An OBU Affair to Remember

On Friday, April 17th, Oklahoma Baptist University’s [OBU] Campus Activities Board [CAB] had their annual Spring Affair. Spring Affair is a talent show planned by CAB. This years theme was The Grammys and the event was branded as the 111th Annual Spring Affair Awards. Gracelyn Basinger is a Health and Human Performance major, and she was one of the directors of this production.

“One aspect of CAB that I really enjoy is the opportunities you get to play different roles in show production. For every show we do, we have different crews that each have a specific job. I have jumped around from crew to crew over the years and have had a great time doing a lot of different things. I have been a crew head for set design and got to design what shows will look like but I have also been in other crews that get to move props and mics around on stage in between skits and acts (which has probably been my favorite #miccrewbestcrew),” said Basinger. Basinger’s years of experience in CAB gave her the tools to be able to put on such a successful show. Basinger is grateful to CAB for not only giving her great event experience, but also great connections.

“I think CAB has just given me a way to connect with campus, especially this year. As a senior, I spend most of my time working towards completing my graduation requirements and trying to make big life decisions, that I often forget to be intentional about my time left here with these people. This club has given me a constant tie to the rest of campus and developed relationships with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” said Basinger. This was Basinger’s first show to direct and she created many great memories she could not have made anywhere else.

“I think the most satisfying part of the whole production was just being allowed to have the show in the first place AND that it could be inside of Raley. With all of the crazy Covid stuff this past year, we haven’t had the opportunity to have a traditional CAB show since the fall of 2019. I want CAB to continue growing and I think this show gave the current freshman and other students who had not seen a CAB show yet, a good picture of what they can be a part of,” said Basinger. Basinger with her co-director Jacie Thompson, a Senior Nursing major, overcame multiple struggles that COVID presented this year. After much effort, the directors were able to have the shown inside for the first time since Fall of 2019. Even with these multiple challenges, the directors were able to pull off one of the most unforgettable shows CAB has put on in a long time.

“It was a lot different than what I expected! In the past, the directors are more of the behind-the-scenes decision-makers and are not traditionally involved in the live show experience. For the most part, they put all of their effort and energy into the show in the weeks leading up to it and they are a part of the audience when it’s time for the live performance. It was different for us though! Because of the theme of the show, Jacie and I were able to have a bigger part in the presentation of the live show which was great because it was our last CAB show experience as OBU students. It was a lot more work than I initially thought it would be, but I think it was a dream that Jacie and I both had since our freshman year,” said Basinger. Their Senior year was not what they expected it to be, but their spring affair awards was able to be what they hoped for since their Freshman year. With such big shoes to fill, the upcoming Juniors have much to prove in the next year.