Ruth Brelsford promotes theatre arts in Latimer County

Jul. 22—WILBURTON — Ruth Askew Brelsford teared up as she stood on the stage realizing her dream of bringing theatre to her southeast Oklahoma home became reality.

The Latimer County Arts Council director received flowers and a signed poster from the cast of "The Sound of Music" following the recent finale of three shows, along with a heartfelt thank you from members and rousing applause from the audience at Eastern Oklahoma State College's Mitchell Auditorium.

Her assertive presence momentarily melted with tears welling up behind her glasses as the director's thunderous voice broke with gratitude for the more than 60 cast and crew that drove thousands of miles to make the production possible.

"When words fail, music speaks," Ruth said. "Thank you for making my dream come true."

Ruth was born in Poteau and said she grew up reading or watching movies as a child instead of riding bikes or playing outside.

Most of Ruth's formative years were spent in Bartlesville and she went on to earn an undergraduate degree in theater performance from Tulsa University.

Ruth was a former actress on several off-Broadway productions in the Tulsa area at Actors Theater — like "The Importance of Being Earnest," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Cheaper by the Dozen," "Waiting for Godot," and many more.

She said her experience in theatre and her mentor, Dr. Nancy Vunovich, built a passion and appreciation for character study in bringing a role to life.

Ruth challenged actors in the recent "The Sound of Music" production to learn more about the history and conflict leading up to and after World War II to make the production more authentic. A local priest also agreed to teach about the Catholic faith, proper Latin pronunciations, and more to help the actors accurately portray their characters.

"I'm a person who really believes that a musical is at its best when it's sung well, but also acted well, so that we believe that human beings are expressing themselves in songs rather than just going from one song to the next," Ruth said.

Brelsford directed theater in Tulsa for 20 years and was the theater instructor at Holland Hall and Jenks high schools before she and her husband Les Brelsford decided they wanted to live in the country.

They moved to Latimer County in 1999 after she accepted the theater instructor position at Eastern Oklahoma State College. She taught theater at EOSC for six years before becoming the public speech instructor.

Ruth also started the Latimer County Arts Council with the goal of making the area a hub for the arts.

"My dream is that we establish a summer musical here in Wilburton that draws talent from all over this five-county region but also draws audience," Ruth said. "And that we become so established and our quality is so high, which that is already in place, and that we have that every single year.

"I want us to become like Discovery Land was for Oklahoma," she said.

"The Sound of Music" is based on Maria von Trapp's 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers set in Austria on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938. It inspired a musical with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II composing the music, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.

The original Broadway production opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards. The 1965 film adaptation won five Academy Awards and starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

She said more than 60 people from nine different towns in Latimer, Pittsburg, Haskell, Leflore, and Pushmataha Counties auditioned and a bevy of volunteers offered to help with set, costumes, props, lighting and sound.

Eastern Oklahoma State College and several businesses and civic organizations sponsored the production, and Ruth credited the Oklahoma Arts Council and Latimer County Tourism for their partnership in making it possible.

Ruth said the Latimer County Arts Council will continue working to promote arts in the area — like helping classes buy materials, providing resources to art teachers, and more.

"Our mission is to support, inspire and nurture the arts in Latimer County," Ruth said.