’s second time to open for MC Frontalot, having performed at Front’s OKC debut in April 2010.
For more information, go to www.conservatoryokc.com. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot releases “Critical Hit” video, plans Oklahoma City show
Critical Hit from 512 Media on Vimeo.
Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot is currently on tour in support of his fifth studio album, “Solved,” and will be performing Monday night at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western Ave. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the concert starts at 8 p.m.
The rapper released this week the video to his song “Critical Hit,” which is in this Wednesday Video Spotlight.
Frontalot bassist and award-winning solo artist Brandon Patton and OKC-based act The Doppelgangstas, AKA Buck and Clint Vrazel of nationally recognized musical comedy duo Twinprov, will open Monday’s local show.
“Solved” is garnering considerable critical praise. Lev Grossman of Time Magazine has said, “Frontalot’s songs are nothing if not funky and funny, and you can enjoy them on that level, but it’s all a bit of a feint—the more you listen to them, and the further you get into decoding Frontalot’s densely wrought lyrics, the more layers you find.”
When Damian Hess began recording as MC Frontalot in 2000, there was no category into which his unique brand of alternative hip-hop fit, so he coined and self-applied the term “nerdcore.” Since then, a thriving rap subgenre has grown up around him. Falling outside of what the music business considered commercially viable, he pursued marketing and distribution channels then largely unfamiliar to recording artists, embracing the worlds that embraced him, particularly comic books and gaming. Throughout the first decade of his career, Frontalot has found imaginative, visionary ways of creating and putting forth his music.
Since he first released his music on the internet through the online songwriting and recording competition Song Fight!, MC Frontalot has parlayed his early online buzz into an enduring career as a artist. He remains a key member of the communities that initially celebrated him, and performs for thousands of fans at conventions such as Penny Arcade Expo and Blizzcon. In addition to garnering considerable critical acclaim, MC Frontalot is the subject of the feature documentary “Nerdcore Rising: The Movie.”
Frontalot bassist BL4k Lotus AKA Brandon Patton will be opening. His newest album, “How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire,” features 13 mostly comical songs that capture the hilarity of his live shows opening for Frontalot. On the album, he exposes dark family secrets (“Mixed-Up Modern Family”) sings anthems about sex acts (“Munching the Cooch” and “Kethcup and Mayo”) and relates stories about traveling the world and getting into mischief (“Big in Japan” and the title track “How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire”)
Patton also performs with playwright Prince Gomolvilas in the underground theater duo “Jukebox Stories,” called one of the 10 best plays of 2008 by the East Bay Express. He composed the songs for “Love Sucks: the Musical,” a Shakespearean take on the punk rock of the 1970s, which won honorable mention at the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Patton’s 2004 album “Should Confusion” was nominated for Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. His music has appeared on the soundtracks of several TV shows, including “Monster Garage,” “That 70’s Show,” and “The Real World.” He also sometimes plays bass for Futureboy and Jonathan Coulton.
Twin brothers Buck and Clint Vrazel of nationally acclaimed improv duo Twinprov will also be opening for Frontalot as their rap alter-egos, The Doppelgangstas, AKA Kid Koopernicus and Uncus The Humongous Homunculus. They will be joined on stage by OKC’s most in-demand improv accompanist, Kyle Gossett, AKA Trouble Clef. The Doppelgangstas will be performing a mix of pre-written and improvised/freestyle songs created in the moment based on suggestions from the audience.
Buck and Clint Vrazel have been performing and teaching improv for 11 years in Oklahoma and around the country including 10 different festivals in 2011 and are a driving force in the regional improv scene. They are co-artistic directors of OKC Improv, the state’s premiere professional improv showcase and learning institution, where they currently teach classes and perform with numerous troupes. This will be The Doppelgangsta’s second time to open for MC Frontalot, having performed at Front’s OKC debut in April 2010.
-BAM
