Dr. Larson’s leadership includes the creation of the South Carolina School of the Arts, expansion of the Rainey Fine Arts Center, the establishment of key degree programs in the arts, and the new Conservatory of Music.��

Former Anderson President Dr. Mark Hopkins got to know Dr. Larson when they both lived in Illinois. When Dr. Larson was leading the Theatre Department at Judson College (currently Judson University) in Illinois, Dr. Hopkins reached out to him, initially seeking his advice regarding uses for the newly constructed Henderson Auditorium.��

Dr. Larson recalls, “He wanted someone who would help chart a course for this new auditorium he had inherited.�� When I visited, I realized I was being tested, and so I dutifully submitted a report with my suggestions. A year later, Dr. Hopkins sent me a voicemail and said, ‘We have a new position, the Associate Dean of Arts. Sensing God’s leading, Dr. Larson said “yes” and moved with his young family to Anderson. His job was to help develop music, art and theatre and to manage the new auditorium.��

“There was no Peace Center. There was no Brooks Center. In the late eighties, Centre Stage at Anderson College was the primary venue for professional performing arts in the Upstate. For eight years, Centre Stage presented six to eight touring performances per year. About a thousand season tickets a year were purchased for Center Stage—which was just enough to cover artist fees.” The series attracted some big acts for the time, including the Atlanta Symphony, Burl Ives, Chet Atkins, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.����

���n my second summer here, we were given money to renovate Merritt Auditorium, turning it into a home for the theater program. I transitioned over to academics just before the institution made the change to four-year status, about the time the college was deciding to build phase two of the Fine Arts Center.” Dr. Larson added, “Those were wildly busy days!”��

Dr. Larson asserts that none of the successes of the South Carolina School of the Arts would have happened if not for the vision of President Evans P. Whitaker and a supportive administrative team.��

He also praises the leadership of the school’s three academic programs—Art + Design, The Conservatory of Music, and Theatre and Dance—developing innovative, relevant programs that guide graduates into rewarding careers in the arts.����

Dr. Larson is thankful for ��ҹ�糡 rallying around him over four decades of change and various health challenges. When asked about what retirement looks like, Dr. Larson says that, at least for now, he’ll stay in Anderson.����

Assuming Dr. Larson’s role is Associate Professor of Art and Design, Jer Nelsen. Beginning in the summer of 2026, Nelsen will serve as the Interim Dean of the South Carolina School of the Arts.��

���n summary,” Dr. Larson says, “my story is one of God’s faithfulness to help build a serious arts program, firmly set on a strong faith foundation. Ultimately, that means hiring and cultivating dynamic Christian faculty who will inspire and role model the integration of their art and their faith. Hire the right people, and good things happen. I am thankful to have seen this arts enclave grow and develop. Indeed, we are a special place- serious about our art and serious about our faith at the same time.”����

��

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���t’s a week where the theater students can be together, create together, learn from each other and learn from other creative artists in the theater,”��said��Department��of Theatre and Dance��Chair��Dr.��David��Sollish. ���t’s��a beneficial addition to our year, because sometimes we can get��pretty focused��on what��we’re��doing here on campus. This is an opportunity to��get to know��other��people in the industry��and to see their work.”��

More than 20 ��ҹ�糡 students took part in this year’s festival. The following students received awards and recognition:��

• Irene Ryan Acting Program Semi-finalist: Hannah��Auci��

• Musical Theatre Initiative Semi-finalists: Hannah��Auci, Hunter Ballard, Savannah Grace McCart��

• Musical Theatre Initiative Finalist:�� Hannah��Auci��

• KCACTF Region 4 Stage Management Award for Excellence in First Time State Management: Krysia Thomas��

• SETC/David Weiss Regional 1st place in Scenic Design: CJ Peterson��

• SETC/David Weiss Regional 1st place in Lighting Design: Thomas��Cawood��

• Applied Theatre Award of Excellence: Krysia Thomas��

The awards were presented on the stage of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, which is considered��one of the nation’s most prestigious regional theatre events.��The festival took place��in Mongomery, Alabama.��

��

AU Theatre and Dance����

AU Theatre and Dance��is part of the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡. The South Carolina School of the Arts trains professional visual, musical, and theatrical artists who are serious about both their art and Christian faith.��

