|
Teacher blesses
students
By Bernadette Shinault
"Be blessed and favored" is just one of the many inspirational sayings
you would hear from Wesley Brainard when he instructed Fundamentals
of Acting classes for Drama majors and non-majors at Oral Roberts
University. Brainard said he chose "Be blessed and favored" as his
favorite quote because, "It is who I am and who I want to be, every
day of my life."
Brainard grew up in a Christian home and began following God at
a very young age. During high school, he participated in events
such as speech, drama and theatre, and aspired to become a performer/comedian.
His motivation for this was Bill Cosby. Brainard would listen to
Bill Cosby albums and use Cosby's jokes to draw a crowd and have
a good time. Brainard enjoyed the reactions from the crowd, and
instantly knew this was what he wanted out of life. He moved to
France and lived there for three years where he studied under Marcel
Marceau, a famous mime.
In 1990, Brainard founded Charakter Ministry of the Arts, through
which he dramatizes stories from the Bible for churches and other
groups. Brainard's first performances were strictly mime, and he
progressed from there to dramatizations.
Carole Lewandowski, an Assistant Professor of Communications and
Education at ORU, said that Brainard's skill level is unbelievable
and that she's never seen anything like his performances.
Brainard taught Fundamentals of Acting classes at ORU for five years.
Maurice Hines, one of Brainard's former students, said his first
impression of his teacher was, "Wow, he is so happy, excited and
full of energy." Hines also said that Brainard stood out because
of his care and compassion for his students.
Hines said he saw Brainard perform "Luke Comes to Life" and thought
it was wonderful, and that the performance included techniques taught
in class. Hines also said he enjoyed the performance because Brainard
gave the biblical story of Luke a different perspective.
|
){kind=link}