On the first day of his Stagecraft class each semester, John Larrance takes a cell phone from a student who is texting or talking. In front of the class he crushes the cell phone between two stage weights.

“The looks on the students’ faces are priceless,” exclaims Larrance. “They all turn off their phones and tuck them away. This sets the tempo of the course.”

At the end of class, Larrance explains that stagecraft is the art of illusion and presentation. “The cell phone I crush is fake,” he says. “The illusion teaches them there is a time and a place for everything.”

Larrance says he likes teaching because he enjoys sharing his knowledge. He has been at St. Lawrence since 1978, watching the program of which he has been a key part grow and evolve into today’s performance and communication arts (PCA) department.

Larrance carries a heavy load in the PCA department. Besides teaching Stagecraft and Stage Lighting, he is the production manager, technical director and lighting designer for most productions. He also offers his support to music and Art and Art History department projects, as well as in the Brush Art Gallery. And it doesn’t stop there.  He is a spotter in the press box during football games as well as a throwing official during track and field events, and he assists local school and community theater groups.  And, he adds, “I have served as an assistant marshal or marshal at Commencement more than anyone else has, I believe, in the history of SLU.”  He also works in professional theater as time permits.