OPAS Spring Retreat

     The MSC OPAS Student Committee enjoyed our Spring Retreat earlier this month. Retreats are held once each semester and are an opportunity for both old and new members to get to know each other better and learn more about OPAS. Retreats are themed and members are encouraged to dress the part in costumes related to the theme. This semester's theme was "Not All Heroes Wear Capes" and our members got into the spirit dressed as everything from heroes from games and movies to everyday heroes like baristas and nurses. 

 

     Students had lunch together, participated in games and team building activities, and learned about applying to be a leader for next season's committee. Retreats are planned and executed by a team of Students in charge of Student Development within the committee, and as usual, they did a fantastic job! Please enjoy some photos of students enjoying the activities and games. 

OPASite of the Month: Aaron Steubing

Aaron Steubing started OPAS as a sophomore in the Fall of 2013. Now, he's a senior Economics major working toward his graduation this December. Aaron has been one of OPAS's most involved members since he joined, and has served as a manager for both the Internal Relations and Publicity and Advertising teams. Since we just welcomed our newest members into the OPAS family, we wanted to ask this seasoned veteran about his time in OPAS and what his advice to new members would be.

Can you tell me a little about your time as an OPASite?
"My first and second years I was just a Committee Member and I did what I needed but wasn't fully involved. Then, I became an Internal Relations manager and got a lot more involved through that. Now, I'm a Publicity and Advertising manager and I've gotten to help with things like First Friday, Party on the Plaza, and now we're getting ready to advertise for the rest of the season!"

What's been your favorite performance to work and why?
"Jerry Seinfeld. I just really like his type of humor... the other one would be Beauty and the Beast because not only do I like the music, but I also loved the staging and technical aspects. As far as performances on campus, that's probably the most technologically advanced I've seen."

What's the best thing you've gotten from being in OPAS?
"It helped me so much with my communication skills. Before OPAS, and college in general, I didn't really talk a lot. Being in OPAS where open communication is more accepted and encouraged has helped me a ton with my people skills. Then there's the friendships I've made here. I kind of just went solo my freshman year--didn't really get along with my roommate, mostly talked to people in class. So being in OPAS has helped me make friends in college, and it's been much better than the first year."

What advice would you give a first year member just starting out?
"My first piece of advice would be to talk to other OPAS people. Just talk and communicate! Not only to make friends but also just to keep sanity, talk to people who have 'been there.' Second, if it gets too crazy, just take a deep breath and look at the big picture. You don't have to be Superman and do everything out there. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be helping OPAS much anyway. Finally, find a hobby that isn't related to school at all that you can use just to destress. I like to play video games or go see a movie."

OPAS is certainly lucky to have such a dedicated, positive member in Aaron. He truly cares for the organization and everyone in it, and it shows in all of his hard work for the organization. Congratulations to Aaron, and thank you for everything you do!

Amanda Ibarra

OPASite of The Month:

Amanda Ibarra

Amanda Ibarra started as a general committee member in MSC OPAS her freshman year in the Fall of  2013. Now a junior Allied Health major with a minor in Theatre, she is the newly-chosen Chair of MSC OPAS for Season 44. Before indulging in what the upcoming season may hold, she first reflected back on her first three years in OPAS:

"I was lost and trying to find my place. I shied away from being the person that I am today. Honestly, I was a little scared of OPAS when I first joined but I eventually grew to socialize outside of my subcommittee. Then I applied for a manager position for Season 42. My second year was probably my rockiest year. I gave my manager position all of my heart from beginning to end. There were a few hiccups along the way but I grew from it and I decided to continue to grow my leadership in OPAS. This season, I was able to use all I’ve learned to lead within the FoHOPs manager team. It was unique to see the impact of the skills that I’ve developed inside and outside of OPAS. My leadership experience in OPAS and as the SCOLA Director this year aided my decision to apply for OPAS chair." - Amanda

Amanda's OPAS journey illustrates the uniqueness of our organization. MSC OPAS is not only an organization that provides A&M students with an opportunity to develop teamwork and leadership skills, but it is also a place where they can find strength and personal growth. This is how a self-proclaimed lost freshman was able to realize her goals, despite the obstacles she found along the way.