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Earlier this month,��Dr.��Sollish��was recognized��with one of the greatest honors a theatre educator could��possibly receive.��

On the stage of the prestigious Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Dr. Sollish was presented with the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, the most prestigous regional award given by the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). The award recognizes Dr. Sollish for his extraordinary contributions to the teaching and production of theatre and for dedicating his time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of the festival. The award also honors him for his strong commitment to the values and goals of ACTF and to excellence in educational theatre.��

South Carolina School of the Arts Dean Dr. David Larson said,��“This professional recognition places the Department of Theatre and Dance at the center of theatre programs in the Southeast.  Simply put, this significant award is as good as it gets for a university theatre educator.”��

��

AU Theatre and Dance����

AU Theatre and Dance��is part of the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡. The South Carolina School of the Arts trains professional visual, musical, and theatrical artists who are serious about both their art and Christian faith.��

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Henson and Auci joined college students from around the country running theatre camps for third- through eighth-grade youngsters at various Houston area locations, helping them build confidence in themselves as they learned the basics of creating and staging theatre productions.����

“Our first week of camp consisted of training. All of the interns were together for that entire first week. And we got to learn about both the theatre company, the heart behind it and our goals for the camps for the week,” Henson said. ��

Following training, the interns formed three teams, each with five interns conducting weeklong camps at a different location in the Houston area.����

“They were very intern-run camps,” Henson noted. ��

“We taught them a lot of different theatre games to get their voices engaged, to get them out of their shell, to get them to imagine different circumstances, to interact with their friends,” Auci said, adding that campers created unique scripts for familiar fairy tales such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood. “They could make it however they wanted it to be… Of course they had to write content that was clean—nothing too dark.”��

Each camp was capped by a performance at A.D. Players’ main auditorium.����

“They got to do it with backdrops and we also gave them experiences creating their own costumes and molding their own set,” Auci continued. “On the final day we would rehearse everything, and then we would show it to their parents, we would show them the warm-ups that they learned, we would show them some of the games and we would show them their set designs and their costume designs. Then, they would show their scenes to their parents. It was one of the most rewarding experiences ever.”��

During the last week, the interns got together with the head of A.D. Players’ education department to go over the camps and assist in planning for next summer’s camps.����

Henson said, “One of the biggest things about our job is giving back to our community and giving back to those who’ve poured into us… Through this experience, I got to see kids find a joy of theatre and art for the first time. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and my parents were looking for something that sparked my interest… It brought me a lot of reminders of why I love to do what I do and how important it is to use the knowledge that I have and the knowledge that I’m learning and in the future to pour into the younger generation to keep things going and keep the genuine love of art alive.”��

AU Theatre and Dance��

AU Theatre and Dance is part of the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡. The South Carolina School of the Arts trains professional visual, musical, and theatrical artists who are serious about both their art and Christian faith.��

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��ҹ�糡 students shined in their performances during the 2025 Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, according to Dr. David Sollish, chair of Anderson’s Theatre and Dance program. Dr. Sollish also serves on the festival’s board and is chair of Musical Theatre for Region IV.��

��ҹ�糡 students received several accolades:��

Design/Technology/Management  ��

Two AU students passed on to the Stage Management semi-finals—Anna Elder and Hannah Sappia. Sappia also won the Ingenuity in Stage Management Award. Mackenzie King won Honorable Mention in Scenic Design. Elise Roundtree won Honorable Mention in Costume Design. Evelyn Ruff won Heart of the Art Award for Allied Crafts. Danny Kriner won the Outstanding Design/Tech Exhibit Award.��

Performance��

Samantha Venable was a finalist for the Irene Ryan Acting Award. She was in the top 16 out of 140 participants.��

��ҹ�糡 had seven semi-finalists (out of 82 participants) in the Musical Theatre Initiative with Evelyn Ruff and Mary Elizabeth Johnson making it to the final round (out of eight). Mary Elizabeth Johnson won third place and a $1,000 scholarship to the Open Jar Institute in New York City. Hunter Ballard, Hannah Auci, Isabella Murrell, and Zane Beyerl all won specialty awards in Musical Theatre. Candace Lilford, who graduated from AU with her BA in Theatre and is now an MA student at UNCG, won the Region’s Dramaturgy award.��

