Okmulgee is invited to celebrate keeping the drama where it belongs: on stage.
Ms. Jackson’s Theatre will host an open house Saturday, July 20, from 2-4 p.m. to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Okmulgee’s first theater summer camp. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided.
Back in July 2014, 15 young students arrived at the Methodist Rowe Building for Ms. Jackson’s Theatre. Those same students are now young adults.
“I consider Ms. Jackson one of the pivotal teachers who led me to become a teacher,” Kylie Hushbeck, an Okmulgee Public School English teacher and Upward Bound instructor said. “From the beginning, Ms. Jackson’s Theatre was not only a place to learn about projection, presentation, and storytelling, but a mini-community to explore who you were without judgment. I’ll always be grateful for the acting and life lessons her program provided me.”
“Offering a summer theater camp was just an idea,” Jackson said. “I didn’t expect it to lead to a business or that we would put on over 60 shows! It was amazing what those first 15 kids could do after just 20 hours of time together. And all because I put up some flyers around Okmulgee. I remember I even bartered with one parent to clean my chimney in exchange for tuition that first year.”
After the success of that first summer camp, parents asked Jackson to offer after-school classes. She moved from the United Methodist Church to The Orpheum Theatre, where she and her students presented over 60 shows. The past year and a half, she has been teaching an after school program at Schulter Public Schools.
“Ms. Jackson’s Theatre is a place for anyone and everyone to feel like they belong,” Mark Hess, an aspiring actor, said. “I’ve conquered so many fears I never thought I could and made so many friends along the way.”
“Ms Jackson’s is a great place: loads of fun and good memories. Always brings you out of your shell so you can express. Always full of laughter,” Malachi Flud, now a firefighter in Montana, exclaimed.
Chaz Lujan, a UCO English Education major, also remembers his experience with Ms. Jackson. “Ms. Jackson’s theater class fostered an unbridled sense of creativity, community and colorfulness for every child involved,” Lujan said. “She and her class made up an invaluable part of my childhood. I’m proud to be a part of the family. Here’s to another wonderful ten years!” This summer, Ms. Jackson will hold her summer theater camp from July 22 to Aug. 1, concluding with a performance of Disney’s The Jungle Book on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 6:30 p.m. The performance will be open to the public and free admission. Ms. Jackson has found a new venue: the Dunbar Learning Center, located at 420 E. 2nd Street in Okmulgee.
“I was so excited to learn that Pat Ward is managing the old Dunbar school. It has a stage and air conditioning, and even purple accents,” Jackson exclaimed.
“Ms. Jackson will be using the Dunbar Learning Center for her 10th anniversary. This is our gift to her,” Ward said.
After a decade teaching young students to perform, Ms. Jackson shows no signs of slowing down. “There’s so much more we can do,” Jackson said. “This is just the beginning.”
For more information about Ms. Jackson’s Theatre summer camp or after school classes, visit the “Ms. Jackson’s Theatre!” Facebook page or text Kirsten Jackson at 918-758-8877.
