Lawton's Strengths
Our area’s unique history, locations, experience, and resources
Historic Towns within easy driving distance, to name a few
Medicine Park, Ok
Frederick, Ok
Marlow, Ok
Duncan, Ok
Snyder, Ok
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Wide open space
Historical and Environmental importance
Ft. Sill Army Base - access to locations and equipment found nowhere else.
Ft. Sill Army Museum’s archives and historical experts
Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Nations within easy driving distance
City of Lawton Employees, Elected Officials, Services, City Boards, Commissions, and Trusts
Mayor, City Manager, Asst. City Manager, and all departments and divisions
Lawton City Council
Partial Listing of City Boards Commissions, and Trusts
Lawton Arts and Humanities Council
McMahon Auditorium Authority
Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport Authority
Lawton Economic Development Authority
Lawton Enhancement Committee
Museum of the Great Plains Trust Authority
Parks & Recreation Commission
Lawton Parking Authority
Lawton Transit Trust Authority
Council Committees
City of Lawton Property, partial listing below, availability depends on scheduling
Parks
Library
Amphitheatre
Old Town Hall
Lake Lawtonka & Dam
School House Slough Resort and Camping Area
Lake Ellsworth
Lake Ellsworth House
Ralph’s Resort and Camping Area
Owens Center Recreational Facilities
Benjamin O. Davis High-rise
Softball, Baseball, and Soccer Fields
Swimming Pools
Offices
McMahon Memorial Auditorium
Court Rooms
City Hall
Police Department
City Maintenance Compound
Animal Shelter
Airport
Municipal Golf Course
Fire Department
Water Treatment Plant
Waste Water Treatment Plant
Museum Archives for Pre-Production Research
Ft. Sill Army Museum
Museum of the Great Plains
Chisholm Trail Museum
Altus Museum
Comanche National Museum
Southern Plains Indian Museum (Anadarko)
Libraries for Pre-Production Research
Lawton Public Library and Family History Center
Cameron University Library
The Lawton-Ft. Sill area has pre-production, production, and post-production activities for feature films on an ongoing basis since 1908. This includes TV crews, commercials, and documentary filmmakers.
Businesses that produce TV/Cable commercials
KSWO-TV
Lawton Cablevision
Indigo Advertising Agency
“Under the Radar” for press and paparazzi
Proximity to Texas, Louisiana, & New Mexico film production
Oklahoma Expatriates - Producers, Directors, Writers, & Actors
Strong presence of creative sectors and multicultural organizations
Cultural Nonprofit Organizations, Clubs, Business, & Foundations
Lawton Arts and Humanities Council
Arts for All Member and Affiliate Organizations
Lawton Community Theatre
Lawton Philharmonic Society
Southwest Oklahoma Opera Guild
Wichita Wildlight Photographic Society
Lawton/Fort Sill Art Council
Lawton Pro Musica
Junior League of Lawton
KCCU Public Radio Station
Great Plains Writers
Leslie Powell Foundation
Cameron University
Blue Moon Productions
Cameron University
Lectures and Concerts Series
Cameron University Foundation
Broadcast Club
Cameron Association of Design Drafters (CADD)
CU Art Guild
Multimedia Design Club
Society of Professional Journalists
Lambda Pi Eta - Communications Honor Society
Phi Sigma Iota - Foreign Languages Honor Society
Pi Kappa Lambda - Music Honor Society
Pi Kappa Delta - Forensics Honor Society
Asian/Pacific Islander Association
Cameron American Indian Student Association
Ebony Society
International Club
Latin Alliance Association
Magic Lantern Film Society
Students of the Caribbean Alliance
SW OK Historical Society
SW OK Genealogy Society
Holiday in the Park
Pride Gallery, Southwestern Hospital
McMahon Foundation
Lawton Community Foundation
McCasland Foundation
Lawton Cultural Coalition
Holy City
Dance Studios & Organizations
Lawton City Ballet
SW Oklahoma Dance Alliance
Fields & Company
Adventures – Creative Expressions
Graceful Expressions Dance Studio
Kicker Cloggers
Sherri’s dance Center
Story & Barton
Kealii’s Polynesian Dance School
Lawton Heritage Association
Lawton Public Library Programs
Lawton Porcelain Artists
Mexican Folkloric Dancers
Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery
Caribbean American Association
Lawton Music Teachers Association
Lawton Crafts, Arts & Hobbies Association
Wichita Mountains Friends of the Wichitas
American Choral Directors Association
Lawton Schubert Music Club
Lawton Shakespeare Club
KCCU Public Radio Station
Lawton Book and Play Review Club
Latin American Community Club
Chamarro Society
Daughter of the American Revolution
Various Square Dance Clubs
American Choral Association
Silhouettes
Bon Ton Civic and Social Club
Order Sons of Italy in America
German American Club
Schubert Music Association
Academy of Music
Frontier Music Company
Marjorie Farrell Piano Studio
G&G Music Company
Philips Music Company
Sounds Impossible
Journey Productions
Sweet Adelines
Lawton Pro-Musica Professional Chamber Choir
Lawton-Duncan Barbershop Chorus, “Southwest Pride”
The Buffalo Soldiers, Ninth & Tenth Horse Cavalry Association
Beta Sigma Phi, Miss Lawton Scholarship Pageant
The Center for Creative Living
Korean Community
Filipino Club
Women’s Intertribal Club and Miss Indian Lawton Scholarship Pageant
Comanche Nation Organizations
Kiowa Nation Organizations
Apache Nation Organizations
Strong Community ties exist between organizations that currently assist the film industry
Organizations assisting the film industry are
City of Lawton’s Arts & Humanities Division – Point of contact for productions who request to use city of Lawton property or services, provide assistance in finding various artistic or humanities related resources, casting, general information, location information and scouting, funding sources, press outlet via Lawton Arts & Entertainment Magazine and “Arts E-vine”, networking with visual and performing artists, and etc. For 2006, this includes Fox TV’s “Prison Break”; Feature film “Valley of Elah”; Norwegian Independent, “Comancheria”; Native Zone Productions, “Lemon Man”; Gravid Visuals Productions; Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto”; and various student productions.
