Inside DELTA: 5 Questions with Larry Evans

When Larry Evans is not at his cubicle working on Mediasite, he can be found on stage in character as Charlie, a Maine local who delivers mail by boat on Golden Pond.

His current character is just one of the many roles he has played in his years as an actor. For more than 30 years, Evans has performed in various plays around the Triangle in venues such as the Theatre in The Park and Raleigh Little Theatre.

With two decades of experience at NC State, Evans began his career with DELTA as a video producer for the Video Communications Services unit. As the online learning environment become more popular, Evans transitioned into a Mediasite administrator where he loves his work.

How would you describe your position?

“As a Mediasite administrator, I am responsible for the coordination, front-line support and maintenance of the Mediasite rich-media technology used in the DELTA classrooms, studios and other content capture systems including My Mediasite,” Evans said. He noted coordinating and providing management support for video vodcast downloads has been a project he has particularly enjoyed. He also enjoys implementing Mediasite content exports between Mediasite instances, which means he can move recorded content from one area of Mediasite to another including to My Mediasite where instructors can manage their own content.

Evans considers his area of expertise to be providing technical assistance with Mediasite equipment and software to other Mediasite administrators and users.

What makes your job special?

“I enjoy analyzing and assessing customer needs and working with LearnTech to develop effective FAQs to ensure proper help material is available on the web,” Evans said. He also noted working with the Mediasite team to test new versions of the hardware and software makes his job interesting and special.

Figuring out solutions to problems and having each day bring a new task are things Evans enjoys most about his position at DELTA.

What do you like to do in your spare time/outside of work?

“I spend much of my spare time outside of work on stage,” Evans said. He has performed in more than 70 productions since he was old enough to drive himself to auditions. A true performer and storyteller, Evans noted he will continue acting on stage until the “vaudevillian hook” takes him off.

As a child, Evans remembers watching television with his mother and becoming infatuated with movie stars. He made short films in high school and college and wanted to be the next Steven Spielberg. But after his first time on stage, he was drawn to theater. “I was in West Side Story, and I felt the vibe from the audience and was hooked.” In contrast to movies, theater performances are never the same. “In theater, the audience is part of the performance as much as the other actors on the stage,” Evans said.

“My job as an actor is to make the audience feel certain emotions,” Evans said. He explained acting is telling a story to the audience. “I try very hard to be very real on stage. I want people to believe the story and be moved by the story,” he said.

What have been your most memorable roles? Who has inspired you as an actor?

“My niche is dramatic characters,” said Evans. A few of his most memorable roles have been ones where he has been challenged, especially in two-person shows.

“Bo in “Bus Stop” and Ben Hecht in “Don’t Cry for Me, Margaret Mitchell” have been very memorable roles because there is a certain emotional aspect to the characters that I relate to,” Evans said.

His inspirations come from William Macy, Mark Rylance, Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts.

How has acting helped you as a Mediasite administrator and vice versa?

“What I enjoy about my job here at DELTA is that it’s all analyzing and solving puzzles,” Evans said. He added he can use both sides of his brain on stage and at work. “Technical people are very creative, and I can also be creative on stage,” he said.

“Every time I’m in a play, there’s something in my life that I think is like my character in the play. So, I’m always relating everything I do to what I do on stage,” Evans said. He noted his knowledge gained from the university setting has helped him to play different characters on stage.

Evans uses his experiences on stage and as a Mediasite administrator every day. “I like solving problems and making people happy,” he said.