Who We Are
Artistic Director
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Corie Melaugh is a music director, vocal coach, pianist, and orchestrator/arranger in the Oklahoma City metro area. She earned degrees in piano and violin performance from Oklahoma City University (OCU) and a master of Music in Vocal Coaching from the same. She has worked at renowned summer festivals around the US, including Brevard Music Festival, College Light Opera Company, and Opera in the Ozarks. Internationally, she serves as music director for OCU's performances and summer intensives with the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in Tianjin, China, has participated in Tango Sin Fin's Tango for Musicians workshop in Dresden, Germany, and given masterclasses in musical theatre accompaniment and song performance at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Kawasaki, Japan. She is co-founder and music director of The City Cabaret, co-founder and past music director of OCU OPERAtions, and a founder and music director for the OKC-based Fresh Paint Performance Lab, specializing in development of new works. For the past three years, she's served as a music director and orchestrator for Summer Stock Austin (SSA) and Texas Arts Project. Recent projects include The Kelli O'Hara Awards (OKC Broadway), Annie Get Your Gun (SSA), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (SSA), Walk: A New Musical (Fresh Paint Performance Lab - WORLD PREMIERE), and Bernstein's Mass (Canterbury Voices).
Upcoming performances: Sister Act with Summer Stock Austin; J. Cruise Berry's opera How to Cook a Wolf (Theatre Crude Fringe Festival, OKC - WORLD PREMIERE) |
CEO and Producer
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Christopher Black earned Bachelor of Arts in Instrumental Music Eduction (2000) and Master of Business Administration (2010) degrees at Oklahoma City University. He has been an active performer for many years, serving as bassist for The City Cabaret since its inception in 2015 and performing with many other artists including The Savoy Trio, The Kent Fauss Trio, Jessica Tate, and Grassland Caravan. Chris is a state-certified music educator and the Academic Coordinator for El Sistema Oklahoma, a non-profit organization which seeks to improve the lives of inner-city students through classical music.
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Our Founder
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Cristela Carrizales is a respected Oklahoma City actor, singer, improviser and director. She has appeared in a number of stage productions around OKC. Highlights include Veronica in The Motherf**ker With The Hat at KnockDown DragOut; Sponge in James & The Giant Peach and Phantom in The Rocky Horror Show at Lyric Theatre; Christmas Eve in Avenue Q at The Pollard Theatre; Helen in Fat Pig and Susan in [title of show] for Ghostlight Theatre Club; Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dionne in Hair, Charlotte Lucas in Pride & Prejudice for Reduxion Theatre. Directing credits include The Man From Earth for Ghostlight Theatre Club and Same Time, Next Year for Oklahoma City Theatre Company. In addition to her scripted work, Cristela regularly performs at OKC Improv with troupes Chairold, BitSing, After Hours, Down to Funny and NEXT! Other credits include producing and starring in her one-woman show Short, Round & Brown. One-Woman. Plus. and appearing in the films in Cowgirls 'n Angels starring James Cromwell and Just Crazy Enough starring Chris Kattan. Cristela has taught acting to children, teenagers and adults intermittently since 1992 and is currently the Artistic Director of OKC Improv. Cristela is seasoned workshop facilitator, doing educational and corporate trainings on leadership and team building through improv. www.CristelaImprovs.com.