"My goal has always been to be the Chair. Even from the first year, I knew I wanted to be Alex Dunn [the Chair for Season 41]. And even though I didn’t take the direct path to Chair that I originally intended, I figured what was meant to happen would happen." - Amanda

What was meant to happen was for Amanda Ibarra to jump from a FoHOPs manager to the highest student leadership position in MSC OPAS: Chair. She took a moment to comment on her vision for the upcoming season:

"The seasons and performances are growing faster than OPAS as a student organization. We need to be adaptive and open to change that will lead to positive growth. Although change is scary, sometimes it is necessary. Also, whatever is changed can always be changed back. Season 44 is going to be trying something different to encourage positive growth for OPAS and hopefully this will help us keep up with our growing seasons." - Amanda

MSC OPAS is lucky to have a strong, dedicated, and collaborative leader like Amanda to help guide and transition the organization into a new era. Even though there is still much left in store for Amanda's college career, she articulated how OPAS has impacted her so far:

"Of course I can talk about the meaningful friendships that I’ve developed, but that’s too obvious. OPAS helped me grow in my leadership as well as a person. Without OPAS, I don’t think I would have made it through some of the hardships that I’ve had in my college experience. The leadership skills I’ve developed in OPAS have already helped me run conferences through the MSC and I know it will contribute to success in my future career." - Amanda

February Fun & Noël Handy

February Fun

Spring Break is just on the horizon, but let's take a moment to reflect on the fantastic OPAS February that you all helped make possible. We started off the month with the reflective and emotional "Post Secret: The Show" two-night performance. "Post Secret" author, Frank Warren, was gracious enough to conduct a Q&A following the first night's performance. He took the time to speak with every fan on an individual basis and he embodied the open-mindedness and humor of the special event. On a lighter note, America's Got Talent Winners, "Olate Dogs Rescue Tour", brightened up the theater stage with a fun acrobatic rescue dog extravaganza. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" drew a sold-out crowd in the latter half of February and lastly "Million Dollar Quartet" brought the house down for a two-night performance to finish off the month. Of course, we can't forget the incredibly important Education Outreach (EO) that OPAS does for the local schools! We would like to extend a big thanks to Student Director of EO Katy Gray, her managers (Taylor Rowland & Quynh Lam), and the EO Master of Everything Shanna Wright for all of the work they did to make their multiple performances a success!

OPASite of The Month: Noël Handy

Noël Handy joined OPAS as a sophomore in the Fall of 2013 per the request of his friend, and current OPASite, Quynh Lam. Because of his background in music with high school band, he was excited to join an organization that is so closely linked with the Fine Arts. But despite his initial excitement, Noël never expected OPAS to have quite the impact that it had on his college career.

"I didn’t think I would be as involved and as close to the people in OPAS as I am. But over the past 3 years, OPAS has really become my family and some of my closest friends are in this organization. You just need to take advantage of the one-on-one opportunities that arise during various activities like working Tent Sales and attending socials. It’s the more intimate activities, not just performance nights with everyone, where you have the chance to make close friends." - Noël

After spending one year as a General Committee Member (GCM), Noël felt compelled to apply for a leadership position in OPAS. He was selected as a member of Zach Vaughn's Front of House Operations (FoHOPs) team where he ensured that his zones in the auditorium & theater were running smoothly. He had fond memories to share about his time on the FoHOPs team:

"I really treasured last year - being on the manager team and becoming closer to everyone on the team. It was really a learning experience and an avenue for me to exercise leadership. Also, I felt like one of the faces of OPAS because I was always up in the front! Honestly, the fact that I enjoyed my job and the people that I was working with made it an all around beneficial experience." - Noël

But as an organization that prides itself on offering new challenges and leadership development every year, OPAS took Noël's talent and placed it in Maura Lytle's Back of House Operations (BoHOPs) team for Season 43. 

"In general, it’s a completely different learning experience from FoHOPs and there are so many different tasks that I never expected to be doing. But we have a great team and Maura enables us all to get our jobs done - I respect her so much."  - Noël

So with Season 43 coming to a close, OPAS will soon be losing one of its most dedicated OPASites. But before he leaves, Noël Handy wanted to share his reflection on the three years he spent in OPAS:

"OPAS has impacted my entire college experience. From the people I interact with daily to the experiences I’ve had, it has helped me grow into a better person. I know it sounds cliché, but the more you put into OPAS, the more you get out of it. The more effort I put into gaining new experiences, the more beneficial it was. I have a more holistic appreciation for the performing arts, thanks to OPAS." - Noël

NYC, Gala Glamour, and Nathan Seago!

