Board Blog: A Muskie Christmas

Although the holiday season is coming to a close, I’d like share how our Orbit Media students at Muskingum University spread Christmas cheer through a student-produced special program titled “A Muskingum Christmas.”

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Lisa Marshall, CBI Treasurer

The story goes something like this … I was at #CBISeattle and my audio production class was feeling extra creative to get into the holiday spirit. When I returned from the convention, the pitch for the variety show style program was sketched on a napkin and students were anxiously awaiting approval from the department to move forward. The shared excitement to get the show off the ground was very contagious.

Within six weeks, students wrote the script, recruited the cast, singers, and broadcast crew to produce “A Muskingum Christmas!” The show was performed in our campus theatre in front of a live audience the day before finals week began. Cast members and singers collaborated from the theatre and music departments, with a special ukulele performance by a history department colleague. Fellow students, faculty, staff, community members, and families filled our theatre. The program additionally aired live on our TV cable channel and radio station, with re-airings through Christmas.

Behind the scenes, the program was an innovative way to bring together a theatre performance with our broadcast capabilities, as the program could be seen or heard live three ways. I recommend collaborating across disciplines for a broadcast production like this if you have the available resources. Our students are planning on making “A Muskingum Christmas” an annual tradition.

Check out the performance on our Orbit TV YouTube Channel: http://youtu.be/3OQO4GsKrek?t=15s