lerner AnD loeWe perforMers (l-r) WAlter cut tino , JAcob Will, tinA stAfforD (pHoto courtesy of Jeffrey DAy )
pHoto by for 201 1 Met ropoli tAn operA AuDition Winner MAriA Atunez (pHoto courtesy VAn eDWArDs)
Harrelson has his actors, even the younger ones, write a bio for their character, even if it›s a smaller role. “If you learn the character, the lines will come,” Harrelson tells performers who may fear memorization. For the upcoming Second Samuel, running February 7-16, playwright Pamela Parker shared her own unpublished back-stories for each of the play’s characters. Harrelson reaches out to the author of any work he directs, and Parker attended Harrelson’s production of her seriocomedy in New York, resulting in her script being picked up for publication by Dramatic Publishing. She will attend the Midlands production, and plans are in the works for a talk-back session with the playwright on opening night. Hey G, an adaptation of the film My Man Godfrey, will finish out the season for On Stage Productions. For more information on the group, ticket prices or auditions, visit www. onstagesc.com . / AK
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METROPOlITAn OPERA AuDITIOnS In COluMBIA
moved into over 4000 sq. ft. of former retail space at 680 Cherokee Lane. Capacity is 125 seats, with room to expand to 200, and Harrelson grins when it›s pointed out how many theatre groups would envy his ability to fill 125 seats consistently. He credits the community for embracing On Stage, and the commitment of his volunteers. Harrelson serves as board president, teaches acting classes, and shares directorial duties with others. Now thriving in its fourth season, On Stage offers classes, workshops, and a full season of four plays plus a summer show, including two all-children productions. Actor/stage dad Rob Sprankle admires Harrelson’s “genuine care for the experience
each young cast member has. I›ve seen their progress throughout the run, and it›s most impressive.” For the holiday show, Harrelson used children on his production team, as assistant director and choreographer, «and he really makes them work. They were saddled with a lot of responsibility, and he let them run with it, while providing gentle guidance. (My daughter) has thoroughly enjoyed her experience there, and looks forward to being more involved in future productions.” Wattenbarger agrees, saying that the On Stage Performance Center is “made to be a happy place where all can grow and learn the theatre craft, or just have the time of their lives.”
Gianna Rolandi is proof that a world famous opera singer can get her or his start right here in South Carolina. It was in 1974 when Rolandi, who grew up in Spartanburg and trained at the NC School for the Arts (now UNC School for the Arts) as well as the Curtis Institute for Music in Philadelphia, auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera, capturing the Minna Kaufmann Ruud competition as one of its youngest winners ever. The next year, Rolandi debuted with the New York City Opera, moving on to the Metropolitan Opera in 1979, and continuing on a stellar career path that now has Lady Davis (Rolandi married British conductor Andrew Davis who was ultimately knighted in 1999) serving as the director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center (formerly known as LOCAA). And to think, the next Gianna Rolandi could be running her scales in Rosewood or practicing resonance in Shandon. All she or he has to do is show up for the Metropolitan Opera auditions at Columbia College on January 26th. More than 1500 singers from all over the US will come to Columbia to compete in the National Council Auditions, the largest and longest running singing competition in America. Judges include none other than Gianna Rolandi, as well as tenor Anthony Dean