Elkins shares performing arts expertise with local theater troupe

 
Photo by Wayne C. Moore


By: Monique Bos
Published: Friday, January 11, 2008

Dennis Elkins, Ph.D., spent his winter break immersed in the same discipline he has taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design for nearly five years: performing arts.

Elkins, who now teaches speech courses through the college’s liberal arts department, is directing the Little Theatre of Savannah’s production of “Inspecting Carol,” which opens this weekend. After devoting most of December and the early weeks of January to rehearsals, he’s looking forward to seeing the production onstage.

“The play is just fun — pure, unadulterated fun,” he said of the play, written by Daniel Sullivan. “It’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ meets ‘Inspector General’ meets ‘Waiting for Guffman.’ If you’re a fan of those movies, you will certainly see similarities in this production.”

The play follows a motley group of community theater players rehearsing for their annual production of “A Christmas Carol.” Between hijinks — including one character’s attempts to inject 21st-century social commentary into Charles Dickens’ original story — the troupe learns that a National Endowment for the Arts appraiser will visit them to decide whether they continue to receive funding, which in turn determines whether the troupe will continue to exist. When they mistake a hapless actor for the appraiser, hilarity ensues.

“It’s a wonderful romp through familiar territory,” Elkins said. “We all know the story of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ but that’s only a very small portion of the production. If you’ve been involved in any type of performance — I mean any type, even a grade-school play — you can appreciate that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. What makes it fun is you can see the trials and tribulations of what goes on in producing a play, because it really is a backstage look at putting on a very chaotic production of ‘A Christmas Carol.’”

Immersing himself in the theater world during breaks is virtually a tradition for Elkins, who spent Summer 2007 with the Banyan Theater Co. in Sarasota, Fla., where he played Erik Larson in “Enigma Variations” by French playwright Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt. He also acted for nine summers in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, where he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and served as a faculty member.

At SCAD, he has directed “All My Sons,” “The Complete History of America Abridged,” “Learned Ladies” and various senior projects.

“There isn’t anywhere I’d rather teach,” he said. “I believe in the philosophy of the college, and that means the entire philosophy of it — [focusing on] students who are really interested in pursuing their art … is very appealing to me.”

In addition to acting and directing, Elkins said his specialties include script analysis and the history of theater, although he terms himself more of a generalist.

“I’m a theater generalist, really, because I do everything and anything — not so much design and lighting … but I’ve done just about everything,” he said.

He also incorporates a long-standing interest in theology — which he studied at the University of Birmingham in England — into his work, particularly a one-man show of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Another of his one-man shows features children’s diaries from the Holocaust.

And he said other projects are always in the works. He’s received requests to direct student theater projects and a student film when “Inspecting Carol” wraps. In the meantime, however, he’s enjoying the experience of working with a cast that includes both SCAD alumni and members of the Savannah community.

“This is really the first opportunity I’ve had to work with the community in any form,” Elkins said. “I’ve met some wonderful people. They are purely amateurs in the true sense of the word ‘amateur’ — lovers of the art.”


For “Inspecting Carol” show times and ticket information, visit the Little Theatre of Savannah Web site. Student rush tickets: Unclaimed reservations and tickets are released five minutes prior to curtain. Students with a valid high school or college ID may purchase these tickets for a special, reduced rate of $5.