by Aaron Kiel
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Senior theatre major Scot McElvany called his summer experience in Croatia, “brilliant.”
For almost two months, McElvany participated in the Croatian National Theatre’s 47th Annual International Theater Festival in Split. He worked with actors of the Zagreb Theatre Academy developing a scene in John Webster’s “The Dutchess of Malfi,” and experienced their culture.
McElvany said it was an opportunity for him to be exposed to different theatrical methodologies in comparison to his theater studies at ULV.
“What they do in Split, in Croatia, is very heavy, very academy-style training, [like] fencing, specific voice work and standing on stage. [It’s] very regimented training, whereas here, we work with a very different methodology and a very improvisational methodolgy. It’s very communal work that we do here,” said McElvany. “The biggest thing for actors is, it’s so easy to be in a specific region, or an area, or a part of a school of thought and get so isolated.”
When he first arrived in the unfamilar territory, McElvany felt “unsettled and unstable, like a dream,” but later felt quite comfortable and safe as he began to relate to his surroundings.
“No matter where you go, you’re going to find people that share the same philosophy on life that you do,” said McElvany.
During McElvany’s stay, the civil war between the Croats and the Serbs lingered.
“On Aug. 4, I remember in the morning I was sitting at a cafe just outside the theater, and a director by the name of Nina walked up with an extremely pensive look on her face and just [had] energy teeming outside of her; And she simply walked up and put her hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Well, it started.’ And what she was referring to was finally this offensive had started to try to take back Croatian lands held by the Serbs,” said McElvany.
Sending La Verne theater students each year to Croatia for the International Theatre Festival in Split has become a possibility after an invitation from Georgij Paro, director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, and McElvany’s recent experimental trip have opened the doors.
Paro, an occasional guest director for the ULV Theatre Department, invited McElvany, junior Stacey Williams and alumnus Eric Mulholland to participate in the 1995 summer festival. Mulholland and Williams were not able to go due to personal reasons.
“I went over there to see if this is worthwhile, what the conditions are,” said McElvany.
“The intention is to send two or more students every year to the festival in Split to work with the students and probably develop their own projects; And we might go as faculty and teach, also as a possibility,” said Dr. David Flaten, professor of theatre arts. “They would be working in a professional situation with students who are very well trained.”
Initially, the program was supported by the University, but due to liability concerns regarding the safety of the students over the summer, the school rescinded.
“There was some problems with the war escalating. As it was, the University of La Verne had promised funding for one ticket, but due to liability reasons they backed out,” said McElvany.
Dr. Flaten, McElvany and Paro have been working on the logistics of the program since the beginning of the year. Obstacles include fundraising and a guarantee of University support.
“Quite a number of people have made small gifts to the University for the project,” said Dr. Flaten.
To aid in travel expenses, McElvany received a generous donation from Charlie and Myra Vinski, Glendora residents.
“I think Scot was an outstanding person to go for the first year. He was very involved; He got a view towards his own education that he didn’t have before,” said Dr. Flaten.
Currently McElvany is working on his senior project, to be presented this fall.
