Celebrating 25 Years: April Okken

As we approach our 25th Anniversary production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this summer, we’re celebrating by looking back through our history.

April Okken got her start at CYTKC in 2003 with Robin Hood, and since then has been a part of countless shows and classes. We were excited to talk to her about her time as a choreographer and dance teacher!

 
“I did Seussical five times which was really fun and got to change it up a little bit every time and see different kids do different parts. And I love Joseph, and I’m so excited to do that again. West Side Story, Footloose, any show where I can challenge the kids and challenge me as a choreographer. It’s just really really fun to see them step up to the expectations and see like having me try something new or try Broadway choreography and let’s see if we can learn it together.”
 
“First Act is really just showing like the hands and feet of God, the whole body working together, that it’s not just about one person it takes each and every one of us, and we couldn’t do it just one person. It has to be a community, and it’s an amazing community. It’s just a big family, and so it was my family before, and I would bring my kids and they would just kind of sit and hang out and then they got to be a part of it. So it was always a family no matter what, whether they were in the show or not, and then once I got to be on stage with them like yay finally, it’s my turn!”
 
“They’ve continued to be a family, like I have students that are now my friends that I teach with, and they have kids. They teach my kids, I teach their kids, just having that whole family throughout the whole 22 years has been just really great.”

What's Happening at First Act?

Praying with Hope for the Future

At First Act Theatre Arts, we are excited and prayerfully looking forward, with abundant hope, that our next home is becoming a reality. Throughout the next year of our Capital Campaign, it is imperative that we make this journey rooted in Christ and the purposes created for us.

High School Musical Jr. Director’s Letter

First Act’s Middle School Overnight Camp is always my favorite week of the summer. When I heard that High School Musical Jr. was our show this year, somehow my excitement for this week grew exponentially. My first camp experience with First Act was a High School Musical summer camp when I was five years old, and I cannot comprehend that I am now directing the musical with the same organization!

Nine to Five Director’s Letter

Before the 9 to 5 movie and musical we know and love, there was a movement that inspired both. 9to5 is an organization created in 1973 by clerical workers to respond to the inequities, unfairness, and outright harassment and discrimination they were experiencing in the workplace. These courageous, tenacious, and fierce women organized and banded together to advocate for themselves and for a better future for working women. 9to5 still exists today, fighting every day for equal wages, paid family leave, and a harassment-free workplace. Their work continues to advance racial and gender justice through community-led advocacy as they seek widespread, long-lasting change.