Art & Soul
As Greenville’s Fine Arts Center celebrates its 50th anniversary, two famous grads reflect on their experiences
By Jac Valitchka
The impact of one teacher who believes in a student is profound. The effect of an entire staff and school dedicated to that individual is potentially life-changing. For 50 years and counting, the Greenville Fine Arts Center, the first specialized arts school in South Carolina, has transformed lives. Just ask two of its notable alums: Rory Scovel, comedian and actor/writer (appearing in the upcoming movie You’re Cordially Invited, starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell) and singer-songwriter and poet Adia Victoria, originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina, who will release her fourth album, Manic Dixie Dreamgirl, this year. High school students from across the state must apply and then be invited to audition for the center’s program (ranging from architecture to visual arts). Tuition is free, but the currency exchanged is hard work, discipline, commitment, and creativity.
Scovel, who is from Greenville originally, called in from Basalt, Colorado, on the night of his stand-up show in his adopted home state; and Victoria on the morning of her flight to Paris to work on new music with her husband and other musicians. Both shared their experiences being graduates of this unique institution that helped shape their vision of what it means to be an artist.
Comedian, actor, and writer Rory Scovel launched his foray into the arts studying film and video at the Fine Arts Center in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.
What years did you attend the Fine Arts Center?
RORY SCOVEL: I graduated in 1999.
What was your focus?
RS: Film/video, but I don’t even know what it’s called now. Video is definitely not a word they’re using.
Who were you studying with?
RS: My specific teacher was Eric Rogers, and at the time, the head of the school was Roy Fluhrer, and I’ve kept in touch with the two of them this whole time.
Did you feel like they recognized that you could take this professional, being a stand-up comedian and actor?
RS: It wasn’t encouraged or discouraged. It was like, ‘Here, I’m giving you the tools to learn the technical side of this thing that you’ve shown interest in and you want to do, and now, in a beautiful way, it’s on you to go out into the world and try to do it.’ I didn’t leave and immediately dive into being able to do anything [in] film/video. I had no plan of what I was going to do; I was still too distracted by my youth. Stand-up really opened the door for me to fully realize what aspect of filmmaking I enjoy, and at this point, it’s the acting and a little bit of the writing. I intend to complete this journey that started in 1998 and one day make my own film.
“To me, [artists are] as important as doctors and nurses and lawyers and judges and systems; we need artists in that exact same capacity.”
Was there a level of validation then that you could call yourself an artist?
RS: I don’t think I fully embraced that. I embrace that title passionately now, and I love the words artist and art. I love them endlessly. The entire human experience is attached to art and artists. I didn’t realize it then because I don’t think I was at that level of maturity to feel that way.
Knowing that the arts are in peril, what does it mean to you that the FAC is celebrating 50 years?
RS: To me, [artists are] as important as doctors and nurses and lawyers and judges and systems; we need artists in that exact same capacity. Art and various forms of communication are essential for us to realize that our experience is not the only experience, for better or worse. Yes, life can be awful and boring and depressing and evil and hard to understand, but we do have ways of communicating to remind each other that this is a shared experience.
A gift of a guitar for her 21st birthday prompted Adia Victoria’s interest in music. Her songs reflect her life growing up in South Carolina.
From a previous time we’ve talked, I know how much the Fine Arts Center means to you. What was your experience like?
ADIA VICTORIA: I went to the Fine Arts Center in 2001, and I studied ballet and contemporary dance under Andrew Kuharsky and Jan Woodward. I was a freshman when I auditioned for the Fine Arts Center. I had never danced before. I was obsessed with Riverdance and ballet, but I grew up so poor I wasn’t able to train, so the Fine Arts Center was my first introduction into the dance world. It was the first place for me [to be] able to use my body, learn my body in a group setting, and express myself with my body. I’ve said time and again that [it] really saved my life.
I think you truly mean that.
AV: I do.
Dr. Roy Fluhrer was a big part of your connection to the school.
AV: I think Roy gave us a true home. Itwas the one place I felt safe enough to come out of my shell. I felt safe enough to show my body, to express my body. And because I was dealing with so much trauma as a young girl—religious trauma, cultural trauma—the Fine Arts Center showed me that my body was a thing of beauty. My being was beauty, and it was up to me as an artist to express that, to nurture that, to protect that. The Fine Arts Center [and] Roy told us we had a gift, and that gift was our responsibility to nurture, to protect, and to share with the world. I learned I had something valuable about me to protect.
“The Fine Arts Center . . . told us we had a gift, and that gift was our responsibility to nurture, to protect, and to share with the world.”
What was the impact your dance teacher Jan Woodward had on you?
AV: I know I was a difficult student for Ms. Woodward. I was a brat. Insecure teenage girl. She was the first example that an adult could be annoyed or angry with you, but [will still] work with you in spite of your making it really difficult. She took my art seriously even when I wanted to goof off about it. I needed to have an example of a woman who was strong in her art, [and] who took her art seriously and did not tolerate disrespect.
That laid a good foundation and groundwork for you, no doubt.
AV: What they instilled in me was a respect and reverence for the stage and performing that I took with me even at open-mic nights in Nashville. I understood what a privilege it was to be on a stage, and to ask for people’s attention, and to share a part of yourself in a way that is different than your day-to-day life. You’re stepping into a new sense of being when you’re on the stage and that comes with responsibilities, and so I’ve always had great reverence for being on a stage and for having an audience. It’s not something I take for granted.
The Fine Arts Center’s 50th Anniversary Celebration will be Thursday, April 10, 7–9pm, at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC.
Photograph of Rory Scovel by Jim McCambridge; photograph of Adia Victoria by Darin Back. This story appears in our Spring 2025 issue.