Ft. Sill – 8-10 crews a year for documentary, feature film, news, research, & some training (US Army production). This includes Discovery Channel Canada, Rick and Ken Burns Documentaries; Sound Crews for War of the Worlds & Saving Private Ryan (Academy Award for Sound); Norwegian production about Geronimo; Red Apple; Digital Ranch; and projects for Discovery channels, BBC, A&E, & American Experience; Best Read Blind’s production of PBS show “What it Takes”. In addition, animation and simulation work is ongoing on a contractual basis at Ft. Sill.
Comanche County – Public Information Officer coordinates requests for access to Court House and other county related services
Lawton Chamber of Commerce - provides information collection, location assistance, event and non artistic resource coordination, and hospitality
Cameron University – actors, historians, post-production screenings, locations, and etc.
Comanche Nation – Various types of support
Medicine Park, Ok - Various types of support
Workforce Education & Resources
Cameron University’s School of Liberal Arts
Department of Theatre Arts; Actors, Theatre Production Design & Technology, Costumers, Dramaturgy
Department of Music; Composers, vocal performers, and musicians
Department of History; Historians and research
Department of Communications; TV Field and Studio, Documentary Film, Public Relations, Radio, Writing
Department of Art; Graphic Design and Fine Arts
Cameron University’s School of Science and Technology
Department of Multimedia Design, 3D Animation, Simulations & Modeling, Web design, Instructional Design
Great Plains Technology Center
Graphics & Imaging Technology
Multimedia
Game Design and Animation
Movie Maker
Digital Photography
Economic Development Center
Growing into business, E-Commerce, Job Descriptions, Leadership Development, Record Keeping, Strategic Planning, Marketing and Advertising, Human Resources, Government Bidding, Management Consulting, and Accounting/Booking
Employee Training
Airports – Lawton with easy access to OKC and Dallas
Airports - Lawton Airport and OKC airports utilized. Ft. Sill’s airfield is not open to public unless emergency landing.
Roads
I-44 and proximity to 35.
Quality of Life
Film Festivals in Area
Comanche Nation Invitational Film Festival
Chisholm Trail Film Festival
Performance and Screening Facilities
Comanche National Museum Patio, outdoor
Cameron University
Indoor
University Theatre (seats 442)
McCutcheon Recital Hall (seats 120)
Outdoor
Football stadium (seats 9,184)
Fine Arts Courtyard (seats 200)
Various locations around campus with various setups
Great Plains Coliseum
Indoor (3500)
Various Churches
Indoor, seating for 100 to estimate 1400
Venues on City Property
Carnegie Library/Old Town Hall
McMahon Memorial Auditorium, 1500
Lake Lawtonka, outdoor seating, estimate 1000+
Lake Ellsworth. Outdoor seating, estimate 1000+
Lawton Public Library Plaza, outside, estimate 1000 +
Elmer Thomas Park, outside, 1000+
Lake Helen Amphitheatre Stage, outside, 1000+
Skate Park
City of Lawton has 80 parks with various types of amenities
Oklahoma Veterans Center
Concerts have been held for the residents, seating varies, indoor and outdoor
Leslie Powell Foundation & Gallery - Indoor seating, 100
Lawton Public Schools, auditorium seating various by school
Ft. Sill Military Base – Based on mission availability
Polo Field, outdoor, lawn chairs
Artillery Bowl, estimate 2500 stadium type
Gunners Inn
Sheridan Theatre
Medicine Park, Ok - Various areas such as Bath Lake Concert Area along Medicine Creek, next to Park Tavern, Old Plantation, and more.