It's A Lovely Evening Of Theatre At Lander

(pictured above: Elizabeth Teal (left)and Dominic Ervolina rehearse for the upcomping production: "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year.")

Girl moves to big city. Girl meets boy. Boy is not who he appears to be. This is a brief synopsis of Lander University's upcoming production of John Guare's one-act play "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year." The production will be in Lander's Cultural Center Greenroom, Room 220, on Nov. 12-14, at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited and theatergoers are encouraged by production staff to arrive early to ensure admission to the event.

When the play opens a young women referred to as "She," played by Elizabeth Teal of Darlington, has been living in New York City for 11 months after relocating there from a small town in Ohio. During her time in the big city she has met few and talks to no one. She meets a man in the park, "He," played by Dominic Ervolina of Columbia. The two hit it off, and the man begins telling the woman about his seemingly unreal and disturbing past.

But is he telling the truth? This is the key question that will be answered by the end of the production.

Director Monique Sacay-Bagwell, Lander associate professor of theatre, said that the two actors create a good balance. "Dominic is one of our seasoned Lander actors and Elizabeth is a new theatre major," she said.

Teal said she prepared for the role by imagining what her character's past was and why she came to New York.

"I started with a character anaylsis," said Teal. "I was trying to map out who she is as a person, who her family is and what she believes in. These details are not given in the script, so you have to feel them out." Though Teal is a junior at Lander, she transferred to the university this semester to work on a degree in mass communication with an emphasis in theatre. She is also new to the Greenwood area. So she has a little bit in common with her character as she gets to know a new place and new people. Teal got her start in theatre at a young age, narrating for a production of "Stuart Little" at her hometown theatre when she was four. She continued her interest in theatre throughout high school, where she performed in such musicals as "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The Music Man." She gained backstage experience working as a dresser during the recent production of "Cinderella" held at Lander.

Ervolina's approach to character development led him to alter his appearance slightly and construct a personality that is quite different from his own. "The first thing I did was grow out my hair," said Ervolina. "I usually have very short hair. I also grew out a mustache, which is not something I would normally have."

Ervolina joked that his new look was most shocking to his employer, United Way. "I would come in with really long hair and a creepy '70s mustache and have to give recruitment presentations," he said. When working on the character's personality, Ervolina said he combined different personalities of people he has met over the years.

"I've tried to put myself in the mindset of someone who is truly manic depressive," said Ervolina. "One minute he's very down and the next he is very up. This is completely different than my normal mode of thinking." Ervolina is a native of Florida, but he has called South Carolina home for several years. This most recent production ends his time as a student performer in Lander theatre productions. Next semester he will be seated in the director's chair during Lander's Student-Directed One-Act Plays and he plans to graduate in the spring. Ervolina has been in such Lander productions as "The Complete Works of Shakespeare," "Seascape with Sharks and Dancer" and "The Glass Menagerie." "It's awesome to me that this is the play I get to finish out on," said Ervolina. "I really think that of all the plays I've been in at Lander, this is going to be the best one."

Lander's theatre honor society, Alpha Psi Omega is responsible for all the behind-the-scenes work for the upcoming play. "They are the designers and the technical directors. I am the only faculty member involved," said Sacay-Bagwell.

According to Sacay-Bagwell the content of this play may not be suitable for children. Admission to "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year" is free. For information, call the Fine Arts box office at 864-388-8800. Information about other Lander arts events is available on the university's Web site, www.lander.edu.