On The Beat: DRAMA CLUB
Once upon a time, everywhere and time and time again, kids put on skits in the living room—churning air mattress pumps to the beat of silly melodies, dancing on the sofa to Spice Girls when no one was home, singing in under-construction homes for best acoustics, taking theatre classes and watching Project Runway three seasons straight—grew up and met friends who loved dancing, had a tiny party, dreamed of large and medium parties, and enjoyed free movement.
“We started Drama Club to be an environment that encourages freedom of expression through music, fashion, and dancing. It is a place for people to get lost in good music and dance the night away with their best friends," says Logan Bruhn, co-founder of the DJ group The Links.
Walking up to The Riverside Studio (also known as Tulsa Spotlight Theatre) encompasses many endearing qualities of Tulsa: An evening on Riverside, parking along the street, and walking up the trail to cross toward the Bruce Goff architectural cutie. It’s low stress—no looking for parking downtown, enduring lines or crowds, hoping the vibe is right at Vitus tonight.
“The ethos of Drama Club, in a way, started as a response to what we were observing and what close friends were experiencing in Club Culture at the time in Tulsa—sometimes settings in which people felt like they couldn’t express themselves freely or that they did not feel safe in those sort of environments. We wanted to create an atmosphere for people to express themselves in whatever way they would like and to feel safe doing it. It is a very communal-based event, and I hope everyone that attends can feel that energy in a tangible way,” says Tyler Sexton, co-founder of The Links.
The dance community of Tulsa is diverse and not without overlap; ecstatic dancers, club dancers, and those trained with performance quality see each other out and about and are always looking for more dance connection opportunities. Drama Club was designed with this in mind—an event that brings the dance community of Tulsa together and blends the energy of the club with the intention of the studio.
Dress-up themes are a part of the Drama Club culture and have featured the concepts: INTERSTELLAR, UNDERWORLD, HARD FREEZE, TOO HOT TO HANDLE, and most recently, JOCK JAMS. June’s rendition of the event will be hard to beat. Riverside Studio is located on the site of ‘Cry Baby Hill,’ Tulsa’s iconic finale to the international Tulsa Tough bike race, and Drama Club 05 brought out the crowd as an essential stop on the weekend’s event circuit.
“Drama Club has opened up a space for the artists and dancers of Tulsa to let loose and be unapologetically themselves. For those who long for the dance floor, Drama Club has become home base. The links never disappoint with their impeccable DJ sets; they bring the energy to the floor that’s making you want to dance your ass off, featuring incredible original music each time. “I’m so grateful to have a space like Drama Club here in Tulsa; it’s something I’ve felt has been missing from our club scene for too long," says artist and dancer Joy Bruhn.
Drama Club is made possible by @itsthelinks, @pophouse.media, @riversidestudiotulsa + many more passionate individuals who have made this a special event for Tulsa. Follow these contributors for the latest Drama Club updates.