How do people balance their passion with their professional responsibilities? Brandon Davidson, a dedicated high school teacher by day, and a passionate thespian by night, manages to do just that. He inspires students to do what they love and maintain their school life with their hobbies.
Davidson described his strategy for balancing his responsibilities, saying that he keeps his professional life separate from his personal life by working on class material during his planning period and keeping his hobbies outside of school. Davidson explained how he changes his focus from work to theater after he leaves school each day, saying:
“When you get home before your rehearsals, and when you’re driving all the way to rehearsals, whenever, that’s when you’re focusing on your script, you’re focusing on your character development, you’re focusing on your dances that you’ve got to learn, all of those things.”
Davidson says he has been involved in theater since he was in the seventh grade. He added:
“The first play I ever was in was High School Musical at Clarkdale High School. I just decided I wanted to try it out and see what it was like, and ever since then I’ve been doing one or two or three per year.”
He stressed that the most important skill someone needs to succeed in theater is confidence. He described how actors need to get through the audition with confidence.
“The rehearsal process builds up your confidence, and then as you’re performing on stage… it just starts to happen and it starts to be a part of you,” Davidson stated. Davidson uses confidence in the classroom and on stage.
His most recent play was Clue on stage at the Ellis Theater through the Philadelphia-Neshoba Arts Council. He was cast as Mr. Green in the production. Davidson said:
“It is basically the board game Clue brought to life on stage, so it’s pretty fun. I enjoyed it a lot,” he stated, “we’re always trying to get people to guess who the killer actually is, so think like murder mystery, but comedic murder mystery.”
Davidson believes theater contributes to the school and wider community. He stated:
“If you look at… people’s test scores that were not involved in the arts, [you will see that their scores] are lower than those who are involved in the arts, so not only does it teach confidence, but it’s life skills and it also helps with like reading comprehension and even with music. . . . So I think that being involved in the arts, not only in visual arts, but on stage and doing those things helps the overall person.”
Finally, Davidson gave advice to students who are interested in getting involved in theater:
“Don’t just be interested in it, do it, because I believe that there is a lot of talent that is untapped and they don’t realize that they can do it because no one has told them, or no one has showed them, and I think that if people would just get out of their shell and just try it, they might actually like it.”
All in all, Brandon Davidson is an inspiration to the students of our school and our community. From High School Musical to Clue, Davidson has shown his passion for acting in our community. Davidson is starring as the lead in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown on November 21-24. He enjoys theater and encourages everyone to try it out.
