Actor Gui Agustini visits Lander to encourage students

Lander University’s aspiring creators recently received advice from a professional who has been in their seats before.

Gui Agustini, an actor, director and producer who attended Lander University, visited Aug. 22 to speak to students and share his experiences and knowledge.

Agustini attended Lander for a year beginning in August 2009 on a tennis scholarship.

Someone he knew from his hometown in Brazil was playing at Lander and introduced Agustini to the coach.

Right before starting at Lander, Agustini was introduced to acting and while at Lander, he was cast in the role of Hal in the play “Picnic.”

“It was definitely super crucial,” Agustini said of his time at Lander. He said revisiting photos and videos of his time at Lander had been nostalgic.

When he arrived at Lander, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do, so he was majoring in business, but the acting bug had been planted in him.

“Back then Lander had a theater program. So I signed up, and I started minoring in theater. And my first American acting teacher, (Professor of Speech and Performance) Monique Sacay-Bagwell, is amazing.”

“Though it was short-lived, I was only here for a year, all those experiences were so wonderful. And it really set a little bit of the tone of instilling this confidence that like, this is really what I want to do, or want to try to pursue and move from athletics and tennis, which was my dream and my passion to convert to this art form,” Agustini said.

He said performing “Picnic” on stage at the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium in front of 500 people was incredible. After the performance, someone in the audience came up to him and remarked that he would become a professional actor.

Lander, he said, planted the seeds of courage, confidence and motivation he needed.

Agustini spoke to students during his visit and encouraged them to find others with the same passions and tobegin creating together.

His advice for students who want to get into acting – or want to pursue any art form – is that you absolutely must love it.

“It’s something that has to be a passion, a desire so deep, to pursue, because the odds are never in our favor, just like sports, right? But the beauty of acting or performing is that you can do it for a long time. You can break through. You know, you don’t have a certain age to stop you physically from doing it. You have to breathe and live that thing that you say you want.”