Professor Jacob Davis talks about his life, education and theatre experience
In a small town called Bledsoe, within the panhandle of Texas, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, four siblings are having fun in the nearby sand hills. The siblings ride their bikes, flinging up the reddish sand behind them as they traverse the hills. This is one notable memory from one of those boys’ childhoods.
Theatre Professor Jacob Davis said the time he spent with his brothers in nature during his childhood had a significant impact on his life.
Davis has worked as a professor at Tyler Junior College for about 13 years but has worked in theatre consistently for the past 20 years.
Davis’ earliest memory of theatre was watching his oldest brother perform in a high school production called “The Curious Savage.”
“I might have been, like, 8 years old, and just seeing my brother, that I knew, was a different person, and that kind of, like, piqued my interest in kind of the magic that is theatre,” Davis said.
Professor Davis teaches students in his theatre design class within the Jean Brown Theatre. During this day of class, the students gave presentations and were assigned to groups for a group project.
Although it was not his main goal at the time, Davis first got into theatre in high school because his brothers were in theatre.
“I was much more what people would call a jock in high school. I mean, I did everything: I was student council and in the band, but I really enjoyed football a lot, and so I did theatre, because my brothers did it. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t necessarily what was most important to me in my life,” Davis said.
However, in his senior year of high school, Davis received two scholarship offers: one to play football at Blinn College in Brenham and the other to do theatre at TJC. Davis said he ultimately decided on TJC to get further away from his hometown after a falling out with friends.
“I chose Tyler to get further away from home, the most away from home that I could, and so that’s kind of how I first was introduced to East Texas and then fell in love with theatrical design and kind of made my way back to TJC later on in life,” Davis said.
It was at TJC that Davis discovered lighting design and fell in love with theatre.
“Well, for me personally, I like the idea that my mechanical kind of mathematical brain can exist, as well as the creative, artistic side in doing theatre,” Davis said.
After graduating from TJC, Davis pursued a Bachelor of Arts in theatre with a focus in lighting design at Texas Tech.
He then took a year off, working at TJC to build scenery and other aspects for their theatre department. After that year, he went to the University of Houston and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in lighting design.
He then did professional short-term contract work, designing for theaters and shows across America, including the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, the Philadelphia Theater Center, and the Houston Shakespeare Festival.
However, he eventually decided to find a way for him to be home more with his family.
“After designing for a while, started a family, had a kid, wanted to kind of be able to be at home more, and so looked for jobs in education. And it just so happened that TJC, being my alma mater, had a position opening and applied and came back here,” Davis said.
Davis said his favorite aspect of TJC is the friendly relationships between the students and faculty.
“The benefit of TJC is that it is filled with faculty that care about their students. That environment, that family feeling, makes it a pleasant place to work; it makes it a pleasant place to encourage students to come,” Davis said.
William Kinsel, a theatre major and sophomore at TJC, has known Davis since Kinsel’s freshman year. He said Davis is fun to be around and that every conversation with him feels memorable.
“I think even outside of theatre, I would still enjoy him as a professor, and I would still enjoy talking to him and interacting with him because he’s a fun guy, and I like working with him,” Kinsel said.
Kinsel has taken theatre design, scenic practicum, and fairy tale theatre classes with Davis. He feels that he has learned a lot from taking classes with Davis, noting scenic practicum as teaching him the most so far.
“I enjoy how he expects the most from us but also is the most relaxed about if anything doesn’t go right,” Kinsel said.
For those interested in learning more about the theatre department at TJC, visit www.tjc.edu/theatre.
Davis encourages anyone interested in getting into theatre to give it a try, even if they’re afraid. He also has some advice for those who want to pursue theatre as a career.
“The best thing for you to be successful is to observe and watch as much theatre as you can. You learn so much by analyzing what you see, but also to observe and analyze the world around you,” Davis said.