Dr. Sollish, Jessica Johnson, and Andy Rich all received Awards in Excellence for production work. Cara Wood was recognized for faculty excellence.��

“Overall, 100 awards were given out across the categories to representatives of 32 of the schools in attendance. ��ҹ�糡 received the third highest number of awards after the University of Central Florida and Auburn University-Montgomery,” Dr. Sollish said. “More importantly, our students and faculty represented AU with the highest level of skill, artistry, professionalism and class.”��

Three ��ҹ�糡 students have gone on to nationals in the past several years: Kaitlyn Crocker, for Stage Management in 2023; Bethany (Mansfield) Costello, for Musical Theatre in 2019; and Ashlyn Uribe for Musical Theatre in 2016.��

More than 700 students from the southeast region competed in numerous categories, attended workshops, saw performances, auditioned and networked.  Out of more than 40 colleges and universities represented, of the four-year schools, ��ҹ�糡 proportionally had the most student participants. Region IV comprises Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands and Virginia.����

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Twenty-one Theatre students from the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡 participated in the Region IV Kennedy Center College Theater Festival, hosted by Georgia Southern University in February.  

According to Dr. David Sollish, Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance and Associate Professor of Theatre, students spent the week seeing regional productions, going to workshops, networking, and competing in several events.  

Students received the following National KCACTF (The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival) honors:

• National KCACTF Stage Management Fellowship Award: Kaitlyn Crocker (Crocker will head to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. this April)
• SETC/David Weiss Regional First place in Lighting Design: Jenna Grigsby
• Region IV Lighting Design Honorable Mention: Abbigail Askew
• Region IV Excellence in Make-Up Award: Evelyn Ruff
• Jane Childs DTM Legacy Award: Morgan Burroughs, Alessa Gibbons and Maegan Moesher
•  Don Childs DTM Cross Collaboration Award: Kaitlyn Crocker, Regan Densmore, Jenna Grigsby, Abigail Larsen and Madison Walker
• Region IV Allied Design and Technology Honorable Mention: Madison Walker
• Musical Theatre Initiative Semi-Finalists: Nathanael Browne, Evelyn Ruff and Adeline Wiggins
• Musical Theatre Initiative Finalist: Evelyn Ruff
• Musical Theatre Initiative Third Place Performance: Evelyn Ruff
• Invited Scene from Bright Star, performed by Adeline Wiggins and Nathanael Browne
• 10 Minute Play Actor: Liam Brenzel

Started in 1969 by Kennedy Center founding chairman, Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center American College Theater is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.

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The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) nominated several Theatre and Dance students for awards and a chance to compete in Washington, D.C. in 2023.

Students from the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡 received regional nominations for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Awards. 

“The faculty and I are incredibly proud of this production and of all of our incredibly talented student-artists. We wish them luck and many blessings as they compete in February at the regional festival,” said ��ҹ�糡 Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Dr. David Sollish.

The nominations came for the fall production of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes!” recognizing the talents of the cast and crew. 

KCACTF sends a respondent to view Theatre and Dance productions during the Fall 2022 Semester and nominate students. Those students then can go to a regional Kennedy Center festival to compete. If they win the region, they head to a national competition in Washington, D.C., with the potential of winning a scholarship.

The following students were nominated:

Associate Direction nominee – Kaitlyn Grace

Dance Captain Dramaturgy nominee – Emma Turner, Annabelle Terry, Caroline Byce

Hair and Makeup Design/Costume Design nominees – Evelyn Ruff, Alessa Gibbons, Morgan Burroughs, Maegan Mosher

Irene Ryan nominees – Spencer Dulin, Benjamin Reardon

Lighting Design nominee – Abbigail Askew

Props Design nominee – Regan Densmore

Sound Design nominees – Nathanael Browne

Stage Management nominee – Edie Dominick and Ivey Whitaker

Started in 1969 by Kennedy Center founding chairman, Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center American College Theater is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.

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As students in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program at the ��ҹ�糡 College of Health Professions prepare to step into mental health professional roles, they must learn to diagnose individuals in a wide variety of mental health scenarios. 

When these students go through their intensives, they work with standardized patients—essentially individuals who act out the characteristics of a real patient. This gives students valuable experience interacting with a patient and coming up with a diagnosis.

