4 minute read
South by Southwest
by okcfriday
Science Museum
April 14 • SMO21: Steampunk
Step into the world of wonder and imagination. Take a journey like no other, where you'll be whisked away to the 1800s and a fantastical land of haberdashery, tufting, tea dueling, metal working and so much more. Whether you take inspiration from the Victorian age or the American Wild West, Steampunk will be on display the entire night from 710 pm at Science Museum Oklahoma. Get your hands on the finest fabrics and materials at our haberdashery station and create your very own Steampunkinspired accessories or sink your fingers into the world of tufting to craft a masterpiece. Feeling daring? Put your taste buds and biscuitdunking skills to the test in a fierce game of tea dueling, where only the strongest biscuits survive. Take a stroll through the Parlor Car, marvel at mesmerizing zootropes and visit Science Live for a oneofakind show. Tickets are $25 in advance at sciencemuseumok.org and $30 at the door.
Concerts
March 23 •
Songs We Love Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC)
June 2526 • ProAm Golf Tourney will host a Jazz at Lincoln Center presentsSongs We Love in the Visual and Performing Arts Center at 7:30 pm. The concert will feature upandcoming musicians and singers who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. Songs We Love is a celebration of the history of American jazz and its future. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.occc.edu or by calling 4056827579.
Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) will host the Drew Neville Charity Classic Celebrity ProAm Golf Tournament, presented by Wilson Cadillac. The event will be held at Oak Tree National on Monday, June 26. The proceeds from the event will support Children’s Health Foundation’s pediatric cancer and cardiac surgery programs. On Sunday, June 25, all golfers will enjoy a pairings dinner to find out the celebrity, influencer or professional golfer they will be paired with. On Monday, June 26, there will be 1821 teams competing for bragging rights. However, all amateur players will have a chance to win a 3year lease on every par 3, courtesy of Wilson Cadillac; a chance to win a $10,000 shopping spree at B.C. Clark; closest to the pin prize, courtesy of Thurman Lynch Allstate; and much more. Proceeds from this event will help CHF reach their $6 million fundraising goal to enhance the programs of Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Oklahoma City. The event will also support the Brandon Weeden Cardiac Surgery Research Fund promoting continued advancement of groundbreaking research and care for heart patients. For tickets and to support Children’s Health Foundation, please call 4058333437 or visit chfKids.com.
Theatre
May 24 – June 4 • Hamilton
Single tickets for
Hamilton are on sale at OKCBroadway.com, at the Civic Center Music Hall Box Office, or by calling (405) 5948300. Tickets will be available for performances May 24 –June 4, 2023. There is a maximum purchase limit of 8 tickets per account for the engagement. Tickets from $39 to $149 (plus regular fees) with premium tickets from $179 are available for all performances. There will be a lottery for 40 (forty) $10 seats for all performances. Details will be announced closer to the engagement.
Send calendar events to jennifer@okcfriday.com
Paycom Center Events/Shows:
Blake Shelton March 17
Harlem Globetrotters March 25
Stevie Nicks
The South by Southwest Music, Interactive and Film Festival wraps up this weekend after ten days of high-profile speakers, awesome movies, and loud music pouring out of every bar, club, and converted space in town. Austin, Texas, provides the home base and hundreds of communityminded corporate sponsors provide the financial support for the most exciting festival in America. SXSW repays their generosity by attracting more than 150,000 people to town and infusing more than $300 million into the local economy.
This is the first year that SXSW is fully open since the pandemic, with crowded screenings and packed concerts. The stars are out in full force, with Chris Pine and RegéJean Page promoting their blockbuster Dungeons & Dragons, Keanu Reeves in town with the latest John Wick installment, and new wave pioneers New Order headlining a concert of bands from Manchester, England. The enthusiasm from the grateful crowds is palpable, especially attendees from overseas who are thrilled to be back in America.
This is also my first time back at SXSW since 2019. I was invited by the deadCenter Film team to attend the technology side of the SXSW conference, research virtual reality films, and curate virtual experiences for the deadCenter Film Festival this summer, June 8-11.
Virtual Reality has captivated me for more than a decade. I got my first taste in 2012 when Sundance premiered their first VR experience. By 2017, I was directing my own virtual reality film called The Homecoming Trilogy and launching a VR program for deadCenter. Now, through my company McDaniel Entertainment, I am directing and producing a virtual reality film that will premiere this spring and providing consulting to other filmmakers and companies looking to tell their stories in virtual reality. The SXSW VR line up included more than 60 experiences, presentations, and films from around the world. A few of the exhibits were very elaborate and required putting on full body suits to experience the life of insects or join other attendees to form a virtual band. But, most of the successful films simply allowed virtual reality technology to tell stories in new ways.
JFK Memento is the best example of VR providing a new perspective. The VR film takes the original footage of President John. F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in the Dallas motorcade and expands it into 360 degrees. This new perspective allows the viewer to stand on the
25 Western Heritage Awards Apr. 1415 Celebration of Hope Apr. 15 grassy knoll as the car rides by and then watch again from inside the book depository where the shots were allegedly fired. Without using any graphic images, the film provides a fresh take on an old story and makes it feel new again.
Other VR stand outs at SXSW included multiple films on the war in Ukraine, virtual concerts from Colombian superstar J. Balvin and South Korean girl group Black Mamba, environmental experiences about glaciers and forests, delicious looking food documentaries, and a fun story about Bertha Benz, the first person to ever drive a car long distance.
Outside the VR program, my favorite movie was Black Barbie, an enlightening and entertaining documentary from University of Oklahoma graduate Lagueria Davis. I also caught great films about Donna Summer, the Indigo Girls, and Little Richard
For the next few months, I will meet with the various production companies and whittle down all of the virtual experiences into a curated slate of VR films to present at deadCenter, June 8-11.
If you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering for deadCenter’s virtual reality program this summer, email info@deadcenterfilm.org and they will get you signed up. Otherwise, put those dates in your calendar and get ready to be blown away by the future of entertainment.