Welcome back OPASites and OPAS-friends! We hope you all enjoyed a well-deserved and relaxing winter holiday and that you're ready to hit the ground running. As "NYC, Gala Glamour, and Nathan Seago" suggests, there are a few things that have already happened in 2016 that we would love to share. First, let's start with...

NYC APAP Convention

While most of you were out enjoying your holiday break, the OPAS Staff and a few OPASites attended the Annual APAP Convention in New York City! This convention serves as a unique opportunity to meet professionals and talent from the Performing Arts Industry in order to help the OPAS Board Members create the anticipated schedule for the following season. The student representatives consisted of 6 Student Executive Team members (Katy Gray, Kristin Janecek, Kalyn Clark, Michelle Kratofil, Anna Pendergrass, and Bradley D'Souza) and 2 outstanding OPASite Managers (Amanda Ibarra and Jacob de Jongh).

OPAS Gala

We wrapped up the month of January with dancing the night away at the annual OPAS Gala: Around the World in Eighty Days. This is one of the most anticipated events in the Bryan/College Station community for the Winter season and it always puts the "fun" in fundraising! A huge thanks to OPAS Encore, Megan Kim (Student Director of Funds), and her manager team (Macy Hicks and Cody Harding) for all of their effort in organizing the event! (The majority of Gala event pictures are available on the OPAS Facebook page)

OPASite of the Month: Nathan Seago

As a way to recognize the amazing members that OPAS is lucky to have, we have decided to start a new recurring feature called OPASite of the Month. Picking the first subject for this feature came surprisingly easy to the Staff and the Executive team because his story is so deeply ingrained in OPAS history...

Nathan Seago joined OPAS in the Fall of 2015, but his connection to our organization began much earlier than that. As a Byran/College Station native and resident for a major portion of his life, Nathan grew up attending OPAS performances with his family and especially his grandparents for as long as he could remember. However, a childhood of OPAS performances only scrapes the surface for Nathan's history with this organization: 

"Walter Parsons, my great grandfather, was the first President on the OPAS Board of Directors. He helped start the OPAS student committee and even organize the first Gala. He just started as a faculty member with the University when he was asked to help with the newly built Rudder Theater Complex and bring entertainment to campus." - Nathan

As a sophomore Geophysics major in the Corps of Cadets, Nathan joined OPAS as "a way to engage with students who have the same interest/passion [for the performing arts]" as him and as an organization where he can gain leadership skills. Though he hasn't been with us for very long, he's continuing a rich family tradition and has already been positively impacted by the student committee:

"OPAS has been a place where I’ve quickly made friends and every time there is an event, it’s something I look forward to. Like our [Season 43] slogan says, it’s "Positively Enchanting" - not only enchanting the audiences, but also the members. There’s never a dull moment; the OPASites have such a spark that they’re always bringing to people – its magic." - Nathan

VoicePlay After Party & Executive Team

MSC OPAS Season 43 is in full swing with OPAS-tober already upon us - but let's take a moment to look back on what we did in September! VoicePlay was "origimagidiculous" with their high-energy performance on September 17th. They were kind enough to follow the performance with an autograph signing session and an exclusive after party where they mingled with patrons and OPASites. Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters performed on September 24th and they brought the house down with their fresh interpretation of "Uptown Funk". Speaking of fresh, check out these fresh pictures of our executive team! They sawed 'em off in the blistering heat for that perfect playbill picture - keep an eye out when you're working the next show!

Also, a huge welcome to the new OPASites that have joined us for the remainder of Season 43 - we are so excited to have you all with us!

Party on the Plaza & Gig 'Em Week Social

Even though the new school year has yet to officially start, OPAS Season 43 is already in full-swing! Opasites have been working diligently to recruit new members for this Fall through events such as Party on the Plaza and our very own Gig 'Em Week social. Party on the Plaza is an annual MSC event that allows all MSC student organizations to participate with their own information booth while providing live entertainment and refreshments. This was a wonderful opportunity for the current Opasites to engage with the class of 2019 and hopefully pique their interest in OPAS! Our Gig 'Em Week social was a more intimate opportunity for interested students to get to know the Opasites and receive more information about us. It was a successful afternoon of mingling, cookies, and getting out of the August heat! A huge thank you to all of those who staffed these events and especially Kalyn Clark, Kristen Janecek, Bradley D'Souza, and their teams for their masterful organization skills!

Party on the Plaza

Gig 'Em Week Social