ELISE ACKER
A&E Staff Writer
Senior Sean Lyons wears a number of hats around the Pepperdine campus including that of a thespian in the Theater Department and a member of the Pepperdine Improv Troupe.
Lyons also won in episode eight of E! Entertainment Television’s “Fight for Fame,” a reality show in which five performers compete to sign a contract with a theatrical agent for one year.
To make it onto the show, Lyons had to pass an initial phone interview, do a monologue with different character voices and dialects and complete one more interview in front of a casting director.
“The producers then watched everyone from the videotaped interviews and chose their favorites,” Lyons said. Lyons filmed the show from June 7 to 9 at the E! studio in Los Angeles, and it aired July 24.
“We all saw the show,” said Lyons’ girlfriend, junior Melissa Scher. “I was nervous for him, because I knew so many people were going to watch the show. In the end, I just felt really proud of him and glad he had the experience.”
While being on set “was pretty sweet with free food and drinks,” Lyons said one of his biggest challenges was the interview portion where he had to recap the day with the producer in front of the camera.
“It’s like the confessional part of ‘The Real World,’” he said.
During filming, Lyons had the opportunity to do improvisational acting on stage as well as a melodramatic scene in the rain.
“There’s nothing like yelling ‘I love you’ on your knees in the mud to your ex-girlfriend rolling away in the backseat of a cab,” Lyons said.
The episode featured four rounds. At the end of each round, the agents sent one competitor home until the winning contestant was selected.
Lyons said the rounds included “a monologue, improv, a dramatic scene and a plea to the agents explaining why they should choose you.”
Acting wasn’t always No. 1 on Lyons’ list of career pursuits.
Before becoming interested in acting and the theater, Lyons said he wanted to be a professional baseball player. But as a student at an all-boys Catholic school, Lyons said he soon started doing drama because “it was a way to meet girls at our sister school.”
“From the point I reached the stage, though, I realized I loved to perform in front of an audience and that it’s where I’m most comfortable,” he said.
Pepperdine Center for the Arts stage technician and museum preparator Stewart O’Rourke said Lyons has a number of skills that make him a competitive actor, especially at his age.
“He’s very brave and intelligent,” said O’Rourke, who directed Lyons alongside associate professor of theater Cathy Thomas-Grant in the prestigious Edinburgh Summer Program. “He’s up to a challenge. All you have to do is put it in front of him.”
O’Rourke said Lyons’ performance as the developmentally disabled Noah in “The Grapes of Wrath” in the fall of 2004 is evidence of his acting abilities because of the effort required by the role.
“You have to fill the silences,” O’Rourke said about playing this type of role. “You can’t say one word and then stay quiet for a long time without looking like you’re occupied by something.”
Lyons played three different characters in “The Grapes of Wrath.” O’Rourke said each characterization requires tot-ally different rhythm and mannerisms, making it a complex feat for an actor without a high level of concentration and focus.
“When you’re in rehearsal, he’s in tune with you, watching your every move and taking physical gestures as well as verbal instructions from you,” O’Rourke said.
“Because Sean is kind of shy outside of theater, it’s fun to watch him sort of explode onstage and see him take on other personalities,” he added.
Fellow actors at Pepperdine note Lyons for his impersonation of Johnny Depp’s character from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Lyons said he would advise beginning actors to “pursue it relentlessly” if it is their ambition, and to “surround yourself with friends who have the same passion as you.”
While Lyons said he is not certain if “Fight for Fame” will open future opportunities in his acting career, he was pleased to receive a contract with an agent.
For now, Lyons said he will focus on conquering the television and film industry. His long-term plans also include pursuing a career in European theater.
“He’s a great guy, and we’re all waiting for him to hit the big time,” O’Rourke said.
Lyons will perform in the Fine Arts Division presentation of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” in October. He will also appear in PIT performances throughout the year. PIT’s first performance is Sept. 30 in Elkins Auditorium.
09-08-2005
