College of Fine Arts and Design
Mitchell Hall
Mitchell Hall, UCO’s performing arts venue since 1926, is the showcase for the College of Fine Arts and Design's Department of Theatre Arts and Department of Dance and the UCO School of Music’s theatrical productions and concerts featuring UCO’s talented and award-winning students.
Mitchell Hall is also the home of the Broadway Tonight! series, and a variety of campus wide events.
History Directions Ticket Info Seating Chart Theatre Etiquette Links
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Mitchell Hall Staff
Director of Facilities and Productions for Mitchell Hall Theatre: Meghan Brasuell, mbrasuell@uco.edu, (405) 974-2566
Box Office Manager: Jordan Domanski,jdomanski@uco.edu, (405) 974-3375
Head of Theater Design, Scenic Designer/Technical Director: Chris Domanski, cdomanski@uco.edu, (405) 974-2518
Assistant Technical Director: Timothy King, tking22@uco.edu, (405) 974-2518
Costume Designer: Cate Wieck,cwieck@uco.edu, (405) 974-5151
Lighting Designer: Angela Marks, jmarks@uco.edu, (405) 974-2546
Assistant Lighting Designer: Ellen Schmidt, eschmidt2@uco.edu, (405) 974-2552
Mitchell Hall, UCO’s center for the performing arts, was the first of three auditoriums designed by the architectural firm of Layton & Smith in Central Oklahoma and built by Homboe Construction Company (the other two are at Oklahoma City University and Oklahoma Baptist University).The building, dedicated in June 29, 1926, was built at a coast of $130,000 and was named in honor of Central’s president at the time, John G. Mitchell.
In the years since, the theater has been the home to a variety of campus performing groups ranging from The Blue Curtain Players, The Bronze and Blue Review, and The Orchesis Dancers in the early years to today’s popular and acclaimed performing arts program. A number of famous personalities have performed or lectured in the theater over the years: comedian W.C. Fields, aviator Amelia Earhart, poet Robert Frost, opera singers Jussi Bjoerling and Lauritz Melchior, dancer/choreographer Agnes De Mille and, in recent years, writers William Saroyan, James Dickey and M.B. Tolson, big band leader Stan Kenton, The Alvin Ailey Dance Company; country artist Jimmy Dean, opera singer Martina Arroyo, jazz legend Clark Terry, and concert pianist Valery Kuleshov – Silver Medalist at the 1998 Van Cliburn Piano Competition. The university’s Broadway Tonight series has hosted national tours of Broadway musicals and concerts featuring artists including: The Lettermen, Patti Page, Sandi Patti, Shirley Jones, Betsy Palmer, Tom Troupe, Betty Garrett, pianists Roger Williams and Pearl Kaufman and John Astin. Summertime brings the StrawHat Music Theatre productions and the Annual Summer Ice Cream and Watermelon Band Festival held on the front lawn of the theatre.
On the theater’s interior walls, beneath layers of paint, are murals commissioned in 1934 by the Public Works of Art Project which were painted by the famous Pawnee-Creek artist, Acee Blue Eagle.
The building has undergone a series of renovations over the years including the installation of cushioned theater seating, carpeting, modern restrooms, lighting and sound system upgrades, and, on the building’s sixtieth anniversary, central heat and air conditioning were added for the fist time ever. The scene shop, crossover/storage, dressing rooms and multipurpose additions added approximately 5000 square feet to the facility in 1997.
Mitchell Hall Theater
University Drive and Main Street
Edmond, OK 73034
Telephone: 405-974-3375, Ticket Office
Driving directions from I-35:
1. Exit from I-35 at exit #141 (2nd Street, US Highway 77).
2. Heading west on 2nd Street, drive approximately 2.8 miles.
The University of Central Oklahoma will be on your right.
3. Turn RIGHT (North) onto UNIVERSITY DRIVE.
(Landmark: There is a low, circular planter with four (4) tall flagpoles on the
Right side of the road at the intersection of 2nd Street and University Drive.)
Go to the first traffic signal (two (2) blocks North) at Main Street. Turn Right onto
Main Street.
4. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE THERE!
Mitchell Hall Theatre is on the Northeast corner of University Drive and Main Street.