When planning the most recent round of intensives for their students, College of Health Professions Assistant Professor of Graduate Nursing Dr. Bonnie Treado, along with Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program Coordinator Dr. April Reese found a valuable resource that’s right on campus. 

Dr. Treado reached out to Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Dr. David Sollish at the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡, seeking theatre majors to portray patients. 

Sophomore musical theatre major Kalyn Wright and sophomore acting major Samantha Venable were given case files of characters with medical histories and used them to play the patient and answer mock questions from psychiatry students. This involved improv and acting in a way that accurately reflected the patient’s diagnosis. 

Dr. Reese said that nursing students interviewed the “patients” who acted out various mental disorders including schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. She noted that working with actors is an important part of evaluating nursing students’ interviewing and diagnostic skills. Drs. Reese and Treado also pointed out that being a standardized patient can also be a good career option for someone pursuing an acting career. 

���’m only a sophomore and I’m getting to do some of this stuff that I can add to my resumé and could be a future job for me,” said Wright, who portrayed a schizophrenia patient.

���t was definitely a good experience getting to do something that is so different from how I am as a person. I think that definitely helps in the acting world, but also required us to do a lot of improvisation,” said Venable, who portrayed an elderly woman going through depression and anxiety.

Dr. Treado hopes to see more theatre students become a part of training for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner students and to see something similar used across all of the graduate nursing programs.

“When we are working with these theatre students, not only are we giving them a chance to build their resumé and improving the diagnostic capability of our students in the graduate program of nursing, but we’re also building capacity for future relationships between undergraduate and graduate, between the College of Health Professions and the South Carolina School of the Arts,” Dr. Treado said.

��� think that’s very important because we want to be sending out our healthcare workers as prepared as we can. Doing something like this allows them to have that experience, so when they go into their field of study and it’s the real deal, they’re going to be prepared,” said Wright.

���’m pleased that our School of the Arts Theater students can support our educational processes in the College of Health Professions,” said ��ҹ�糡 College of Health Professions Dean, Dr. Donald Peace. “The use of standardized patients has supported medical education since the mid 1960s. Standardized patients clearly enable our faculty to objectively measure our student’s understanding of clinical conditions and provide a means of patient medical management.”

Dr. Sollish commented, ���t is very important to me, as Chair of Theatre and Dance, for us to continue to work across campus and across disciplines. The Lord has given so many gifts to our students and faculty and we want to use those gifts in helping other programs. I want to thank Dr. Treado and Dr. Reese for such a great partnership and one I look forward to growing for years to come.”

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A senior in the Department of Theatre and Dance of the South Carolina School of the Arts at ��ҹ�糡 is dedicated to maximizing the audience experience.

John Verzwyvelt knows about creating excitement for musicals, plays and other events, having been involved in theatre throughout high school and college. He also made community connections, creating a fundraising campaign for a Louisiana animal shelter. He’s also used his theatre and improv skills to highlight the importance of honing communication skills for business students.

When Verzwyvelt transferred to ��ҹ�糡 his sophomore year, he focused energy on marketing for the South Carolina School of the Arts. During his junior year, he helped Dr. David Sollish, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, create a marketing team. The team is now led by Dr. Sollish and two part-time staff members. 

��� am so excited that I was able to create a class that will continue to help our students get more jobs in theatre in the future,” Verzwyvelt said. 

Knowing that the audience experience begins long before they take their seat in the theater, the marketing team worked to create interest among people not tuned into the theatre world. One way was to come up with Show Week banners—a tangible, visible representation of details the Department of Theatre and Dance puts into each production. 

“When you look at our Show Week banners, you see costumes our costumers did, but you’ll also notice there aren’t any actors in them, and that’s on purpose, so we could bring a major focus to the very hard work that our designers put in.”

Senior Project

For his senior project, Verzwyvelt launched a fundraiser to add special lighting and a season banner at the entrance to the Rainey Fine Arts Center and the Belk Theater Plaza. He also envisions a large lobby monitor to show videos to further build audience anticipation for the production waiting for them inside the theater. The audience then takes their seat in the improved, comfortable seating inside.

