David Larson’s Contributions to Arts a Legacy that Will Endure
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
When he stood on a wooden crate in his back yard, beach chairs arrayed before him in suburban Chicago, four-year-old David Larson launched what would become a six-decade career in the arts.
That vivid memory, shared in a recent interview with The Anderson Observer, threads through a career now drawing to its close: after 41 years at Anderson University, Larson, dean of the South Carolina School of the Arts and professor of theatre, retires this spring, leaving a legacy woven from such warm, improbable tales.
Larson’s path to Anderson began amid choral swells in a massive high school program—700 voices strong—and bloomed through a B.F.A. at Illinois Wesleyan, an M.A. at the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. A serendipitous lobby chat at a Christians in Theatre conference landed him his first job at Judson College in 1978; by 1985, he arrived at then-Anderson College as associate dean of arts, tasked with animating the new Henderson Auditorium.
“I characterized Anderson College then as a cute, sleepy little southern college,” said Larson. He soon created Center Stage, drawing 1,000 subscribers to the theater with well-known acts such as Chet Atkins and Burl Ives—whose borrowed cufflinks Larson jokes might still adorn the folk legend in his eternal rest.
Pivotal among his creations: the Anderson Senior Follies, now in its 36th season under director Mary Nichols, whom Larson deems “the best theater director in the entire upstate.” Inspired by Minnesota’s Geritol Frolics, the event unites senior performers from churches across the Carolinas and Georgia, raising funds for stage upgrades like the sprung floor that eases dancers’ steps.
Under Larson’s stewardship, the arts division at Anderson University evolved into the South Carolina School of the Arts—accredited in theatre, art and design, and music simultaneously, a rare feat for a faith-based institution—encompassing 27 faculty, 340 students, and programs from musical theatre to graphic design.
Faith infuses Larson’s vision: theatre as “redemptive storytelling,” echoing Romans 7’s human stuckness, from “The Crucible‘s” intensity—where a high school spectator once spat in his face as Governor Danforth—to Macbeth‘s indelible stains.
“We’re a group of storytellers… allowing that character’s pain… to be mine,” said Larson, fostering catharsis in a “God-honoring environment.” As retirement nears four months hence, Larson eyes bungalow tinkering, flea markets, and visits to family in Washington state and Birmingham, content in a legacy of hired successors and open horizons.
“The older I get, the more I feel like… its’ a dance with God.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The first four minutes of this video have some minor audio issues, but still feature clear enough audio for information purposes.