Parking is on the Southeast corner of University Drive and Main Street in the UCO Parking Lot #8 for Theatre patrons during performances. (Parking is FREE.)
Driving directions from Broadway Extension and Memorial Drive:
(From Oklahoma City)
(The Broadway Extension becomes Broadway at this point.)
1. Heading North on Broadway, go approximately 3 miles.
2. Turn RIGHT (East) onto 2nd Street, (US Highway77). Drive 4 blocks to the 3rd traffic signal. You are now at University Drive. The University of Central Oklahoma will be
on your Left.
3. Turn LEFT (North) onto UNIVERSITY DRIVE. (Landmark: There is a low, circular
planter with four (4) tall flagpoles on the Left side of the road at the intersection of 2nd Street and University Drive.) Go to the first traffic signal (two (2) blocks North)
at Main Street. Turn RIGHT onto Main Street.
4. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE THERE!
Mitchell Hall Theatre is on the Northeast corner of University Drive and Main Street.
Parking is on the Southeast corner of University Drive and Main Street in the UCO Parking Lot #8 for Theatre patrons during performances. (Parking is FREE.)
Ticket Office Hours
The Mitchell Hall Theater Ticket Office is normally open 10am until 5pm, Monday through Friday. The Ticket Office also opens one hour before evening performances for "At Door" sales. Except under unusual circumstances, the Ticket Office is closed Saturdays and Sundays, as well as most State Holidays.
Ticket Info
All tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Use MasterCard, VISA, DISCOVER, check or cash. Checks should be made payable to UCO. "At Door" prices are in effect the day of performance. If your event is at a venue other than Mitchell Hall Theater, ticket sales cease at 4:00pm, at which time the ticket sales are transferred to the performance venue.
Advance Tickets and Season Ticket Info call 405-974-3375.
Discounted Tickets
For many events, discounted tickets are available in several categories, such as Senior Citizen, Student, UCO Student, UCO Staff and Faculty as well as Group rates. Some events have very liberal discount policies; some are very limited. Inclusion guidelines also vary greatly among the various organizations, such as the age definition of Senior Citizen, the age range for Student tickets, and the number of people who constitute a discountable group. Call the Ticket Office for details. A valid UCO Identification Card is the only acceptable means of identification for a UCO discount. The Ticket Office personnel are not allowed to accept any other means of identification.
Note:
- Please check your tickets before leaving the Ticket Office.
- UCO policy does not allow for refunds or exchanges.
- A valid UCO ID is required to receive a discount.
Box Office Hours
Reservations: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday thru Friday
Telephone: 974-3375 OR 974-2513
Performance Days
Evening Curtain Time: 7:30 pm, Box office opens at 6:30pm
Matinee Curtain Time- 2:00 pm, Box office opens at 1:00 pm
Broadway Tonight Curtain - 7:30 pm
2012-2013 Performing Arts Season Ticket Prices: Theatre, Musicals, Operas and Dance
Adults - $14.00
Senior Citizen (55 & over) - $10.00
UCO Faculty & Staff - $10.00
UCO Students - $4.00
Music Concerts
Adults - $8.00
Senior Citizen (55 & over) - $6.00
UCO Faculty & Staff - $6.00
UCO Students - $4.00
Season Flex Pass
The Season Flex Pass gives you 12 tickets to any UCO Performing Arts Season production or concert* for the low price of $96. You are given a card which is punched each time you use a ticket. Bring a friend to a show or use all 12 yourself. To order, call (405) 974-3375.
*excludes Valery Kuleshov concerts and UCO Jazz Lab shows
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Seating Chart
A performing arts event is the result of a lot of hard work. Performing artists have trained, planned, prepared, rehearsed, and are ready to present their best performance. The arts managers have developed funding, marketing and promotional materials, ticketing and program information. Technicians and house staff have prepared the venue, conditioned the atmosphere, rehearsed lighting, sound, and special effects in support of the performers.
Our friends, families, neighbors, business associates, and elected officers have volunteered to provide leadership, management skills and funding by buying tickets and giving gifts of money to ensure the health of active and productive arts organizations. All of this is prepared for the comfort, education, entertainment, enjoyment and cultural enrichment of the whole community. Each member of the arts audience also should be prepared.
