This year at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, students will participate in a special extracurricular class to learn the basics of improvisation!
This year's improv elective will encourage students to stretch their boundaries and exercise their minds, skill sets that are sure to come in handy later on, no matter what their discipline!
The improv elective is being taught by San Francisco-based actor and improviser Regina Saisi. Saisi is an instructor at American Conservatory Theater, the Marin County School District, and BATS Improv, where she serves as Dean.
Former Poet Laureate of the United States and OSAI creative writing guest artist Billy Collins was featured recently in a TEDTalks video podcast. In the video, Collins shares a project he worked on in collaboration with Sundance Channel that turned several of his poems into miniature animated films.
Collins includes five of his poems in the talk, including "Budapest," "Forgetfullness," and "Some Days," all animated by Julian Grey/Head Gear, "The Country" animated by Brady Baltezor/Radium and "The Dead" animated by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous. Collins then finishes off the talk by reading a more recent original poem, "To my favorite 17-year-old high school girl," receiving a standing ovation from the audience, many members even stomping their feet in appreciation.
The Oklahoma Arts Institute remains ever grateful to Billy Collins for sharing his talents with our students. Check the video out below!
