Eric Stehl the Epitome of a Great Teacher

A couple of hours following Eric Stehl clearly shows that he possesses many facets of a great teacher, electrician and person.


Video: Dorion Billups, Runs 2:00

Of the many glowing remarks students made about their Lighting Design Lab Instructor and Master Electrician Eric Stehl, none were quite as remarkable than what University College Emily Maddox said, "He is the epitome of electrician."

Stehl is the man that makes the majority, if not all of the shows you will see on OU's campus look great. He is in charge of the technical aspect of the Drama department, which also works in conjunction with the other School of Fine Arts productions.

His students expressed love and respect to what many called his fatherly nature.

Sam Hughes, a Drama Major with emphasis in Sound production and an undergraduate assistant of Stehl's said this when describing his boss, "Eric's awesome. He's an awesome boss to have. He knows a lot. He's a big friendly teddy bear, he looks scary, but once you get past that tough outer shell he's a good guy."

Not only is he a good guy, but he is also very knowledgable. Stehl is in his fourth year with OU and he does not seem to want to leave anytime soon.

New idea on the Horizon for OU Fine Arts

Ground Lighting waiting to be connected in the Weitzenhoffer Theatre

The University of Oklahoma's Master Electrician Eric Stehl says members of the School of Drama are in the creation stages of an idea to create a School of Design and Production. The school would consist of theatre lighting, sound, staging and production.

"We are hoping to get a program that integrates all of the technical and design aspects for all the (fine arts) schools under one program, under one college," Stehl explained. "It would be a full college of design and production."

Stehl knows the idea is a long way from coming to fruition, but he believes it is an idea that would truly put OU's fine arts program over the top. "It's kind of a dream program, because there isn't really a model for that anywhere in the country," Stehl said.

OU would be the only University in the nation with that specific type of degree program, and Stehl thinks that would be an incredible opportunity for students who want to specialize in the technical aspect of theatre and fine arts.

This idea needs money to have a chance. Stehl understands that and has ideas of his own on how that could work.

"There's a major steel rigging company called Clancy... and they're based in Tulsa and it would be great if they could give us a million or a large amount of money and we could have a Clancy Rigging department, or Clancy Rigging school or program or workshop. And we could use their products and use them to teach students how to do theatre rigging."

While this is just an idea, expect to hear more about this news more in the next calendar year. With the school would come more teachers, and possibly an addition to some of the buildings on campus, so the idea would take more than a couple of years to become a reality. But what a good idea it is.
Eric Stehl looks out on the stage of the Weitzenhoffer Theatre

The UWA Supports more than the Arts

When entering the Fine Arts Center to watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the forum a group of women at a table were seated ready to greet any and everyone that walked into the lobby.

The women were next to a stand that had UWA on it and the sign welcomed them to the even that night and directed them into another room for, presumably, a sort of meet and greet and refreshment area.

The letters UWA stands from University Wome's Association and they saw the final dress rehearsal for the musical after showing their support of the students by providing a $1500 scholarship to one student in the fine arts program. What also came to light is that they did this for many other colleges. In fact, the UWA has helped students from the majority of colleges, but in the last year they raised the scholarship amount to $1500 from $1000.

The event that night was a fundraiser for the next line of scholars they were going to support. Those students come from the colleges of Architecture, Engineering, Musical Theatre and more.

Their president, Jann Knotts is heading up the initiative and is very proud that they are able to give more money to students of different colleges to show their support of them.

For more information on the UWA visit uwa.ou.edu.

Audio Test

Audio Test

Spring Vball Practice

This is the OU Women's Volleyball Team. They are practicing for the Spring. You hear Brianne Barker talk about the Training room and after that you will see some photos of the girls and the coaches practicing.