Before the performance:
- Read the play or opera or read articles, critiques of summaries about the work in the library.
- Listen to the music or read about the musical work.
- Attend the pre-concert lecture.
At the performance:
- Dress appropriately for the occasion. The Kennedy Center in Washington DC provides an appropriate model for dress. America’s art center is accessible to everyone. One can see concert-goers in formal attire and tee shirts with blue jeans at the same event. Art is a celebration of life. If you can’t be art–wear art: baseball caps are not art.
- Taking flash photography and using video light is never appropriate. Flash and video lights in a performer’s eyes can be dangerous to the performer. Flashes disrupt the lighting effects, and the pleasure of the other audience members who came to see the performance. Performers own the copyright of their image and performance – when you take a photo you are stealing their property. Flash attachments are only effective within about eight feet of the subject–using a flash beyond that distance is a signal that the flasher is rank, rude and uniformed. Taking flash photography will get you thrown out of the event.
- Always arrive well before the performance time–others did. They paid for their tickets and deserve to enjoy the best performance without disturbances. Late arrivals will be seated at the pleasure of the ushers–it is their job to enforce this rule. Entering the auditorium while the music is playing is rude and disrespectful.
- Talking and making comments are inappropriate.
- Receiving telecommunications or audible alarm signals is inappropriate in a performance. If it chirps, rings, beeps, or whistles, turn it off. However, the house manager will assist any medical and other critical response personnel by receiving and relaying messages.
- Applause is always appropriate–in the right places: jazz and popular music; performers of jazz music appreciate applause after a solo within a song and popular music performers receive applause after each song. Orchestral or choral music are frequently performed in "movements" which are sections of the entire work that are distinct. The music often stops between "movements."
- One does not applaud between "movements." Recitalists – solo or ensembles of "classical style" sometimes called "serious" music or "art song." Recitalists frequently arrange their performance in groupings by composer or by language. One does not applaud between songs in a grouping.
- Opera is arranged as in theatre in scenes and acts, the solo performers sing recitative, arias and ensembles (duet, trio, etc.) Recitative is sung story-telling that moves the action. Arias and ensembles are the character "songs" of the opera and are frequently included in recitals or concerts. Performers appreciate applause after and aria or an opera ballet if the action of the story allows a pause in the music. Encores are not usually performed in opera. Curtain calls in opera frequently include appreciative shouts of approbation. In Italian language opera one can hear "Bravo" for male, "Brava" for the female performers and "Bravi" for the ensemble. "Ole" is the Spanish equivalent. We discourage "Yee-Ha!" and "Wha-Hoo!" There is no human society that does not sing.
- Music Theatre performers appreciate applause after a song or dance combination."Show stopping tunes" frequently receive encores. Theatre performers are trained to "wait for it" when laughter and applause greets their characterizations. The set designer appreciates the curtain rise applause. Familiar performers are frequently applauded when the make their first entrance and their last exit.
- Circus and Variety Performances–applause in circus acts of physical strength, grace and skill and illusions of the magician seldom receive enough applause. The performer can hear you just as clearly as you can hear the performer. Your enthusiastic applause encourages the best performance. Cheer them on to even greater exhibitions.
- Dance Theatre and Ballet: dancers are among the best-trained athletes you may eve see in person. It takes daily training to keep their bodies in top condition that makes their leaps, lifts and twirls seem easy–it’s not easy and falls happen. Before you laugh or criticize try to do it yourself. Telling a story, expressing thoughts and emotions with movement through space, light and time deserves applause and shouts of joy. Le Grande Reverence–the "Curtain Call" The final bow and ovation is the opportunity for you and the performers to acknowledge your mutual appreciation for being well prepared for the performance.
- Laughter makes you live longer. He who does not laugh has no heart. He who does not laugh at himself has no soul. The difference between a "wit" and a "wag" is that a "wit makes jokes about himself while a "wag" makes disparaging comment about others.
Courtesy of Sarah Graham Kenan Auditorium, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
100 North University Drive, Edmond, OK 73034 | (405) 974-2000