O.U.I.

Obviously Unrehearsed Improvisation (OUI) is a “hodge-podge of people from all over the school [that] form a troupe,” said Artistic Director Kyle Bradford. The University of Oklahoma Student Association (UOSA) funds this student organization, along with about 400 others. Next year, OUI will be experiencing budget cuts from UOSA, and the room they perform shows in will be increasing their rent.

Bradford says the troupe could perform anywhere, anytime, but their loyal fans have been showing up to the same room at the same time on Saturdays for the past ten years. OUI is looking to team up with the activity council to put on shows. If this is the case, they will have to limit the amount of shows they put on from the regular three a semester to three a year.

According to OUI’s webpage, the organization began with seven of friends recreating games from the TV show ‘Whose Line is it Anyways?’ about ten years ago. The group put on monthly shows out of their house, but soon grew to 50 people showing up to watch. The ‘troupe’ became a student organization at the University of Oklahoma in 2004 and hosting shows at The Oklahoma Memorial Union, where they have continued to hold shows up until this semester.

Most of the students at OUI have majors in something other than theater, which is unusual for an improv. group. Those that don’t have theater majors say that the experience has been a confidence booster, and has changed them for the better.
“Not that I was shy before…but I will literally do anything in front of a group of people now,” said Botany Sophomore Jordy Branum. Aside from expanding each of the troupe member’s personalities individually, they have become a close group of friends. “I want to come back and see them after they’ve grown some more and just have my mind blown and [then] jump on stage and improv. with them some more,” said Senior Ian Keegan.

In preparation for the budget decrease, Bradford has come up with unique ideas for raising money. Aside from joining with OKC Improv. to put on shows next semester, Bradford jokingly thought about making a sexy calendar with the troupe. “We’ve been thinking of making a sexy fireman calendar of the OU Improvisers wearing scantly clad outfits, when we’re mostly pasty, white people,” said Bradford. “It’s going to look really funny.”







(VIDEO: Kelsey Hightower TRT: 1:53)

Andrew Jenks

Photo: Ida Skadberg
OU Students listen to Andrew Jenks tell his story of
becoming a filmmaker.

     MTV filmmaker Andrew Jenks shared his journey to becoming a filmmaker with students at OU. Jenks told about his passion for filmmaking and the opportunities he’s been giving through MTV, as well as his struggles and obstacles along the way. His most recent project is finishing editing his second season of The World of Jenks. This TV episode shows Jenks moving in with different people, such as an autistic boy, a homeless girl, a boxer, and several others.

     Filmmaking has helped Jenks show different walks of life to various audiences. He is not only impacting the lives of people who watch his movie and shows, but also the people he interacts with on the show. “His subjects, however, such as a young autistic man who was initially cautious of letting Jenks into his life, have generally warmed to him rather quickly,” said Nuzhat Naoreen, reporter for MTV.

     Jenks’ love for filmmaking began at a young age. He spent most of his time carrying around a camera and recording whatever he saw because his family moves around a lot. In college, Jenks’s grandpa was in a nursing home, which inspired Jenks to come up with an idea for a documentary. He called countless nursing homes to ask permission to live and film a documentary about the lifestyle of the elderly. The only nursing home that would allow him to do this inspired him to start his career as a filmmaker.

    “I just got in a habit of loving to tell stories,” Jenks said. “That’s why I actually enjoy doing this thing, it’s cool for me to tell stories in a format that I’m not used to.” Jenks talked about how each person he lived with, left him with a new perspective. “When I was homeless for 10 days…living on the streets and in the woods, following this 21 year-old girl who was totally alone, that’s an experience I’ll never forget,” said Jenks. His experiences not only gave him a new perspective, but also open the eyes of his viewers. “You don’t always take time to think about what an autistic person goes through from day to day and what difficulties they struggle with; what we think a homeless person goes through is totally different from what actually happens and there aren’t a whole lot of documentarians willing to go out and do that,” said Allison Mrasek, the CAC Speaker Bureau.

     Other than Jenks finishing season two of The World of Jenks, he is going to be traveling around the country to talk to students about the 2012 elections. Specifically, he’ll be asking what young adults are looking for in a candidate, how they’re feeling about the election, etc. Then he’ll be tracking down the candidates and bringing that message to them. Additionally, he’s considering doing a documentary over the final two candidates and what they were like when they were younger and how it’s affected who they are today.



(Video: Matt Shaffer and Kelsey Hightower :16)
Students' response to speaker Andrew Jenks.