Two Ļć½¶Šć alumni will receive awards during the Blac Liberated Arts Center's 21st annual Recognition and Benefit Dinner on Saturday.
Tinasha LaRayĆ© (BA Theater Performance ā09, MLA ā10) will receive the Alfre Woodard Theater Award. LaRayĆ© identifies as a renaissance artist. The poet, actress, director, filmmaker and former Miss Black Oklahomaās acting credits include Michelle in āDreamgirlsā and Lilā Inez in āHairsprayā with Lyric Theatre, Nettie in āThe Color Purpleā with Poteet Theatre and Mrs. Muller in āDoubt, a Parableā with Carpenter Square Theatre. In Los Angeles, LaRayĆ© originated the role of PFC Linda Baldwin in the world premiere of āStandOff at Highway #37.ā She was also featured in āQueenie Pie,ā a Duke Ellington opera with Long Beach Opera. Her film credits include Jasmine in āUnsolvedā and Andrea in āSan Andreas Quake.ā LaRayĆ© is an award-winning and Heartland Regional Emmy-nominated filmmaker for her documentary short, āFirst & Female.ā She most recently was nominated for several awards at a California film festival, including Best Local Short for her romantic comedy film āPunchline.ā
Edgar Cruz (BM '86), will be honored with the Charlie Christian Award. Cruz is considered Oklahomaās premier solo guitarist since 1976. He performs in multiple styles including Latin, jazz, rock, Spanish, classical Celtic, blues, pop, swing, original and more. He has 18 CDs, two award-winning DVDs and performs 200 times a year in state and abroad. He was also added to the Hispanic exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center. He has millions of hits from multiple videos on YouTube. His video of āBohemian Rhapsodyā has more than 16,000,000 hits worldwide and has inspired hundreds of other guitarists to cover his arrangement. He has appeared in the Charlie Christian International Music Festival in Ļć½¶Šć and Lawton over the 30-plus years of the event.
