Name: George DeSalvia
Hometown: Port Charlotte, Florida
Year: Senior
Age: 21
Major: Theatre and English
George DeSalvia is the Artistic Director of the largest student theatre organization on campus, Ellipsis. Recently rebranded, Ellipsis allows student directors, actors, technicians, and writers the chance to showcase their talents. George is directing Ellipsis’ first show, Lena Headland’s Bachelorette. Bachelorette will run at the Augusta Conradi Studio Theatre (Wlliams Building) from December 4-6.
Courtesy: George DeSalvia
Her Campus (HC): What can you tell me about the newly rebranded Ellipsis and what you do?
George DeSalvia (GD): Ellipsis is the only RSO on the FSU campus that facilitates fully student-produced theatrical productions.
HC: What can you tell me about the history of Ellipsis, formerly known as STA and the changes you’ve enacted?
GD: I want to start by saying that the current Ellipsis Board respects our former leaders. We are grateful for the foundation they provided and understand that, without them, we probably would not exist. Their efforts paved the way for student art on FSU’s campus. I want to emphasize that all of our changes focus on delegation and maximizing the amount of student art being created. And we believe that it is crucial that we take any step necessary to foster practical, hands-on work in theatre our students.
The current Ellipsis Board wanted to integrated a number of changes this year that we thought would help to better facilitate student theatre at FSU. All of our positions—Executive Director, Artistic Director, Production Manager, Treasurer, Marketing Director—now have assistantships, ensuring that we have trained and qualified individuals taking over in the future. We’ve introduced a subset: Rogue, which facilitates the development of plays in the public domain, site specific performances, original scripted plays, and devised works. And the nature of these works is supposed to be financially low-cost so that a higher number of productions may be produced. Ellipsis focuses on producing mainstage productions, which receive full financial and technical support, on the Conradi stage. We offer experiences in areas such as directing, stage management, run crew, and front-of-house.
We now partner with the undergraduate chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT). This group provides opportunities in set design, technical direction, costuming, props, and lighting. As for the name change, we wanted something new and refreshing to help us launch these changes. I also think that the name Ellipsis is easier to remember and sounds cooler than the acronym STA.
HC: What does Ellipsis have planned for the rest of the semester, and what can you tell me about your plans for the spring?
GD: Rogue’s The Space, a series of new and experimental works throughout November, wraps up next weekend. My Hair Was Black in June, a solo performance art piece by Christian Meola, takes place on November 19 at 10:30PM and November 20 at 8PM. 13 Long Songs, an event that asks artists to respond to different love songs, takes place on November 20th at 10:30PM. Admission to each event is $5, and they take place at 621 Gallery in Railroad Square Art Park. Ellipsis’ production of Leslye Headland’s Bachelorette takes place December 4-6 in the Conradi Theatre in the Williams Building. Admission is free and open to the public. We are hoping to announce our spring 2016 season within the week so stay tuned!
HC: What was your favorite experience working on a piece of theatre, and why?
GD: Oh geez. I’ve done a lot of work here—some terrible, some really great. And it’s hard to compare traditional theatre experiences to experimental or new works. I’ve done some super cool things like 24-hour theatre projects in warehouses and a documentary theatre piece about faith and passions directed by a good friend. Each of those were fulfilling in a unique way. If I had to pick one, though, it may be a production of Matt and Ben, written by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers. It’s a two-person show, during which two females portray Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I did the show site-specific—in a house—and two of my closest friends were in it. It’s awesome getting a group of friends together and just making something; it really can be that easy. As for the play itself, the narrative is a bit silly, but when you think of how two women—one a female person of color—got together and wrote a comedic play for two females—that’s really awesome. Mindy and Brenda were actually in the show’s premiere. They wrote funny female roles, and created opportunities for themselves. I think what they did is really special and inspirational.
Courtesy: George DeSalvia
HC: Where do you see yourself in the future, and what are you doing?
GD: I love performance and direction. But ultimately, I am going to go where I feel fulfilled. As long as I get to make art and am surrounded by people that I want to make art with, I will be happy. Â
HC: Why did you choose Bachelorette to direct, and what has your experience been like so far?
GD: Bachelorette is wild, sexy, acerbic, messy, and terrifying. It’s about three friends who reconvene in an expensive NYC hotel suite the night before their frenemy’s wedding. Their night, however, quickly transitions from playful to destructive. There are sharp, witty one-liners. The characters are terribly mean to one another. They consume copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. And after all of the debauchery, Headland does not offer a lovely, clean resolution. I think this is what peaked my interest. We’re forced to see all of this chaos ensue in about an hour, and then it just ends. I formed question after question after I finished reading it. It’s great when a play does that to you.
In terms of direction, the most important thing for me is to portray the characters as deeply flawed. They are undeniably mean to one another, but they can’t just be mean. Throughout the rehearsal process, we’ve spent a lot of time—and will continue to spend time—discussing how complex these characters are and trying to justify their actions. I would love for audiences to view this play as a sort of proposal. How similar or dissimilar am I to these characters? What does this play say about our generation? Do we agree? Is it bad to agree? Is our generation misunderstood?
This experience has been great so far. I have a phenomenal and intelligent cast that I love working with. My assistant directors, stage management team, and creative team are all great and supportive. I really do have some of the greatest minds in the theatre department working on this production, and I am grateful for all of their contributions.
HC: Who/what are some of your biggest influences and inspirations (music, plays, movies, books, actors, directors, writers, etc.)?
GD: Oh geez. This will probably be an inadequate answer. I enjoy top-40 music. My three favorite plays are probably The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia, The Glass Menagerie, and Angels in America. Some of my favorite novels are 1984, Winter’s Bone, Fahrenheit 451, A Separate Peace, and the Harry Potter series. Some of my favorite movies are from this past year are Whiplash, Birdman, Gone Girl, and Boyhood. I know that wasn’t the exact question, but I obsess over contemporary movies, particularly during award-show season. As for actors, some of my favorites are (of course) Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Eddie Redmayne, Andrew Garfield, and Emma Stone.