“We want people to see the banners and say ‘wow, these people really care about theatre.’ Especially prospective students saying ‘I could see myself doing this.’ Go into our lobby. We have this huge lobby display with all the stuff we did to work on the show, we have videos playing about the show, we have videos about the students performing the show. The seats become the destination that is the most important part of the project, because they transport you into the show,” Verzwyvelt said.

The fundraiser is a collaboration between the South Carolina School of the Arts, Office of Development and Office of Administration and Brand. 

“��ҹ�糡 has just given me so much,” Verzwyvelt said. ��� just wanted to give back in some way, so I’m doing a development project with the School of the Arts to increase the Anderson show experience.”

Verzwyvelt is especially grateful to South Carolina School of the Arts Dean Dr. David Larson for the success of his senior project, adding that the project would never have happened without his support. 

Of course, Verzwyvelt still enjoys performing. He has been in several South Carolina School of the Arts productions, including “Curtains,” “The Women of Lockerbie,” and this semester’s production of “Bright Star.”

Verzwyvelt plans an internship with the historic MUNY Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, this summer, then plans to pursue advanced study in advertising.

“John is a driven, thoughtful and passionate young man who offers a friendly face to everyone he meets. He is always looking for opportunities to further the impact of our Department of Theatre and Dance, increase his knowledge and skills, and well as develop relationships with everyone he meets,” said Rebekah Miller, manager of SCSA Digital Media and production manager for Commercial Music. “He not only pursues excellence in his theater craft, but also in marketing, promotion, and graphic design. Not only does he push for quality in his work, but he also sees the joyful and fun side of life.”

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��ҹ�糡’s most anticipated cultural event is back! The President’s Gala is returning for two sparkling nights—April 22 and 23. The South Carolina School of the Arts is proud to present this joyous celebration of the 2021-2022 academic year. 

The finest musicians, dancers, actors and vocalists at ��ҹ�糡 will perform at this year’s President’s Gala.

The President’s Gala includes everything from rousing orchestral arrangements to dance to pop—show tunes, too. 

The President’s Gala is a gift to the community from AU. Tickets are required and can be obtained through the AU Box Office or . The tickets will go early as the event has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest and most diverse musical spectacles in Upstate South Carolina each year. 

Senior Max Milian, one of the student arrangers and student musical director for AUthenticity, Anderson’s commercial music ensemble, says that coming back to a live in-person performance gives students the experiences they’ve missed over the past two years.

��� think it provides both audience members and performers a real chance to actually not take things for granted,” Milian said. ���’m very grateful for the opportunity to perform with a symphony orchestra in an auditorium with a thousand people in the audience. Those are things that, during my freshman year, were a big opportunity before the pandemic hit; we’ve missed that, but coming back to it is really exciting.” 

McCayla Ratcliffe, a senior majoring in worship leadership who was once an American Idol contestant in Hollywood, California, has been leading worship in chapels and following God’s call into music ministry. As with other graduating seniors, the 2022 President’s Gala for her is special. 

“Everyone is super excited because we’ve been deprived of being all together and having that community and that social aspect of performance as an event. It’s definitely missed, so people really appreciate it a lot more, especially as a performer,” said Ratcliffe.

For Spencer Dulin, a musical theatre major and commercial music minor, the reality of Gala returning to its full glory is still sinking in.

���t’s going to be huge… you almost have to stop and  believe it’s a full-fledged production again,” Dulin said ���t’s just really exciting because there’s a lot of good work being showcased and there are a lot of very talented people involved.”

“The best thing about Gala and honestly this whole department is you get to work with so many people who are outside of your major you didn’t think you’d work with. So I’m excited to do that again and excited that the choir is together again and the orchestra,” said Angelina Chisholm, a senior double majoring in worship leadership and communication. “There’s a bit of nervousness about all of us being there and everything in full swing again.” 

Both Gala performances will begin at 8 p.m. in the Henderson Auditorium of the Rainey Fine Arts Center. 

Tickets for general admission are $10 and $5 for faculty, staff and students (only available to purchase at the box office).

Tickets are available to reserve in person, , or by phone on March 22, 2022 starting at 9am EST. All ticket requests, whether in person or by phone, will be combined and processed in chronological order.

Please call the Box Office at 864-231-2080 for more information and tickets.

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